The Geography minor no longer admits new students after Fall 2027 and the program will be discontinued Fall 2029. Students already admitted may only complete and be awarded this minor through Summer 2026. If you have any questions please contact the program.
This minor may only be completed by students admitted to the Elementary Education or the Elementary Education and Special Education programs. A minor is not required to complete either program.
Minors provide a depth of study in a particular area of interest and also inform classroom instruction. The completion of a minor is required to teach middle school in some states and may benefit students particularly interested in teaching at this level.
The Department of Geography is housed in the College of Letters & Science. Students may wish to consult with the undergraduate academic advisor to discuss course selection and other issues related to this field of study.
Upon completion, the subject area of the minor will be posted on the UW–Madison transcript. Students will not receive an additional certification or license in the subject area. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction does not offer content licenses in association with the Elementary Education or Special Education teaching licenses.
How to Get In
The Geography minor no longer admits new students after Fall 2027 and the program will be discontinued Fall 2029. Students already admitted may only complete and be awarded this minor through Summer 2029. If you have any questions please contact the program.
This minor may only be declared by students completing the Elementary Education or the Elementary Education and Special Education programs. To declare the minor, contact your academic advisor in Education Student Services any time after program admission.
Requirements
The Geography minor requires a minimum of 24 credits. In addition to the required course, select one course from each of the distribution lists. Each course may be counted in only one of the groups. Coursework must include at least two upper-level courses, numbered 300–699.
A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 is required, based on all Geography minor coursework taken on the UW–Madison campus.
Required Course
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 342 | Geography of Wisconsin (Or an acceptable substitute selected in consultation with the undergraduate advisor in the Department of Geography. This course may be also used to fulfill the requirement in Area Studies and Global Systems) | 3 |
Course Distribution Requirements
Complete one course from each of the six groups:
Physical Geography: Earth Systems and Environmental Processes
Courses address the locational arrangements of earth phenomena and their interaction as physical systems.
Physical Geography: Earth Systems and Environmental Processes course options
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 120 | Introduction to the Earth System | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 127 | Physical Systems of the Environment | 4 |
| GEOG/GEOSCI 320 | Geomorphology | 3 |
| GEOG/ATM OCN/ENVIR ST 322 | Polar Regions and Their Importance in the Global Environment | 3 |
| GEOG/ATM OCN/ENVIR ST 332 | Global Warming: Science and Impacts | 3 |
| GEOG/ATM OCN/ENVIR ST/GEOSCI 335 | Climatic Environments of the Past | 3 |
| GEOG/BOTANY 338 | Environmental Biogeography | 3 |
| GEOG 344 | Changing Landscapes of the American West | 3 |
| GEOG/GEOSCI 420 | Glacial and Pleistocene Geology | 3 |
| GEOG 523 | Advanced Paleoecology: Species Responses to Past Environmental Change | 3 |
| GEOG/SOIL SCI 525 | Soil Geomorphology | 3 |
| GEOG/SOIL SCI 526 | Human Transformations of Earth Surface Processes | 3 |
People–Environment Interaction
Courses examine human use, perception, and modification of environments.
People–Environment Interaction course options
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG/ATM OCN/ENVIR ST 131 | Climate Change, Climate Action: The Social Dimensions of Climate Change | 3-4 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 139 | Global Environmental Issues | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST/SOIL SCI 230 | Soil: Ecosystem and Resource | 3 |
| GEOG/ART HIST/ENVIR ST/HISTORY/LAND ARC 239 | Making the American Landscape | 3-4 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 309 | People, Land and Food: Comparative Study of Agriculture Systems | 3 |
| GEOG/ATM OCN/ENVIR ST 332 | Global Warming: Science and Impacts | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 333 | Green Urbanism | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 336 | International Environmental Governance | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 337 | Nature, Power and Society | 3 |
| GEOG/BOTANY 338 | Environmental Biogeography | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 339 | Conservation and Climate Change - Local to International Strategies | 4 |
| GEOG 340 | World Regions in Global Context | 3 |
| GEOG 344 | Changing Landscapes of the American West | 3 |
| GEOG/AMER IND/ENVIR ST 345 | Caring for Nature in Native North America | 3 |
| GEOG 359 | Australia: Environment and Society | 3 |
| GEOG/AMER IND 410 | Critical Indigenous Ecological Knowledges | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST/URB R PL 431 | Planning for Resilience to Natural Hazards | 3 |
| GEOG/C&E SOC/ENVIR ST 434 | People, Wildlife and Landscapes | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 439 | US Environmental Policy and Regulation | 3-4 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST/HISTORY 460 | American Environmental History | 4 |
| GEOG/SOIL SCI 526 | Human Transformations of Earth Surface Processes | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 534 | Environmental Governance: Markets, States and Nature | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 537 | Culture and Environment | 4 |
| GEOG 538 | The Humid Tropics: Ecology, Subsistence, and Development | 4 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 557 | Development and Environment in Southeast Asia | 3 |
Human Geography
Courses examine the location and organization of human settlements and activities.
