DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY (GY)

Professor David C. Weaver, Chairperson
Office: 202 Farrah Hall

The Department of Geography offers programs of study in geography and regional and urban planning leading to the bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree. The B.S. degrees require completion of MATH 125.

Requirements for the major in geography. The geography major requires 36 hours, including GY 101, GY 102, GY 105, GY 110, GY 204, and 12 hours selected from one of the program specialties outlined below. In addition, all geography majors must complete 3 hours of statistics. A grade of "C" or higher is required in the 36 hours of coursework constituting the major. A minimum of 12 hours at the 300 or 400 level must be earned on this campus.

Specialty I Environment and Natural Resources
GY 200 Principles of Planning	3
GY 318 Geography of National Parks	3
GY 383 Soil Science	4
GY 410 Water Resources Science	3
GY 416 Field Course in Water Resource Issues	3
GY 417 Natural Hazards	3
GY 439 Natural Resource and Environmental Planning	3
GY 453 Environment and Society	3
GY 467 Topics in Global Environmental Change	3
GY 486 Drainage Basin Dynamics	3
GY 489 Forest Ecology and Vegetation Analysis	3
Specialty II Urban, Economic and Planning
GY 200 Principles of Planning	3
GY 358 Urban Geography	3
GY 365 Industrial Development and Location	3
GY 440 Community Facilities Planning	3
GY 441 Planning Controls	3
GY 450 Political Geography	3
GY 451 Political Geography of North America	3
GY 465 Regional Planning and Analysis	3
GY 471 Special Topics in Planning	3
Specialty III Geographic Information Techniques
GY 330 Computer Mapping and Graphics	4
GY 335 Computer Mapping Applications in Business	4
GY 420 Remote Sensing of Environment	4
GY 421 Map Design and Production	4
GY 430 Geographic Information Systems	4
GY 435 Digital Image Processing for Geographic Information Systems	4
GY 436 Advanced Geographic Information Systems	4
GY 438 Application Issues in Geographic Information Systems	4
GY 447 Environmental Modeling and Mapping	4
Specialty IV Regional (Tourism and Recreation)
GY 243 United States and Canada	3
GY 244 Africa	3
GY 245 Latin America	3
GY 246 Europe	3
GY 247 Asia	3
GY 251 Alabama	3
GY 313 Sub-Saharan Africa	3
GY 343 Central and Caribbean America	3
GY 348 Middle East and North Africa	3
GY 349 Russian Region	3
GY 350 Geography of the South	3
GY 377 Cultural Geography	3
GY 473 Settlement History of the South	3

Requirements for the geography minor. The minor in geography requires 18-21 hours of geography (GY), including GY 101 or GY 102, GY 110, and at least 9 hours at the 300 or 400 level. A minimum of 6 hours at the 300 or 400 level must be earned on this campus. Internship or practicum credits are not applicable to the minor.

Requirements for the minor in geographic information systems (GIS). This minor program requires 18-21 hours of geography (GY), including GY 304, GY 330 or GY 335, GY 430, GY 436, and 3 hours of introductory statistics. A minimum of 6 hours at the 300 or 400 level must be earned on this campus. Geography majors are ineligible for this minor.

Planning major and certificate program. The regional and urban planning major and the certificate program are described on p. 111. An information sheet is also available from the Department of Geography.

A major or minor in geography may be applied toward the Alabama Class B Secondary Professional Certificate (see p. 114).

A Suggested Sequence of Courses for the Geography Major
FRESHMAN YEAR
First Semester			Second Semester
Course	Hours		Course	Hours
GY 101	4		GY 102	4
EN 101	3		GY 105	3
MATH3	3-4		EN 102	3
Humanities1	3		History1	3-4
Foreign language or computer science	3-4		Foreign language or computer science	3-4
	------			------
	16-17			16-18
SOPHOMORE YEAR
First Semester			Second Semester
Course	Hours		Course	Hours
GY 304	3		GY 110	3
EN 225	3		EN 226 or EN 227	3
Fine arts1	3		Minor	3
Minor	3		PY 211, SOC 251, or ST 250	3
Computer science	3		History or social and behavioral sciences1	3
Elective	3
	------			------
	18			15
JUNIOR YEAR2
First Semester			Second Semester
Course	Hours		Course	Hours
GY 300-499	3		GY 300-499	3
ST 260	3		GY 300-499	3
Minor	3		Minor	3
Social and behavioral sciences1	3		Social and behavioral sciences1	3
Elective	3		Elective	3
	------			------
	15			15
SENIOR YEAR2
First Semester			Second Semester
Course	Hours		Course	Hours
GY 300-499	3		GY 300-499	3
GY 300-499	3		Minor	3
Minor	3-6		Electives	12
Electives	6
	------			------
	15-18			18
				Total: At least 128

¹A maximum of 6 hours in any one department may be applied to the humanities, literature, and fine arts (HU, L, FA) and history and social and behavioral sciences (HI, SB) requirements.

²Six hours in courses designated W must be included in the junior or senior year. A minimum of 33 hours in 300- and 400-level courses must be completed, including 12 hours in the major and 6 hours in the minor.

³MATH course number is determined by placement. The B.A. degree requires MATH 110 or higher. The B.S. degree requires calculus (MATH 125 or higher).

Graduate programs. The Department of Geography offers programs leading to the master of science degree. The requirements are stated in the University of Alabama graduate catalog.