Geography
(Minor Only)

Administered by the Department of Behavioral Science within the College of Arts and Sciences. Consult with the departmental office or the College of Arts and Sciences Academic Advising Office for a list of faculty advisors.

The University of Texas of the Permian Basin offers a minor in Geography. Students majoring in other fields will find Geography a strong support minor. Geography is useful in a broad range of employment fields including urban and rural planning, environmental planning, and transportation. Geography is a particularly useful field for those seeking teacher certification.

TExES/ExCET Requirements

To meet Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board requirements, students seeking certification to teach grades EC-4 or 4-8 must take at least 9 hours of math (may include statistics) at or above college-level algebra and at least 12 hours of science. They should plan accordingly when meeting general education and elective course requirements. Students seeking certification as a 4-8 Generalist must take at least 12 hours of math and 14-16 hours of science. (Students certifying to teach 4-8 Math or Science will have additional hours in their respective disciplines.)

Candidates for TExES tests in 4-8 Social Studies and 8-12 Social Studies must have completed the courses listed for each area below or equivalent courses from another college or university.

Social Studies 4-8: ECON 2301, 2302; GEOG 1301, 1302, 33xx; HIST 1301, 1302, 3347, 3348, 3350; 3341 or 3342; 3345 or 4355; PLSC 2305, 2306; 4335 or 4336.

Social Studies 8-12: ECON 2301, 2302; GEOG 1301, 1302, 33xx; HIST 1301, 1302; 3341 or 3342; two 2000-level non-US history courses; two upper-level non-US history courses; two 20th-Century US history courses; PLSC 2305, 2306; 4335 or 4336, 3321 or 4321.

Course Listing

GEOG 1301 Physical Geography (3)
Introduction to physical geography: landforms; soils; surface water; groundwater; climate; and vegetation. S06

GEOG 1302 Cultural Geography (3)†
Cultural geography defines culture in the context of its setting or landscape. It investigates the hearths or starting points of various cultural phenomena. FS

GEOG 3301 Maps and Map Interpretation (3)
History of maps and mapping, types and uses of maps, sources of maps, map reading and interpretation. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. F05

GEOG 3307 Climatology (3)
A survey of meteorological phenomena and climatological processes. The course describes various types of climates and the reasons for their unique spatial distribution on the Earth. A focus of the course is the role of climates in a human context, especially in agriculture, energy related issues such as solar and hydropower, recreation, natural hazards, and human cultural adaptability.

GEOG 4303 Geography of Middle America (3)
Physical and cultural geography of Mexico, the countries of Central America and the Caribbean islands. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.

GEOG 4304 Geography of South America (3)
Physical and cultural geography of South America. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.

GEOG 4389 Selected Topics (3)
Undergraduate courses which will be offered only once or will be offered infrequently or which are being developed before a regular listing in the catalog. May be acceptable for graduate credit.

† Course fulfills general education requirements.

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