Geography

What can I do with a degree in Geography? The world is the answer!

Geographers are spatial thinkers who integrate many kinds of information. They are excellent team players, because geography intersects almost every other field of study.

Geographers analyze locations for business, governments, schools, and non-profits. They research markets, plan traffic and transportation and they develop and manage real estate. They manage manufacturing, publishing, communication and distribution systems.

Because geographers understand how the humans and the environment fit together, they manage environmental projects, conserve open space, operate parks, and monitor hazardous sites. They study ground water, surface water, and ocean water – and how water relates to human health, industry, and agriculture.

Geographers read maps, make maps, connect maps, and analyze maps, using Geographic Information Systems, Global Positioning Systems, and satellite imagery.

Geographers teach children, college students, and resort and cruise-ship customers about the world. They help farmers, community groups, historic preservationists, and even sports teams do their work more effectively.

Many geographers become school principals, college deans, and corporate executives because they learn to develop connections across disciplines. Geographers make excellent librarians, guides, and Peace Corps or Americorps volunteers.

Geographers at Bridgewater State College

In short, a geographic education opens a world of opportunity. The geography department at Bridgewater is proud of the contributions of its alumni who put their geographic education to work around the corner and around the world. Whether they take a few courses or complete the minor or major, geography has a lasting impact on those who study it.

The people of the department include full-time and part-time professors with decades of experience in all of geography’s specialties. They have worked, studied, and taught not only in Bridgewater and Brockton and Taunton and Boston – but also in Bangalore, the Amazon, Ireland, South Africa, Spain, the South Pole, the Canadian Rockies, Brazil, and in scores of countries on every continent.

The Programs

Each year, the department serves close to two thousand students who take a course or two as free electives or to meet Core Curriculum requirements. For those who choose to delve deeper, the department offers two majors – the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science – and a minor that can be combined with any other major. The Bachelor of Arts is specifically designed for students preparing for a career in primary education. All other majors complete the Bachelor of Science, which is excellent preparation for graduate study or professions other than teaching.

All Geography majors complete a common core of six courses, chosen to give all our majors a broad perspective on the discipline along with fundamental methodological skills and technical tools. The B.A. in Geography is focused on those students whose interests lie in teaching at the primary, middle and secondary school level. Students who major in Geography may also minor in secondary education, which prepares them for middle school and/or high school teaching. Students interested in early childhood education, elementary education or special education must complete both a major such as Geography as well as a major in the type School of Education and Allied Studies.

The B.S. in Geography is designed for students who intend to go into graduate school and professional careers where geographic knowledge and skills are recognized as crucial. Students wishing to combine a minor in Geography with their major field of study complete a program very similar to the common core courses, with some flexibility to accommodate linking one’s interests in a major to the geographic implications of that discipline.

Majors in Geography can concentrate their coursework under broad categories of physical geography (water resources, weather and climate, meteorology, hydrology, geomorphology, soils), human geography (regional studies – Canada, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Latin America – urban geography, planning, transportation, economic geography, political geography), or environmental studies that explore the interactions between our social, cultural, built, legal and physical worlds (combining coursework in human and/or physical geography with, for example, environmental regulation, environmental policy, environmental history, environmental justice and environmental geography).

Asian Studies, Canadian Studies, Civic Education and Community Leadership, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Middle East Studies, Russian and East European Studies, Urban Affairs, and Women’s and Gender Studies.

Keeping up with the Department Online

The best way to stay informed about the most current activities and opportunities of our very active department is to connect to our blog at bsc-geography.blogspot.com. The blog is both a permanent archive and a frequently-updated news source about internships, jobs, special events, conferences, alumni achievements, research projects, and more. Visit the blog, sign up to be a “follower” and be sure to search the blog for previous postings. Other links under the Activities section direct you to information about the Geography Enthusiasts’ Organization (our student organization to organize field trips, GeoBowl teams, and build our student geography community), EarthView (our giant inflatable globe that travels to schools throughout Massachusetts to promote geographic literacy), our ongoing US-Brazil Consortium (an exchange program between geography programs here and in Brazil to increase cross-cultural understanding), the BSC Weather Station (keeping track of current and long-term weather info for Southeastern Massachusetts), and the contact info you need to become part of the BSC Geography family.

The department web site at www.bridgew.edu/Geography is used for permanent information, including links to course and program descriptions, faculty web sites, professional organizations, and relevant databases.

Last Modified: November 10, 2009

Activities

BLOGS
Geography Department
GEO Club & GTU
EarthView

PROJECTS
Global Education
US-Brazil Program
Weather Station

Contact Information

Department Geography
Conant Science Building
Room 308
24 Park Avenue
Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater, MA 02325

Tel 508.531.1390
Fax 508.531.1785

Chair
Dr. Robert Hellström
rhellstrom (at) bridgew (dot) edu

Alumni
Send your news to Dr. Domingo
vdomingo (at) bridgew (dot) edu

Employers
Send announcements to Dr. Hayes-Bohanan
jhayesboh (at) bridgew (dot) edu