Geography
Explore the essential connections between people, places and the environment. ECU’s Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in geography combines geospatial tools and hands-on skills to tackle today’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.
Geography Program Overview
Geography is about making connections - between people and places, technology and environment, local challenges and global change. ECU’s geography BS integrates cutting-edge geospatial technology with social and environmental inquiry, giving you the skills to analyze climate change, coastal hazards, sustainable resource management and environmental justice. You will gain expertise in geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, drones and spatial analysis while also exploring social and environmental processes that shape our planet. Graduates pursue careers in fields such as urban and regional planning, environmental consulting, disaster response, conservation and geospatial analysis. If you enjoy making connections between people and places, thinking spatially, and using technology to address pressing issues, ECU's geography program is right for you.
ECU Advantage
At ECU, geography is a hands-on, applied and student-focused program. You will work closely with faculty who are nationally recognized for their expertise in hazards, coastal environments, climate change and geospatial technology. Our program emphasizes experiential learning — with opportunities to complete internships, contribute to applied research, and gain real-world problem-solving experience using the latest GIS and mapping software. With a bachelor’s in geography from ECU, you will be equipped with both advanced geospatial training and critical insight into social and environmental issues, giving you a competitive edge in a rapidly growing job market.
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:
Core Requirements:
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 - GPS and Satellite Navigation Systems
- GEOG 3460 - GIS Applications Programming
- GEOG 3480 - Drone Technology and Applications
- 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
- GEOG 4470 - GIS for Conservation
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 3100 - Special Topics
- GEOG 3220 - Soil Properties, Surveys, and Applications
- GEOG 3230 - Global Climates
- GEOG 3240 - Biogeography
- GEOG 3250 - Environmental Hazards
- GEOG 3420 - Remote Sensing of the Environment I
- GEOG 3430 - Geographic Information Systems I
- GEOG 3450 - GPS and Satellite Navigation Systems
- GEOG 3460 - GIS Applications Programming
- GEOG 3480 - Drone Technology and Applications
- 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 4240 - Environmental Security
- 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 4470 - GIS for Conservation
- 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 3100 - Special Topics
- GEOG 3230 - Global Climates
- GEOG 3240 - Biogeography
- GEOG 3250 - Environmental Hazards
- GEOG 3420 - Remote Sensing of the Environment I
- GEOG 3430 - Geographic Information Systems I
- GEOG 3450 - GPS and Satellite Navigation Systems
- GEOG 3460 - GIS Applications Programming
- GEOG 3480 - Drone Technology and Applications
- 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 4240 - Environmental Security
- 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 4470 - GIS for Conservation
- 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.
ECU Minor Requirements Policy
The university's policy regarding double counting credits between major and minor can be found in the Academic Advisement, Progression and Support Services section of this catalog. See "Minor Requirements".
If you have questions, please reach out to your program coordinator or director.
- No more than 9 credit hours required for satisfying a major can count towards the credits required for satisfying a minor, excluding specified cognates (required courses but outside of the major discipline).
- Individual programs may have additional restrictions.
- A student may not major and minor in the same discipline as defined by the program's 6-digit CIP code.
For more information about this degree visit the university's academic catalogs.
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