Geography offers a wide range of courses that delve into human relationships with the environment and the analysis of systems that produce the variety of places in the world around us. Geographers have a tradition of field work, which can be difficult in a classroom setting. Our courses ask you to work with real data about real situations around the world, giving you a chance to understand the processes shaping places, from the climate to politics, geomorphology to environmental and social injustice.
The University of Oregon course catalog offers degree plans and a complete list of undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Geography.
Featured Courses
Geography offers a wide range of pathways to explore the processes shaping places on our planet. The following course have been popular with students who are interested in the pressing issues of our time and some of the tools with which we can understand them.
GEOG 181 Our Digital Earth
Instructors: Amy Lobben
Explore the wide variety of data and techniques geographers can use to analyze systems and processes. This course introduces spatial data, GIS, remote sensing, cartography, and how anyone can make an app to collect and display spatial data. This is a powerful class to understand the democratization of data that is used to make important decisions. This class also counts for Social Science Core Ed requirement. (No pre-reqs)
GEOG 321 Climatology
Instructor: Patrick Bartlein
The world, both people and places, is now being severely impacted by climate change, but the scientific understanding of how climate operates remains widely unknown by the general public. This class introduces students to the main drives of the earth’s climate, how we can study climate from the distant past to help inform our understanding of the current trajectories of climate change. This class count for a Science Core Ed requirement (Pre-req: GEOG 141)
GEOG 341 Population and the Environment
Instructor: Shaul Cohen
One of the defining narratives of our time has been the threat of overpopulation. As population clocks tick upward, many 'solutions’ to the problem of too many people have been proposed. From China’s One Child Policy to actually encouraging people in some European countries to have more children. What is at the core of this hypothesis and what are other ways we can understand the relationship with the people and the planet that can help us better understand the impacts on Earth’s finite resources? This class counts as a Social Science Core Ed requirement (No pre-reqs).
Projected Courses
The provisional 2024-2025 course plan is below. Please look at the codes at the bottom of the page to understand specifically what each course can count towards within the Geography and Spatial Data Science and Technology majors, the Geography and the Climate Studies minors, and for the graduate program. Note that you cannot use the same course for two requirements within the same major. As always, this schedule is provisional and subject to change.
Fall 2023
Winter 2024
Spring 2024
Concentration key:
CPP = Culture, Politics & Place
EES = Economy, Environment & Sustainability
EVS = Environmental Systems
GE = Geographic Education
GIS = Geographic Information Systems
WSP = Water Science & Policy
Winter 2025
Number | Course Title | Geog Major Requirement | GEOG Major Concentration | SDSC Major Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
141 | The Natural Environment | Intro Core |
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142 | The Human Planet (WEB) | Intro Core |
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181 | Our Digital Earth (WEB) | Intro Core |
| Core |
202 | Geography of Europe | Advanced Core |
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250 | Geographies of Outdoor Adventure (WEB) |
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321 | Climatology | Breadth: Biophysical Geography | EES, EVS |
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342 | Geography of Globalization (WEB) | Breadth: Human Geography | EES, GE, CPP |
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399 | Topic: Global Carnegie |
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410 | Topic: Capitalism and Nature |
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4/527 | Fluvial Geomorphology | Breadth: Biophysical Geography | WSP, EVS, EES |
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4/581 | GlScience I | Breadth: GIScience, SD Core | GIS | Core |
4/582 | GIScience II | Breadth: GIScience | GIS | Elective |
4/585 | Remote Sensing I | Breadth: GIScience | GIS | Elective |
4/593 | Advanced Cartography & Geo-Visualization | Breadth: GIScience | GIS | Elective |
607 | Sem: Climate Change & Politics |
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613 | Research Design |
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632 | Progress in Human Geography |
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Spring 2025
Number | Course Title | Geog Major Requirement | GEOG Major Concentration | SDSC Major Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
141 | The Natural Environment | Intro Core |
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142 | The Human Planet | Intro Core |
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199 | Topic: Global Wildfire |
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322 | Geomorphology | Breadth: Biophysical Geography | EES, EVS |
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343 | Society, Culture, and Place | Breadth: Human Geography | EES, GE, CPP |
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361 | Global Environmental Change | Breadth: Biophysical Geography | EES, EVS |
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399 | Topic: Global Carnegie |
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410 | Topic: Divided Societies |
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4/530 | Long-Term Environmental Change | Breadth: Biophysical Geography | EES, EVS |
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4/565 | Environment and Development | Breadth: Human Geography | EES, CPP |
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4/568 | Contemporary Food Systems | Breadth: Human Geography | EES, CPP |
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4/581 | GIScience I | Breadth: GIScience | GIS | Core |
4/586 | Remote Sensing II | Breadth: GIScience | GIS | Elective |
4/589 | Mapping with Drones |
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| Elective |
4/592 | Web Mapping |
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| Elective |
607 | Seminar: Geography of Identity |
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608 | Workshop |
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633 | Progress in Geographic Information Science |
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Summer 2025
Number | Course Title | Geog Major Requirement | GEOG Major Concentration | SDSC Major Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
141 | Natural Environment (WEB) | Intro Core |
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142 | The Human Planet (WEB) | Intro Core |
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342 | Geography of Globalization (WEB) | Breadth: Human Geography | EES, GE, CPP |
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4/581 | GIScience I (WEB) | Breadth: GIScience, SD Core | GIS | Core |
Fall 2025
Number | Course Title | Geog Major Requirement | GEOG Major Concentration | SDSC Major Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
141 | The Natural Environment (HYBRID) | Intro Core |
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142 | The Human Planet | Intro Core |
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181 | Our Digital Earth | Intro Core |
| Core |
201 | World Regional Geography (WEB) | Advanced Core |
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323 | Biogeography | Breadth: Biophysical Geography | EES, EVS |
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341 | Population and Environment | Breadth: Human Geography | EES, GE, CPP |
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360 | Watershed Science and Policy (WEB) | Breadth: Biophysical Geography | EES, WSP, EVS |
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391 | Social Science Inquiry and Research | Advanced Core |
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393 | Data Driven Cartography |
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| Elective |
4/521 | Advanced Climatology: Glaciology | Breadth: Biophysical Geography | EES, EVS |
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4/542 | Urban Geography | Breadth: Human Geography | GE, CPP |
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4/581 | GIScience I | Breadth: GIScience; SD Core | GIS | Core |
4/582 | GIScience II | Breadth: GIScience | GIS | Elective |
4/585 | Remote Sensing I | Breadth: GIScience | GIS | Core |
608 | Workshop: Thesis Writing |
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611 | Theory and Practice of Geography I |
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612 | Theory and Practice of Geography II |
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631 | Progress in Physical Geography |
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