Course Requirements
Concentration Core
Systematic Surveys and Seminars
Choose two courses from the list below:
Supporting Fields
Five courses selected from course offerings in, Anthropology, Computer Science and Digital Media, Economics, Environmental Science, Geography, History, History of Art and Architecture, International Studies, Political Science, Public Policy Studies, Sociology, and any other discipline or program selected in consultation with the student’s advisor.
Open Electives
Open elective credit also is required to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 192 hours.
GEO 242
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS II: COMMUNITY GIS
An intermediate-level course. Students conduct real-world GIS projects for community organizations in Chicagoland. Topics include data capture, manipulation, database design, data quality, and spatial analysis. Students will complete projects following best practices of GIS project management. Instruction is accomplished through lectures and hands-on computer lab exercises using ArcGIS.
Prerequisites:
GEO 241 is a prerequisite for this class.GEO 243
REMOTE SENSING (FORMERLY GEO 343)
An introduction to the fundamentals of remote sensing, the analysis of the earth through air or space borne sensors. Special topics include image interpretation, image processing, change analysis, environmental monitoring, and photogrammetry. Instruction is accomplished through lectures and hands-on lab exercises using IDRISI. A small lab fee will be charged.
Prerequisites:
LSP 120 or HON 180 or (MAT 130 or above) is a prerequisite for this class.GEO 344
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS III: SPATIAL ANALYSIS FOR SUSTAINABLITY
An advanced-level course. Students conduct spatial analysis of sustainability issues of their interests. Topics include geographic visualization, network analysis, spatial interpolation, and exploratory spatial data analysis. Instruction is accomplished through lectures and hands-on computer lab exercises using ArcGIS. PREREQUISITE(S): GEO 242 or consent of instructor. Formerly GEO 244.
Prerequisites:
GEO 242 is a prerequisite for this class.GEO 391
RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
An overview of research techniques in geography with a focus on a statistical approach. Students will get versed in quantitative reasoning by learning how statistical concepts and techniques are applied to geographic problems. Topics include research concepts, research design, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics geared toward understanding geographic phenomena. Instruction is accomplished through lectures and hands-on exercises using calculators, SPSS and ArcGIS. PRE-REQUISITE(S): GEO 241.
Prerequisites:
GEO 241 is a prerequisite for this class.GEO 133
URBAN GEOGRAPHY - EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
The course provides an in depth analysis of a Chicago neighborhood, connecting this to wider U.S. trends in urbanization and urban development. Students conduct a research project, through archival study and field work.
GEO 200
SUSTAINABLE URBANISM
This course focuses on the application and meaning of `sustainability? to our discussion and understanding of cities, urban communities, and the urbanization process. The course conceptualizes sustainability as residing at the intersection of political, economic, social, and ecological thinking and examines its utility and flexibility towards urban form and function. The course pursues the topic of urban sustainability through the lenses of scale (e.g., local vs. global), justice (e.g., social vs. ecological), and diversity (e.g., cultural vs. biotic).
GEO 205
JUSTICE, INEQUALITY AND THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT
A theoretical and applied investigation of the social, political, and economic processes influencing the spatial distribution of environmental amenities and harms across the U.S. urban landscape, with particular focus on urban structure and the role of environmental justice struggles in shaping urban policy and the urban landscape. Formerly GEO 120.
GEO 215
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND REGIONAL INEQUALITY
This course charts the political, social and economic transformation of the developing countries, (Africa, Asia, Latin America, Caribbean, Pacific Islands) into a global economy dominated by the 'developed' countries (North America, Europe and Japan). This process, termed `GLOBALIZATION', results from the operation of the global market mechanism; the activities of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and the programs of the International Financial Institutions (IFIs).
GEO 233
COMPARATIVE URBANISM
An exploration of non-U.S. urban and planning traditions, through the comparative study of the foundation, morphological change and social-political forces that shaped cities such as Paris, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Bombay-Mumbai, and Mexico City.
GEO 260
GLOBALIZATION AND RESOURCES
An exploration of globalization and the politics and flow of natural resources between the developed and developing world, especially since World War II. Using case studies from around the world, the course introduces students to competing paradigms of environmental and resource destruction and to the complexities and contingencies of social and environmental change in the "new" global economy.
GEO 266
THE WORLD ECONOMY
A study of the spatial organization of economic activities. Special topics include static and dynamic models of the space economy, the geography of industrialization, spatial divisions of labor, global commodity chains, and industrial development in peripheral economies. Formerly GEO 366.
GEO 310
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
Green Infrastructure (GI) goes beyond the conventional conservation efforts of creating and maintaining national and state parks and wildlife refuges. Instead, GI promotes conservation that takes place at different spatial scales to create a network of open spaces out of existing open spaces and green corridors as well as offering strategies for constructing green spaces out of abandoned urban spaces.
GEO 333
URBAN PLANNING
A seminar on the intellectual history and theories of urban planning and design, and their application in urban settings in the U.S. and abroad. Systematic study of case studies leads to the investigation of current urban planning issues in Chicago.
GEO 269
POLITICAL ECOLOGY
The course introduces students to the theoretical foundations and evolution of critical Political Ecology and its assessment of environmental change and social vulnerability in the developing world. The course traces the history of the discipline to its early roots in geography, anthropology, and ecology and tracks its emergence as a theoretically sophisticated critique of the global spread of economic development and environmental policy.