Geography Program

Cooperative Program Leading to the Associate Degree and a Bachelor of Science Major in Social Science at Sam Houston State University

Geography is the study of the Earth and its people. Because of the breadth of its subject matter, it integrates information from a wide variety of other disciplines and examines that information from a spatial perspective. For those individuals that are curious about the world, there are few disciplines that will satisfy that curiosity as much as geography.
Recently, the world’s population passed the six billion mark and it continues to grow rapidly. With so many people to be housed, fed and educated while resources are becoming increasingly scarce and damage to the environment accelerates, many environmental and social issues are becoming more acute and difficult to solve. For this reason, geography has become increasingly focused on the nature of the relationship between humans and their environment, and on how these relationships vary from one culture to another. The resource limits that every society must deal with also affect such things as the social, political and economic characteristics of a society and the way in which that society interacts with others. The Geography Program at Sam Houston State University provides students with an increased awareness of the spatial differences between the multitude of world cultures and environments, and with a basic understanding of why these differences exist.

The study of the world requires that students learn about the physical environment, with its variety of landforms, weather and climate, and that they also learn about people and cultures. They also learn how the physical environment and humans have interacted to create a variety of cultural regions, each with its own unique characteristics. Through a study of these things, students will develop an understanding and appreciation of the fact that we live in an increasingly interdependent world in which the welfare of the environment and of other cultures affect all of us.

Geography’s focus on spatial relationships, in conjunction with new advances in technology, have led to the development of new geographical tools—principally Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS)—that are now used by many geographers in a wide variety of fields. The department has a fully-equipped GIS Lab, as well as a Remote Sensing and Computer Cartography Lab. We now offer a minor in GIS and a minor in Geospatial Science, both of which integrate GIS, remote sensing and computer cartography.  This combination of technical skills makes our GIS graduates well prepared for careers involving applications of GIS related to the environment, criminal justice, business, and urban planning. In fact, geospatial technology is one of the top three technology fields in the country and it has virtually unlimited applicability.  Geographers, both those that are technically trained in geospatial technology and those that are not, find employment in government, business, the military, and in teaching.

For further information about or program and the degrees that we offer, please see our web site at http://www.shsu.edu/~gel_geo/, or call Dr. Marcus Gillespie (Department Chair) at 936-294-1233.

 

Transfer	SHSU	Hours
GEOG 1301	GEO 131/111	4
GEOG 1300	GEO 161	3
GEOG 1303	GEO 265 or 266	3

 

The Core Curriculum at Sam Houston State University contains 42 semester credit hours, encompassing six component areas. Each component area has a minimum credit hour requirement and a set of specific courses that may be used to satisfy the requirement. The chart below details the Sam Houston State University courses and their Texas Common Course Number (TCCN) equivalents that comprise SHSU's core curriculum.  Course requirements to meet the university foreign language component of the Bachelor of Arts degree have been included for convenience. 

Many departments require specific courses from core component areas to meet degree requirements. Selecting departmentally specifed core courses to complete university core requirements reduces the total number of hours required to graduate.

Component Area 1 Communication
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
ENGL 1301	English 164	3
ENGL 1302	English 165	3

 

Component Area 2 Mathematics
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
MATH 1332 OR 2312 or 2413 or 1316 or 1324	Math 164 or 170 or 142 or 163 or 199	3
MATH 1350 & MATH 1351 (both required)	MATH 184 & MATH 185	6

Credit for MATH 184 & MATH 185 is applicable only toward elementary/middle school certification.

