- General Education Course

  - Milestone course: a key success marker for your major. See your advisor to discuss the importance of this course in your plan of study.

The Core Curriculum is designed to foster critical thinking skills and introduce students to basic domains of thinking that transcend disciplines. The Core applies to all majors. Information on specific classes in the Core can be found at https://www.marshall.edu/gened/.

Course Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Core Curriculum
Core 1: Critcal Thinking
FYS 100	First Yr Sem Critical Thinking	3
STA 225	Introductory Statistics (CT)	3
GEO 100	Intro to Human Geography (CT)	3
Core 2
ENG 101	Beginning Composition	3
ENG 201	Advanced Composition	3
CMM 103	Fund Speech-Communication	3
STA 225	Introductory Statistics (CT)	3
Core II Natural/Physical Science		4
Core II Humanities		3
GEO 100	Intro to Human Geography (CT) (Core II Social Science)	3
Core II Fine Arts		3
Additional University Requirements
Writing Intensive		3
Writing Intensive (300/400)		3
GEO 100	Intro to Human Geography (CT) (Multicultural or International)	3
Capstone		4
College-Specific
COLA Literature		3
COLA Literature		3
COLA Humanities		3
COLA Social Science		3
COLA Social Science		3
COLA Social Science		3
GEO 101	Physical Geography (CT) (COLA Natural/Physical Science)	4
COLA International Credit		3
COLA Multicultural Credit		3
Major-Specific
GEO 100	Intro to Human Geography (CT)	3
GEO 101	Physical Geography (CT)	4
GEO 300	Methods in Geography	3
GEO 423	Cartography & GIS	3
GEO 426	Principles of GIS	4
GEO 498	Senior Capstone	2
GEO 499	Senior Capstone II (WI)	2
Regional Geography		3
GEO 431	Remote Sensing & Photogram	4
GIS Technologies
Select at least six credits of the following:		6
GEO 110	Basic GIS
GEO 111	Air Photos & Satellite Imagery
GEO 112	Smartphone GPS
GEO 113	Web GIS
GEO 433	GPS & Mobile Geospatial Tech
GEO 434	Floods Hazards and GIS
GEO 454	Drones: Remote Sensing & GIS
GIS Analysis and Application
Select a minimum of six credits of the following:		6
GEO 429	Location Analysis and GIS
GEO 430	GIS-Raster Analysis
GEO 432	Enterprise GIS
GEO 440	Spatial Statistics and GIS
GEO 490	Internship
GIScience Electives
Select additional GIScience (GEO) courses to reach a minimum of 21 credit hours beyond the Geograpy Core Requirements.		6
Free Elective		3
Free Elective		3
Free Elective		3
Free Elective		3
Free Elective		3
Free Elective		3
Free Elective		1

 Major Information

• The total number of free electives will depend on the amount of double and triple counting of requirements.
• See course attributes each semester for courses that meet multiple requirements.
• Questions about requirements should be directed to the College of Liberal Arts (304-696-2350). Core II and COLA requirements may not be double counted.
• Forty-eight credit hours (sixteen 3-hour courses) must be at the 300/400 level.
• Students must earn a C or better in ENG 201 Advanced Composition and all foreign language courses.
• Minimum of 120 hours to graduate.
• The B.S. in Geography requires a minimum total of 45 credit hours of Geography coursework. Beyond the Geography Core Requirements, students choose a minimum of 15 credits from Physical Geography or GIScience. Remaining electives may be chosen from any GEO courses. To compensate for the increased number of hours for the B.S. in Geography (including the Meteorology and Weather Broadcasting areas of emphasis), students are exempted from the College of Liberal Arts foreign language requirement.

  - General Education Course

  - Milestone course: a key success marker for your major. See your advisor to discuss the importance of this course in your plan of study.

Semester Plan

Geography is the systematic study of the spatial aspects of human activity, the natural world, and human-environment interaction. The discipline of Geography occupies a unique position as a bridge between the social sciences (Human Geography), natural sciences (Physical Geography), and STEM fields (GIScience). As a result, the Geography Department offers both a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree. Both degrees offer students broad exposure to the various subfields of Geography and provide specialized career training and preparation. Geography is a rapidly expanding discipline with diverse career opportunities across the environmental sciences, social sciences, and technological fields in both the public and private sectors.

Plan of Study Grid

First Year
First Semester		Credit Hours
CMM 103	Fund Speech-Communication	3
ENG 101	Beginning Composition	3
FYS 100	First Yr Sem Critical Thinking	3
GEO 100	Intro to Human Geography (CT) (MC/I)	3
STA 225	Introductory Statistics (CT)	3
UNI 100	Freshman First Class	1
	Credit Hours	16
Second Semester
ENG 201	Advanced Composition	3
GEO 101	Physical Geography (CT) (Core II Nat/Phys Science)	4
Writing Intensive		3
Core II Humanities		3
Fine Arts		3
	Credit Hours	16
Second Year
First Semester
COLA Humanities		3
Regional Geography		3
Core II Physical and Natural Science		4
COLA Literature		3
COLA Social Science		3
	Credit Hours	16
Second Semester
GIS Technologies		3
GEO 431	Remote Sensing & Photogram	4
COLA Literature		3
GEO 300	Methods in Geography	3
COLA Social Science		3
	Credit Hours	16
Third Year
First Semester
COLA Social Science		3
GIS Technologies		3
GEO 423	Cartography & GIS	3
COLA Multicultural		3
Free Elective		3
	Credit Hours	15
Second Semester
GIS Analysis and Applications		3
300/400 Writing Intensive		3
GEO 426	Principles of GIS	4
COLA International		3
Free Elective		3
	Credit Hours	16
Fourth Year
First Semester
GEO 498	Senior Capstone	2
GIS Analysis and Applications		3
GIScience Elective		3
Free Elective		3
Free Elective		3
	Credit Hours	14
Second Semester
GEO 499	Senior Capstone II	2
GIScience Elective		3
Free Elective		3
Free Elective		3
	Credit Hours	11
	Total Credit Hours	120