Geography: Geographic Information Science Emphasis - BS

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources

Department of Environment and Society

About This Degree

Geography is the study of the relationships between human society and the physical environment.

Geographic Information Science Emphasis: This emphasis assists students in gaining a solid foundation of geographic information analysis. Areas of application include geography, natural resources, landscape architecture, and city and regional planning.

For more information about Geography, see the website.
Admitted and current students must meet with an academic advisor for help with semester-by-semester planning, connections to co-curricular experiences, understanding of USU policies, and accessing USU resources. Students can log on to Degree Works to check student-specific progress.
Students can also have an emphasis in Human-Environment Geography .
The highest Math Requirement for this degree is STAT 1040: Introduction to Statistics (QL) or STAT 1045: Introduction to Statistics with Elements of Algebra (QL) .

Minimum University Requirements

Total Credits: 120
Credits of C- or better: 100
Total credits taken through USU: 30
Total major required credits taken at USU: 10
Minimum Grade Point Average (many majors require a higher GPA): 2.0 GPA
Credits of upper-division courses (#3000 or above): 40
Upper-division credits taken at USU: 20
General Education Requirements
University Studies Requirements
Undergraduate Degree Requirements

Admission Requirements For This Program

New freshmen: Admitted to USU in Good Standing
Transfer students from other institutions or other programs at USU: 2.5 GPA

Geography Major Requirements (63 credits)

All courses required for the major must be taken on an A-B-C-D-F grade basis. A grade of C- or better is required for all ENVS, GEOG, WATS, or WILD courses used to meet requirements for a major in Geography. The grade point average for all courses taught by the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources must be 2.5 or higher.

Geography Core (33-35 credits)

ENVS 2000 - Natural Resources Professional Orientation 1 credit(s) or
WATS 2000 - Natural Resources Professional Orientation 1 credit(s) or
WILD 2000 - Natural Resources Professional Orientation 1 credit(s)
GEOG 1000 - Physical Geography (BPS) 3 credit(s)
GEOG 1005 - Physical Geography Lab 1 credit(s)
GEOG 1300 - World Geography: Human and Environmental Dynamics (BSS) 3 credit(s)
GEOG 2800 - Introduction to Geographic Information Sciences 4 credit(s) or
WATS 2800 - Introduction to Geographic Information Sciences 4 credit(s) or
WILD 2800 - Introduction to Geographic Information Sciences 4 credit(s)
ENVS 3500 - Environmental Data Science (QI) 3 credit(s)
GEOG 3100 - Human-Environment Geography (CI) 3 credit(s)
GEOG 3800 - Geospatial Data Visualization 3 credit(s)
GEOG 4210 - Geography of Utah 3 credit(s)
PSC 4810 - Climate and Climate Change (DSC/QI) 3 credit(s)
STAT 1040 - Introduction to Statistics (QL) 3 credit(s) or
STAT 1045 - Introduction to Statistics with Elements of Algebra (QL) 5 credit(s) or
STAT 1080 - Foundations of Data Science (QL) 3 credit(s)
BIOL 2220 - General Ecology 3 credit(s) or
WATS 2220 - General Ecology 3 credit(s) or
WILD 2200 - Ecology of Our Changing World (BLS) 3 credit(s)

Geographic Information Science Emphasis Core (12 credits)

GEOG 4860 - Python Programming for GIS 3 credit(s)
GEOG 4870 - Geospatial Analysis with R 3 credit(s)
WATS 4930 - Advanced GIS and Spatial Analysis 3 credit(s)
WILD 5750 - Applied Remote Sensing 3 credit(s)

Electives (18 credits)

Complete 18 credits chosen from the following list. Other courses not listed here may also be approved upon review.