Human Geography course options
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 101 | Human Geography: Space, Place, Society, and Politics | 4 |
| GEOG 104 | Introduction to Human Geography | 3 |
| GEOG/ART HIST/ENVIR ST/HISTORY/LAND ARC 239 | Making the American Landscape | 3-4 |
| GEOG 300 | Weird Geographies | 3 |
| GEOG 301 | Revolutions and Social Change | 3 |
| GEOG 302 | Economic Geography: Locational Behavior | 4 |
| GEOG/URB R PL 305 | Introduction to the City | 3-4 |
| GEOG 307 | International Migration, Health, and Human Rights | 3 |
| GEOG/CHICLA/GEN&WS 308 | Latinx Feminisms: Women's Lives, Work, and Activism | 3 |
| GEOG/INTL ST 311 | The Global Game: Soccer, Politics, and Identity | 3 |
| GEOG/INTL ST 315 | Universal Basic Income: The Politics Behind a Global Movement | 3 |
| GEOG 318 | Introduction to Geopolitics | 3 |
| GEOG 340 | World Regions in Global Context | 3 |
| GEOG 355 | Africa, South of the Sahara | 3 |
| GEOG 358 | Human Geography of Southeast Asia | 3 |
| GEOG/AMER IND 410 | Critical Indigenous Ecological Knowledges | 3 |
| GEOG/URB R PL 503 | Researching the City: Qualitative Strategies | 3 |
| GEOG/GEN&WS 504 | Feminist Geography: Theoretical Approaches | 3 |
| GEOG/URB R PL 505 | Urban Spatial Patterns and Theories | 3 |
| GEOG 507 | Waste Geographies: Politics, People, and Infrastructures | 3 |
| GEOG 510 | Economic Geography | 4 |
| GEOG 511 | Critical Social Theory | 3 |
| GEOG 513 | Queer Geographies | 3 |
| GEOG/GEN&WS 514 | Feminist Geography: Methodological Approaches | 3 |
| GEOG 515 | Trans Autotheories | 3 |
| GEOG 518 | Power, Place, Identity | 3 |
Area Studies and Global Systems
Courses focus on the ways in which regions, places, and landscapes have acquired distinctive characteristics and problems as a result of their locations and resource potentials, and of their settlement, appraisal, and use by particular peoples and cultures.
Area Studies and Global Systems course options
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG/ASIAN/HISTORY/POLI SCI/SOC 244 | Introduction to Southeast Asia: Vietnam to the Philippines | 4 |
| GEOG/HISTORY/POLI SCI/SLAVIC 253 | Russia: An Interdisciplinary Survey | 4 |
| GEOG/AFROAMER/ANTHRO/C&E SOC/HISTORY/LACIS/POLI SCI/SOC/SPANISH 260 | Latin America: An Introduction | 3-4 |
| GEOG/AFRICAN/AFROAMER/ANTHRO/HISTORY/POLI SCI/SOC 277 | Africa: An Introductory Survey | 4 |
| GEOG 342 | Geography of Wisconsin | 3 |
| GEOG 355 | Africa, South of the Sahara | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 557 | Development and Environment in Southeast Asia | 3 |
Cartography and Geographic Information Science
Courses examine the creation and use of maps.
Cartography and Geographic Information Science course options
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 170 | Our Digital Globe: An Overview of GIScience and its Technology | 3 |
| GEOG 370 | Introduction to Cartography | 4 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST/G L E/GEOSCI/LAND ARC 371 | Introduction to Environmental Remote Sensing | 3 |
| GEOG/CIV ENGR/ENVIR ST 377 | An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
| GEOG 378 | Introduction to Geocomputing | 4 |
| GEOG 379 | Geospatial Technologies: Drones, Sensors, and Applications | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST/LAND ARC/URB R PL 532 | Applications of Geographic Information Systems in Planning | 3 |
| GEOG 572 | Graphic Design in Cartography | 3-4 |
| GEOG 573 | Advanced Geocomputing and Geospatial Big Data Analytics | 4 |
| GEOG 574 | Geospatial Database Design and Development | 4 |
| GEOG 575 | Interactive Cartography & Geovisualization | 4 |
| GEOG 576 | Geospatial Web and Mobile Programming | 4 |
| GEOG 578 | GIS Applications | 4 |
| GEOG 579 | GIS and Spatial Analysis | 4 |
Methodology
Courses examine the skills, techniques and methodology necessary to conduct geographic investigation.
Methodology course options
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 170 | Our Digital Globe: An Overview of GIScience and its Technology | 3 |
| STAT 240 | Data Science Modeling I | 4 |
| GEOG 365 | Geographical Traditions and Practices | 3 |
| GEOG 370 | Introduction to Cartography | 4 |
| GEOG/CIV ENGR/ENVIR ST 377 | An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
| GEOG 500 | Qualitative Strategies in Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 560 | Advanced Quantitative Methods | 3 |
| GEOG 565 | Colloquium for Undergraduate Majors (offered only in fall) | 3 |
| STAT 301 | Introduction to Statistical Methods | 3 |
| STAT 324 | Introduction to Statistics for Science and Engineering | 3 |
| STAT 371 | Introductory Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences | 3 |