Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Major in Geography Urban and Regional Planning

Minimum required: 120 semester credit hours

General Requirements

  1. The general education core curriculum courses are listed in the degree plan below along with the statewide component code number. See the General Education Core Curriculum section of this catalog for the Texas State requirements and options in the core curriculum, including Honors courses.
  2. This major requires students to select a minor area of study from the approved list of Undergraduate Minors offered at Texas State. Students interested in entering the professional planning field are strongly advised to consider a minor in Public Administration, Business Administration, or Construction Science and Management. Other minors may be appropriate depending upon your interests and career goals. Discuss other possible options with your academic advisor.
  3. This major requires a minimum of 36 semester credit hours of Geography courses.
  4. To satisfy graduation requirements, students must have at least a 2.50 major GPA for Geography and at least a 2.25 Texas State GPA. Students must make a grade of "C" or better in all Geography courses that are to be counted for credit toward their major.
  5. Required major courses include the following:
    GEO 1309Introduction to Cultural Geography3
    or GEO 1310 World Geography
    GEO 2410Introduction to Physical Geography4
    GEO 2426Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems4
    GEO 3301Research Methods in Geography3
  6. Required Geography core courses include the following:
    GEO 3310Urban Geography3
    GEO 3320Community and Regional Planning3
    GEO 4321Cities and Urban Design3
    GEO 4338Planning Practicum3
  7. Required Geography techniques courses include at least one course from the following:
    Select one of the following:
    Maps and Mapmaking
    Remote Sensing and Earth Observation
    Advanced GIS
    Internship in Geography
    Field Methods
  8. This major also requires an additional three hours of ENG 3303 with a grade of “C” or higher.
  9. Geography electives to bring the required Geography hours to 36 should be selected in consultation with an advisor from the following courses:
    GEO 3303Economic Geography3
    GEO 3313Natural Resource Use and Management3
    GEO 3321Energy Resource Management3
    GEO 3323Location Analysis3
    GEO 3340Political Geography3
    GEO 3349World Population3
    GEO 3353American Ethnic Geography3
    GEO 3426Advanced GIS4
    GEO 3434Water Resources4
    GEO 4310Regional Field Studies3
    GEO 4313Environmental Management3
    GEO 4314River Basin Management3
    GEO 4326Parks and Protected Places3
    GEO 4336Transportation Systems3
    GEO 4339Environmental Hazards3
    GEO 4341Water Policy3
    GEO 4350Solid Waste Planning and Management3
    GEO 4380Internship in Geography3
    GEO 4430Field Methods4
    Select a maximum of 3 credit hours from the following:3
    Meteorology
    Introduction to Cultural Geography
    World Geography
    Global Environmental Change
    Any 3000-4000 level course
    Students may select one regional course as a Geography Elective from the following:
    Geography of Europe
    Latin America
    United States and Canada
    Geography of North Africa and the Middle East
    Geography of Texas
    Geography of South and Southeast Asia
    Geography of China and Japan
    Geography of the Southwest
    Geography of the Russian Realm
  10. Students must complete a minimum of 36 advanced hours (3000 or 4000 level courses).
  11. The minimum number of hours required for this degree program is 120. The number of free elective hours a student will complete depends on the number of hours a student may need to achieve the required 120 total or 36 advanced hours.
  12. Nine semester credit hours must be writing intensive (WI).

Course Requirements 

Freshman
First SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
ENG 1310 (Communication Component Code 010 [TCCN ENGL 1301])3American History Component Code 0603
US 11001ENG 1320 (Communication Component Code 010 [TCCN ENGL 1302])3
POSI 2310 (Government/Political Science Component Code 070 [TCCN GOVT 2306])3Life and Physical Sciences Component Code 0303
Life and Physical Sciences Component Code 0303GEO 24104
GEO 1309 or 1310 (TCCN GEOG 1302 or 1303)3 
Mathematics Component Code 0203 
 16 13
Sophomore
First SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
COMM 1310 (Component Area Option Code 090/091 [TCCN SPCH 1311])3POSI 2320 (Government/Political Science Component Code 070 [TCCN GOVT 2305])3
ENG Literature (Component Area Option Code 090/094) [TCCN ENGL 2322, 2323, 2332, 2333, 2327 or 2328]3ENG Literature Select one of the following:3
Modern Language 1410 (if required), or elective4
ENG 2310 (TCCN ENGL 2322)
 
American History Component Code 0603
ENG 2320 (TCCN ENGL 2323)
 
GEO 33013
ENG 2330 (TCCN ENGL 2332)
 
 
ENG 2340 (TCCN ENGL 2333)
 
 
ENG 2359 (TCCN ENGL 2327)
 
 
ENG 2360 (TCCN ENGL 2328)
 
 Modern Language 1420 (if required), or elective4
 PHIL 1305 or 1320 (Language, Philosophy, and Culture Component Code 040 [TCCN PHIL 1301 or 2306])3
 GEO 24264
 16 17
Junior
First SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
ART 2313, DAN 2313, MU 2313, or TH 2313 (Creative Arts Component Code 050 [TCCN HUMA 1315])3Minor6
Social and Behavioral Sciences Component Code 0803Free Electives (as needed)3
GEO Advanced Required/Electives6GEO Advanced Required/Electives7
ENG 33033 
 15 16
Senior
First SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
Minor6Minor6
Free Electives (as needed)3Free Electives (as needed)3
GEO Advanced Required/Electives6GEO Advanced Required/Electives3
 15 12
Total Hours: 120