 

Component Area 3 Natural Science
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
Select two courses with Labs		8
BIOL 1308 & 1108	Biology 134 & 114
BIOL 2306 & 2106 or 2406	Biology 137 & 117
BIOL 1311 & 1111	Biology 161 & 111
BIOL 1313 & 1113	Biology 162 & 112
BIOL 2401	Biology 245
CHEM 1305 & 1105	Chemistry 135 & 115
CHEM 1307 & 1107	Chemistry 136 & 116
CHEM 1311 & 1111	Chemistry 138 & 118
CHEM 1312 & 1112	Chemistry 139 & 119
GEOL 1305 & 1105	Geology 132 & 112
GEOL 1303 & 1103	Geology 133 & 113
GEOL 1304 & 1104	Geology 134 & 114
GEOG 1301	Geography 131 & Lab 111 (lab required @ SHSU)
PHYS 1311 & 1111	Physics 133 & 113
PHYS 1312 & 1112	Physics 134 & 114 -subject to THECB approval
PHYS 1305 & 1105	Physics 135 & 115
PHYS 1307 & 1107	Physics 136 & 116
PHYS 1301 & 1101	Physics 138 & 118
PHYS 1302 & 1102	Physics 139 & 119
PHYS 2425	Physics 141

 

Component Area 4 Humanities & Visual & Performing Arts
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
Select 3 hrs from visual and performing arts:		9
ARTS 1301	AGR 299
ARTS 1301	Art 160
ARTS 1311	Art 161
ARTS 1316	Art 163
ARTS 1303	Art 260
DANC 2303	Dance 172
DANC 1301	Dance 176
MUSI 1308	Music 138
MUSI 1301	Music 161
MUSI 1310	Music 264
MUSI 1306	Music 265
DRAM 1330	Theatre 160
DRAM 1351	Theatre 164
DRAM 1310	Theatre 166
DRAM 1341	Theatre 230
DRAM 2336	Theatre 231
Select 3 hours from Literature or Philosophy:
ENGL 2331OR 2332	English 265
ENGL 2342	English 266
ENGL 2343	English 267
PHIL 1301	Philosophy 261
PHIL 2306	Philosophy 263
Select 3 hours from Cultural Studies:
NO TCCN	BSL 236
GEOG 1303	Geography 265
GEOG 1303	Geography 266
HIST 2311	History 265
HIST 2312	History 266
SOCI 2319	Sociology 168

 

 

Component Area 5 Social and Behavioral Sciences
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
Select 9 hours from:		15
HIST 1301	History 163
HIST 1302	History 164
GOVT 2301 or 2306	Political Science 261
GOVT 2302 or 2305	Political Science 285
Select 3 hours from:
SOCI 1301	Agriculture 236
ECON 1301	Economics 230
ECON 2302	Economics 233
ECON 2301	Economics 234
GEOG 1300	Geography 161
PHIL 2303	Philosophy 262
PSYC 2301	Psychology 131
PSYC 2315	Psychology 289
SOCI 1301	Sociology 131
SOCI 1306	Sociology 264
NO TCCN Local Political Systems	Political Science 231
NO TCCN State Political Systems	Political Science 232
NO TCCN Politics of Ethnic Minorities and Gender	Political Science 235
NO TCCN Comparative Survey of World Political Systems	Political Science 265
NO TCCN Introduction to Public Administration	Political Science 266
NO TCCN American Foreign Policy	Political Science 281

 

 

Component Area 6 Institutionally Designated Option
Common Course #	SHSU Course	Credit
Select 1 hour from:
PHED 1164	KIN 215

 

Degrees require a minimum of 120 hours with 42 advanced hours (300 and 400 level courses).  Some degrees require additional hours.  All students are required to complete at least six writing enhanced courses accumulating a minimum, of 18 semester hours towards degree completion.  Six of the hours must come from the student’s major field of study.  SHSU students MUST complete ENG 164, ENG 165, Core Composite Area 2, and one-half of Composite Area 3 prior to enrollment in any upper-level class.  In general, the Bachelor of Arts degree requires 8 hours of lab science and the Bachelor of Science degree requires 16 hours of lab science.  Applicants for the Bachelor of Arts degree should consult their major department web page for foreign language requirements.  Many colleges and programs have additional prerequisites for upper-level classes.
Prior to enrolling in core classes, students are encouraged to review specific degree requirements for their major.  Selection of major specified core courses may reduce the total number of hours required for graduation.
Students are encouraged to select the university catalog offering them the most advantages with respect to degree completion.  The respective university and/or college catalog selected for graduation determines final degree requirements.

Sam Houston State University
A Member of The Texas State University System