Learning Goals

The Geography program has general learning goals for the entire program, and specific goals for each of the three tracts (Global Culture, Economics and Society; Environment; or Geographical Techniques), as listed below.

General Learning goals

1) Use a spatial perspective to critically examine how human and physical components of the world interact
2) Understand how geographic concepts apply to social and environmental justice
3) Acquire frameworks, methods and spatial models to identify and explain key geographical issues with attention to multi-scalar processes and connections between people, places, and environments
4) Understand how a geography degree can support career prospects

Global Culture, Economics, and Society

1) Synthesize and examine critically a range of cultural, economic and societal issues, particularly those connected with globalization, geopolitics and processes driving environmental change
2) Assess structural inequalities throughout the globe (e.g. systemic racism, wage gap, austerity)

Environment

1) Understand and apply the terminology and frames of reference used in physical and social environmental research
2) Identify and explain key physical and social environmental issues (e.g., environmental justice, climate change, and land-surface transformation).

Geographical Techniques

1) Demonstrate the fundamental principles and concepts of geographic technologies (e.g. geographic information systems, remote sensing) used in the acquisition, processing, and analysis of spatial data
2) Locate, access, manipulate, display and communicate spatial data effectively
3) Acquire frameworks and methods for analyzing how the uses of geographical technologies are power-laden practices