About

Can you picture yourself working with community members to develop a plan to tackle future environmental and social challenges? Are you interested in understanding how societies have been shaped by the environment in which they live?

The discipline of geography offers an important interdisciplinary approach to critical societal and environmental themes such as climate change, the spread of disease, and development in vulnerable coastal regions, as well as social justice, local knowledge and globalization. ECU's Bachelor of Science in applied geography offers a setting for you to work closely with faculty, students and the community to develop a set of skills and a global perspective to help solve environmental and social issues. The geography faculty works at the interface between society and the natural world, and this interdisciplinary approach is integrated into most of the classes that you will take. The curriculum spans social justice, globalization, geographic information systems, landform processes and atmospheric science.

The BS degree in applied geography will leave you with the skills you will need to help build a dynamic career solving social and environmental issues. These include a keen understanding of the geographic features of Earth and how they interact with social systems, as well as computer and technological skills related to map-making, geolocation and terrain analysis. Students have the opportunity to gain valuable internship experience with state and city government and the private sector, working on community development, hazards impacts, coastal issues and other topics.

ECU Advantage

ECU's Department of Geography is a regional leader in research and applications of coastal development and hazards, social justice, landform analysis, water quality and climate change. Our alumni have used their skills and experience acquired at ECU to develop their careers in both government and in the private sector across North Carolina and nationally. Many of our students have taken advantage of the ties our department faculty have with national research laboratories, private consulting firms and NGOs working in developing countries to start dynamic careers in geography-related fields.

As an ECU student, you can research your future career in Steppingblocks. Explore real-world stats about your major, your interests, and your dream job title with data-powered career exploration tools designed for doers like you.

What You Will Study

Program Coordinator: Hong-Bing Su (221-A Brewster Building; 252-328-1040; suh@ecu.edu)  

Students admitted to the Geography, BS are required to follow a core curriculum and to choose between two concentrations: geographic and environmental systems or global environment and development. The core curriculum introduces students to methodologies employed by geographers and provides a background for advanced geographic study. The concentrations offer students a broad choice of courses to ensure wide coverage of topics that geographers typically pursue. Students who select the geographic and environmental systems concentration have the opportunity to put together specific groups of courses that focus on human geography, environmental geography or geographic information science. Students interested in a more international approach select the global environment and development concentration, which requires four semesters of language study and provides students an option of applying study abroad courses to their concentration requirement

The degree requires a minimum of 120 s.h. as follows:

I. General education requirements including the one listed below - 40 s.h.

(For information about courses that carry general education credit view the General Education Program section.)

  • MATH 1050 - Explorations in Mathematics or higher approved general education math course
II. Core - 7 s.h.
  • GEOG 2400 - Spatial Data Analysis
  • GEOG 2420 - Cartography
  • GEOG 4999 - Geography Professional Seminar
III. Concentrations - 42 s.h.

(Choose one of the following concentrations.)

    A. Geographic and Environmental Systems
      1. GIS courses (9 s.h. minimum)
      • GEOG 3420 - Remote Sensing of the Environment I
      • GEOG 3430 - Geographic Information Systems I
      • GEOG 3450 - Introduction to the Global Positioning System
      • GEOG 3460 - GIS Applications Programming
      • GEOG 4150 - Advanced Spatial Analysis
      • GEOG 4410 - Advanced Cartographic Design and Production
      • GEOG 4420 - Remote Sensing II
      • GEOG 4430 - Geographic Information Systems II
      • GEOG 4440 - Coastal Applications of GIS
      • GEOG 4450 - GIScience, Society and Technology
      • GEOG 4460 - Digital Terrain Analysis
      2. Environmental geography courses (30 s.h. maximum)
      • ATMO 1300 - Weather and Climate
        • OR
      • GEOG 1300 - Weather and Climate

      • GEOG 1250 - Water in the Environment
      • GEOG 1251 - Water in the Environment Laboratory
      • GEOG 2003 - Geography of the Global Economy
      • GEOG 2019 - Geography of Recreation