APEC 3012 - Introduction to Natural Resource Economics (DSS) 3 credit(s)
AV 3510 - UAS Fixed Wing Design and Construction 3 credit(s)
AV 3520 - UAS Guidance and Control 3 credit(s)
CMST 4260 - Environmental Communication 3 credit(s)
DATA 3330 - Database Management 3 credit(s)
ENVS 2340 - Environment, Natural Resources, and Society (BSS) 3 credit(s)
ENVS 3010 - Natural Resource and Environmental Policy 3 credit(s)
ENVS 3300 - Fundamentals of Natural Resource Recreation Management 3 credit(s)
ENVS 3320 - Archaeology of Climate Change (DSS) 3 credit(s)
ENVS 4000 - Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management (DSS) 3 credit(s)
ENVS 4020 - Foundations of Environmental Thought (DHA/CI) 3 credit(s)
ENVS 4030 - Building Community Environmental Resilience 3 credit(s)
ENVS 4100 - Introduction to Modeling Human-Environment Systems 3 credit(s)
ENVS 4130 - Natural Resource Recreation Policy and Planning 3 credit(s)
ENVS 4200 - Sustainability Metrics 3 credit(s)
ENVS 4210 - Anthropological Perspectives on Conservation 3 credit(s)
ENVS 4250 - Advanced Internship/Co-op 1-9 credit(s)
ENVS 4350 - Ecological Economics 3 credit(s)
ENVS 4700 - Communicating Sustainability (CI) 3 credit(s)
ENVS 4750 - Global Change Ecology 3 credit(s)
ENVS 4980 - Environment and Society Departmental Colloquium 1 credit(s)
ENVS 5550 - Sustainability: Concepts and Measurement 3 credit(s)
ENVS 6320 - Water Law and Policy in the United States 3 credit(s)
GEO 3100 - Natural Disasters (DSC) 3 credit(s)
GEOG 1400 - Human Geography (BSS) 3 credit(s) *
GEOG 4120 - Environment and Development in Latin America (CI) 3 credit(s)
GEOG 4400 - Natural Hazards and Society 3 credit(s)
GEOG 4805 - Introduction to Geospatial Artificial Intelligence: The Remote Sensing and GeoAI Frontier 3 credit(s)
GEOG 4815 - Insights from Above: Processing and Analyzing Drone Data 1 credit(s)
GEOG 4825 - Geospatial Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, & Society 1 credit(s)
GEOG 4910 - Geographic Information Science Portfolio 1 credit(s)
GEOG 4920 - GIS Internship 1-6 credit(s)
HIST 3950 - Environmental History (CI/DHA) 3 credit(s)
LAEP 2039 - Foundations of Sustainable Systems 3 credit(s)
LAEP 2300 - History of Landscape Architecture (BHU) 3 credit(s)
LAEP 4600 - City and Regional Planning (CI) 3 credit(s)
PHIL 3530 - Environmental Ethics (DHA) 3 credit(s)
POLS 2400 - Introduction of Geopolitics (BSS) 3 credit(s)
POLS 3430 - Political Geography (CI/DSS) 3 credit(s)
SOC 2650 - Globalization and International Development (BSS) 3 credit(s)
SOC 3010 - Social Inequality (DSS) 3 credit(s)
SOC 3110 - Methods of Social Research (CI) 3 credit(s)
SOC 3120 - Social Statistics I (QI) 3 credit(s)
SOC 3200 - Population and Society (DSS) 3 credit(s)
SOC 3260 - Politics and Society in Post-Colonial States 3 credit(s)
SOC 3300 - Sociology of Climate Change 3 credit(s)
SOC 3310 - Environmental Justice 3 credit(s)
SOC 3340 - Activism, Protest, and Social Movements (DSS) 3 credit(s)
SOC 3600 - Finding Community in Today’s Society (DSS) 3 credit(s)
SOC 3610 - Rural People and Places (DSS) 3 credit(s)
SOC 4230 - Techniques of Demographic Analysis 3 credit(s)
SOC 4350 - People, Power, and the Political 3 credit(s)
SOC 4620 - Sociology of the Environment and Natural Resources (DSS) 3 credit(s)
SOC 4640 - Managing Community Conflict (CI) 3 credit(s)
SOC 4720 - Effective Community Engagement 3 credit(s)
SOC 5270 - Global Migration 3 credit(s)
SOC 5420 - Gender, Sexuality and Social Inequality 3 credit(s)
SOC 5620 - Multispecies Justice and Indigenous Environmentalisms 3 credit(s)
STAT 5410 - Applied Spatial Statistics 2 credit(s)
UAS 3010 - Unmanned Aircraft System Introduction to Remote Pilot Certification 3 credit(s)
UAS 3200 - Fixed-wing Design and Construction Essentials 3 credit(s)
UAS 3700 - Unmanned Aircraft Systems Aerial Photography Basics 3 credit(s)
WATS 1200 - Biodiversity and Sustainability (BLS) 3 credit(s)
WATS 2500 - Introduction to Marine Biology (BLS) 3 credit(s)
WATS 3000 - Oceanography (DSC) 3 credit(s)
WATS 3050 - Data Management for Natural Resources – Cleaning and Shaping Data 1 credit(s)
WATS 3060 - Data Management for Natural Resources – Data Display and Analysis 1 credit(s)
WATS 3450 - Introduction to Coral Reefs-Field Course (DSC) 3 credit(s)
WATS 3600 - Geomorphology 4 credit(s)
WATS 3700 - Fundamentals of Watershed Science (CI) 3 credit(s)
WATS 3910 - Climatology and Hydrology for Western Watersheds (DSC/QI) 3 credit(s)
WATS 4110 - Biogeochemistry: Tracking Environmental Processes and Change 3 credit(s)
WATS 4500 - Limnology: Ecology of Inland Waters 3 credit(s)
WATS 4580 - Base R: Data Management and Manipulation Using R 1 credit(s)
WATS 4720 - Drone Data Analysis for Environmental Restoration 2 credit(s)
WATS 5003 - Remote Sensing of Land Surfaces 4 credit(s)
WILD 3800 - Wildland Plants and Ecosystems 4 credit(s)
*Note: Although GEOG 1400 is not taught at Utah State University currently, it will be accepted as an elective if transferred from another regionally-accredited institution.

Depth Requirements

In addition to two CI courses, and one QI course, complete at least two credits in approved 3000-level or above courses from each of the following two categories: Depth Humanities and Creative Arts (DHA) and Depth Life and Physical Sciences (DSC) .

Open Electives

Total elective credit is determined by General Education courses taken, degree type selected, additional credits earned, and any additional math or other prerequisite courses needed. Please consult your Academic Advisor for details.

Total Credits: 120

Suggested Degree Map - Geography: Geographic Information Science Emphasis BS

Geography: Geographic Information Science Emphasis BS - 4 Year Degree Map