Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Major in Physical Geography

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 from the approved list of Undergraduate Minors offered at Texas State. Recommended minors are Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geology, Mathematics, and Physics; however, other minors may be appropriate depending on a student's interests and career goals. Students are encouraged to meet with an academic advisor to review minor options and degree requirements.
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:

   Course List

   Code	Title	Hours
   GEO 1309	Introduction to Cultural Geography	3
   or GEO 1310	World Geography
   GEO 2410	Introduction to Physical Geography	4
   GEO 2426	Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems	4
   GEO 3301	Research Methods in Geography	3

6. Required Geography core courses include the following:

   Course List

   Code	Title	Hours
   GEO 3305	Climatology	3
   GEO 3425	Geomorphology	4
   Select at least two courses from the following:		6
   GEO 1305	Meteorology
   GEO 3335	Oceanography
   GEO 4316	Landscape Biogeography
   GEO 4325	Fluvial Processes

7. Required Geography techniques courses include at least two courses from the following: 

   Course List

   Code	Title	Hours
   GEO 3411	Maps and Mapmaking	4
   GEO 3416	Remote Sensing and Earth Observation	4
   GEO 3426	Advanced GIS	4
   GEO 4412	Digital Image Processing and Machine Learning	4
   GEO 4422	Web Mapping	4
   GEO 4424	GPS and GIS	4
   GEO 4430	Field Methods	4

8. Geography electives to bring the required Geography hours to 36 should be selected in consultation with an advisor from the following courses:

   Course List

   Code	Title	Hours
   GEO 2310	Global Environmental Change	3
   GEO 2420	Introduction to Geographic Information Techniques	4
   GEO 2427	Management and Implementation of GIS	4
   GEO 3321	Energy Resource Management	3
   GEO 3434	Water Resources	4
   GEO 3349	World Population	3
   GEO 4310	Regional Field Studies	3
   GEO 4313	Environmental Management	3
   GEO 4314	River Basin Management	3
   GEO 4325	Fluvial Processes	3
   GEO 4334	Groundwater Resources	3
   GEO 4339	Environmental Hazards	3
   GEO 4350	Solid Waste Planning and Management	3
   GEO 4380	Internship in Geography	3
   Student may select one regional course as a Geography Elective from the following:		3
   GEO 3307	Geography of Europe
   GEO 3308	Latin America
   GEO 3309	United States and Canada
   GEO 3328	Geography of North Africa and the Middle East
   GEO 3329	Geography of Texas
   GEO 3332	Geography of South and Southeast Asia
   GEO 3333	Geography of East Asia
   GEO 4306	Geography of the Southwest
   GEO 4328	Geography of the Russian Realm

9. Students must complete a minimum of 36 advanced hours (3000 or 4000 level courses).
10. 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.
11. Nine hours of writing intensive (WI) courses are required for graduation.

Course Requirements