      • GEOG 2100 - World Geography: Developed Regions
        • OR
      • GEOG 2110 - World Geography: Less Developed Regions

      • GEOG 2250 - Earth Surface Systems
      • GEOG 2300 - Environment and Society
      • GEOG 2350 - Climate Change: Science and Society
      • GEOG 2510 - Physical Meteorology and Thermodynamics
      • GEOG 3003 - Political Geography
      • GEOG 3004 - Urban Geography
      • GEOG 3010 - Social Justice and Sustainability
      • GEOG 3025 - Racial Geographies
      • GEOG 3049 - Latin America
      • GEOG 3050 - Africa
      • GEOG 3051 - Asia
      • GEOG 3055 - North Carolina
      • GEOG 3220 - Soil Properties, Surveys, and Applications
      • GEOG 3230 - Global Climates
      • GEOG 3250 - Environmental Hazards
      • GEOG 3420 - Remote Sensing of the Environment I
      • GEOG 3430 - Geographic Information Systems I
      • GEOG 3450 - Introduction to the Global Positioning System
      • GEOG 3460 - GIS Applications Programming
      • GEOG 4140 - Research Methods in Human Geography
      • GEOG 4150 - Advanced Spatial Analysis
      • GEOG 4210 - Fluvial and Hydrological Processes
      • GEOG 4220 - Coastal Geography
      • GEOG 4230 - Earth Surface Processes
      • GEOG 4250 - Environmental Impact Analysis
      • GEOG 4270 - Water Resources Management and Planning
      • GEOG 4291 - Supervised Study in Physical Geography
      • GEOG 4292 - Supervised Study in Physical Geography
      • GEOG 4293 - Supervised Study in Physical Geography
      • GEOG 4320 - Gender, Environment, and Development
      • GEOG 4325 - Resources, Population, and Development
      • GEOG 4330 - Agricultural Geography
      • GEOG 4335 - Geography of Tourism
      • GEOG 4340 - GIS for Health Studies
      • GEOG 4360 - Geographies of Global Climate and Environmental Change
      • GEOG 4391 - Supervised Study in Human Geography
      • GEOG 4392 - Supervised Study in Human Geography
      • GEOG 4393 - Supervised Study in Human Geography
      • GEOG 4410 - Advanced Cartographic Design and Production
      • GEOG 4420 - Remote Sensing II
      • GEOG 4430 - Geographic Information Systems II
      • GEOG 4440 - Coastal Applications of GIS
      • GEOG 4450 - GIScience, Society and Technology
      • GEOG 4460 - Digital Terrain Analysis
      • GEOG 4491 - Supervised Study in Geographic Techniques
      • GEOG 4492 - Supervised Study in Geographic Techniques
      • GEOG 4493 - Supervised Study in Geographic Techniques
      • GEOG 4510 - Meteorological Instruments and Observations
      • GEOG 4530 - Micrometeorology
      • GEOG 4540 - Coastal Storms
      • GEOG 4590 - Tropical Meteorology
      • GEOG 4900 - Honors Research
      • GEOG 5281 - Selected Topics in Physical Geography
      • GEOG 5282 - Selected Topics in Physical Geography
      • GEOG 5283 - Selected Topics in Physical Geography
      3. Internship (3 s.h.)
      • GEOG 4801 - Geographic Internship
      • GEOG 4802 - Geographic Internship
      • GEOG 4803 - Geographic Internship
    B. Global Environment and Development
      1. Foreign language through level 2004 (12 s.h.)

      (For information about the foreign language requirement see Placement Testing, Foreign Language.)

