Geography….the where, why, who and how.
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Geography examines the interactions between people, environment, space, and place, offering theory and tools for addressing concerns ranging from social justice to migration to global environmental change. Highly interdisciplinary, it complements fields such as anthropology, Earth science, biology, ecology, economics, computer science, environmental science, history, and sociology. As the only Ivy League geography department, we occupy a distinctive niche in the discipline. Although relatively small, we cover the full spectrum of academic geography, namely human geography, physical geography, nature-society studies, and Geographic Information Science.
The Geography Major consists of ten courses spread across five categories: introductory, methods, breadth, depth, and culminating experience. Introductory courses provide an overview of the field of geography, and ground students in the fundamentals of geographic thought. Methods courses impart the qualitative and quantitative tools that geographers use to explore people and environment in space. Breadth courses expose students to the diversity of geography as a discipline. Depth courses allow students to more substantively engage an area of interest. Finally, the culminating experience synthesizes students' knowledge of geography through deep discussions of key and current literature in a seminar format.
The Department of Geography also offers a Geography Minor, a Geography Major Modified, Major Modification with Geography, an Urban Studies Minor, and a Climate Change Science Minor.
More information on what our amazing geography majors do after Dartmouth can be found on our Careers page and in the collection of Alumni Stories.
By the time of graduation, Dartmouth Geography Majors should be able to:
○ Understand and articulate the core themes and processes of geography, including space, place, location, and scale.
○ Apply geographic methods of data collection and analysis.
○ Understand the breadth of the field of geography in terms of its cultural-social, physical, nature-society, and geospatial approaches.
○ Gain in-depth knowledge in one of the discipline's major sub-fields through coursework, independent study, or Honors thesis research.
○ Effectively communicate geographical knowledge through a variety of formats (e.g., written, oral, and geovisualization).
○ Critically assess how geographical theories, methodologies, and analysis are applied to specific social and/or biophysical phenomena.
○ Apply their learning in ways attentive to social justice and environmental flourishing, and have a sense of their own individual and collective abilities to work towards positive social and environmental wellbeing.
Students looking to declare a major or minor should start with reviewing DartWorks
https://www.dartmouth.edu/reg/guides/dartworks/declare_major_or_minor.html.
Worksheets are provided below to guide you through the process, and there are descriptions of all Geography majors and minors in the Organization, Regulations, and Courses Catalog: http://dartmouth.smartcatalogiq.com/current/orc/Departments-Programs-Undergraduate/Geography.
A list of future courses to help you plan can be found here:
https://geography.dartmouth.edu/undergraduate/courses.
Select from the following major/minor worksheets:
Geography 90: Research in Geography is our culminating experience, aimed at senior majors who have completed the prerequisites (minimally) and have had a number of other geography courses. Juniors may also take G90 if they have met the prerequisites. The focal point of the course is the study of research in Geography centered on a particular topic. Students who have been accepted into the honors program also use G90 to develop their research proposals.
The Department of Geography Honors Program consists of meeting a set of minimum GPA requirements (3.5 in the major, 3.33 overall) and conducting independent research with the guidance of faculty that culminates in an undergaduate thesis. Students apply to the Honors Program by submitting a preliminary proposal to the department in the Spring Term of their junior year. The Department of Geography offers preliminary acceptance to the Honors Program based on this document and an assessment of major and overall academic performance. Proposals and research plans are developed further in GEOG 12.01 during senior year Fall Term, with research occurring anytime junior year Summer Term to senior year Winter Term. Thesis public presentation and defense occurs in senior year May, with the final draft due shortly after the defense.
Read more about the Honors Program.