Purpose:  The goal of the Physical Geography and Environmental Systems program is to give the student the opportunity to achieve a higher level of specialization in his/her field of study.  This concentration will help the student prepare for employment in environmental assessment and planning agencies, land development corporations, environmental consulting firms, and regional planning offices at local, state and national levels.  This program can also provide the educational support needed to prepare motivated students for graduate education in this field.

Entry Requirements:  To become an undergraduate in the Geography department a student should have completed TWO Geography courses with a QPA of 2.0 or better and must have an overall (UB) QPA of 2.0 or better.  Applicants with an overall UB average of less that 2.0 will not be considered.

Certificate:  For those who successfully complete this cluster a special department certificate is awarded, indicating that your specialty is in the area of Physical Geography and Environmental Systems.

Grades:  It is required that all Geography courses be taken for a letter grade.  The only exception is GEO 440, Geography Internship, which must be taken as Pass/Fail (P/F) grading.  In addition, all non-departmental courses needed to complete the certificate program must be taken for a letter grade.  New majors who have previously taken any required course for S/U grades must petition for restoration of the letter grade to their transcript.

Transfer Credit:  Students who wish to transfer credit for a course taken at another institution must provide a transcript AND a course description or outline of the course.  This should be presented to the Director of Undergraduate Studies or a Physical Geography advisor for consideration and possible approval.

For further information, contact Dr. Peter Rogerson, Director of Undergraduate Studies at 645-2722, ext. 53 or an advisor from the list below.

Advisors
Dr. Athol Abrahams 112 Wilkeson 645-2722 ext. 19 abrahams@geog.buffalo.edu
Dr. Sean J. Bennett 112 Wilkeson 645-2722 ext. 65 seanb@buffalo.edu
Dr. Charles H. V. Ebert 122 Wilkeson 645-2722 ext. 30 none
Dr. Chris Larsen 124 Wilkeson 645-2722 ext. 31 larsen@geog.buffalo.edu
Dr. Scott Mackay 113 Wilkeson 645-2722 ext. 64 dsmackay@buffalo.edu
Dr. Chris Renschler 116 Wilkeson 645-2722 ext. 23 rensch@buffalo.edu
Dr. Michael Woldenberg 123 Wilkeson 645-2722 ext 29 geomike@buffalo.edu

Required Courses for Specialization in Physical Geography & Environmental Systems:

____ GEO 101 Physical Environmental Geography
____ GEO 102 Intro. to Human Geography   OR   ____ GEO 103 Geography of Economic Systems
____ GEO 120 Maps and Mapping
____ GEO 410 Univariate Statistics in Geography  (or approved equivalent)*

Six (6) courses are required from the following list: One GIS/Cartography Geography Course:
____ GEO 106 Physical Environmental Geography II  ____ GEO 381 Cartography
____ GEO 200 The Ocean World ____ GEO 389 Business Geographics
____ GEO 201 Disasters: A Study of Hazards ____ GEO 420 Transportation & Spatial Information
____ GEO 347 Climatic Geomorphology ____ GEO 450-453 Special Topics
____ GEO 348 Landform Development ____ GEO 481 Geographic Information Systems
____ GEO 350 Landform Field and Lab Techniques ____ GEO 483 Remote Sensing
____ GEO 352 Introduction to Soils ____ GEO 485 Cartography and Geo. Visualization
____ GEO 355 Landscape Ecology ____ GEO 486 Spatial Decision – Support Systems
____ GEO 356 Environmental Change ____ GEO 488 GIS Design
____ GEO 440 Geographic Internship** ____ GEO 489 GIS Algorithm and Data Structures
____ GEO 449 Fluvial Geomorphology ____ GEO 497 Geostatistics
____ GEO 444 Earth Systems Science
____ GEO 454 Soils Laboratory Methods
____ GEO 470 Integrated Environmental Management
____ GEO 475 Landscape Modeling with GIS
____ GEO 479 GIS and Environmental Modeling
____ GEO 483 Remote Sensing
____ GEO 499 Independent Study** 
One Int’l Business and World Trade Course: One Urban/Regional Geography course:
____ GEO 330 Dynamics of International Business ____ GEO 366 Urban Geography
____ GEO 333 Bases of World Commerce ____ GEO 367 Urban-Social Geography
____ GEO 334 Intl’ Environments/Commercial Problems ____ GEO 418 Population Geography
____ GEO 419 Transportation and Society ____ GEO 419 Transportation and Society
____ GEO 425 Industrial Geography ____ GEO 460 Geography of Development
One of the following Computer Science courses: One of the following Math courses:
____ CSE 101 Computers :  A General Introduction ____ MTH 121 Calculus and Its Applications I
____ CSE 113 Introduction to Computer Science I ____ MTH 141 College Calculus I
One of the following Geology courses: Two Courses in:
____ GLY 103 Evolution of the Earth & Solar System _____________ Biology, _____________Chemistry 
____ GLY 112 The Planets OR          _____________ Physics    
(The two courses do not have to be in the same subject area.)

Worksheet for upcoming semesters

Fall_____
Spring_____
Fall_______
Spring_____
       
       
       
       
       

*Approved subs for GEO410:  CEP207, PSC408, PSY207,  SOC294,  STA119, ECO480, EAS308. The Department of Geography requires that all students, regardless of the cluster specialization, complete a minimum of 39 hours in Geography.  Students who take a course outside Geography that is equivalent to GEO410 must complete an additional Geography course to fulfill the 39 hour minimum requirement.
** This course requires advisor approval and a signed Force Registration form
 
 
 
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