        2. GEOG 2003 or GEOG 2110 (3 s.h.)
        • GEOG 2003 - Geography of the Global Economy
          • OR
        • GEOG 2110 - World Geography: Less Developed Regions
        3. Geography courses (21-24 s.h.)
        • GEOG 1000 - People, Places, and Environments
        • GEOG 1250 - Water in the Environment
        • GEOG 1251 - Water in the Environment Laboratory
        • GEOG 1300 - Weather and Climate
        • GEOG 2003 - Geography of the Global Economy
        • GEOG 2019 - Geography of Recreation
        • GEOG 2100 - World Geography: Developed Regions
        • GEOG 2110 - World Geography: Less Developed Regions
        • GEOG 2250 - Earth Surface Systems
        • GEOG 2300 - Environment and Society
        • GEOG 2350 - Climate Change: Science and Society
        • GEOG 3003 - Political Geography
        • GEOG 3004 - Urban Geography
        • GEOG 3025 - Racial Geographies
        • GEOG 3049 - Latin America
        • GEOG 3050 - Africa
        • GEOG 3051 - Asia
        • GEOG 3055 - North Carolina
        • GEOG 3230 - Global Climates
        • GEOG 3250 - Environmental Hazards
        • GEOG 3420 - Remote Sensing of the Environment I
        • GEOG 3430 - Geographic Information Systems I
        • GEOG 3450 - Introduction to the Global Positioning System
        • GEOG 3460 - GIS Applications Programming
        • GEOG 4140 - Research Methods in Human Geography
        • GEOG 4150 - Advanced Spatial Analysis
        • GEOG 4191 - Supervised Study in Regional Geography
        • GEOG 4192 - Supervised Study in Regional Geography
        • GEOG 4193 - Supervised Study in Regional Geography
        • GEOG 4210 - Fluvial and Hydrological Processes
        • GEOG 4220 - Coastal Geography
        • GEOG 4230 - Earth Surface Processes
        • GEOG 4250 - Environmental Impact Analysis
        • GEOG 4270 - Water Resources Management and Planning
        • GEOG 4291 - Supervised Study in Physical Geography
        • GEOG 4292 - Supervised Study in Physical Geography
        • GEOG 4293 - Supervised Study in Physical Geography
        • GEOG 4320 - Gender, Environment, and Development
        • GEOG 4325 - Resources, Population, and Development
        • GEOG 4330 - Agricultural Geography
        • GEOG 4335 - Geography of Tourism
        • GEOG 4340 - GIS for Health Studies
        • GEOG 4345 - Human Migration and Global Restructuring
        • GEOG 4360 - Geographies of Global Climate and Environmental Change
        • GEOG 4391 - Supervised Study in Human Geography
        • GEOG 4392 - Supervised Study in Human Geography
        • GEOG 4393 - Supervised Study in Human Geography
        • GEOG 4410 - Advanced Cartographic Design and Production
        • GEOG 4420 - Remote Sensing II
        • GEOG 4430 - Geographic Information Systems II
        • GEOG 4440 - Coastal Applications of GIS
        • GEOG 4450 - GIScience, Society and Technology
        • GEOG 4460 - Digital Terrain Analysis
        • GEOG 4491 - Supervised Study in Geographic Techniques
        • GEOG 4492 - Supervised Study in Geographic Techniques
        • GEOG 4493 - Supervised Study in Geographic Techniques
        • GEOG 4540 - Coastal Storms
        • GEOG 4590 - Tropical Meteorology
        • GEOG 4900 - Honors Research
        • GEOG 4901 - Senior Honors Thesis
        • GEOG 5220 - Physical Geography Field Experience
        • GEOG 5281 - Selected Topics in Physical Geography
        • GEOG 5282 - Selected Topics in Physical Geography
        • GEOG 5283 - Selected Topics in Physical Geography
        • GEOG 5393 - Seminar in Human Geography
        4. Internship or approved study abroad (3-6 s.h.)
        • GEOG 4801 - Geographic Internship
        • GEOG 4802 - Geographic Internship
        • GEOG 4803 - Geographic Internship
    IV. Minor and general electives to complete requirements for graduation.
      For more information about this degree visit the university's academic catalogs.
      Request Revision