B.A. Geography
The geography program at Concordia University, Nebraska will help you explore why places are diverse economically, politically and culturally and how humans shape and are in turn shaped by our environment.
Here, you will combine rigorous scientific study with deeply conceptual theoretical analyses to learn more about God’s world and our place in it. You will have the opportunity for the hands-on application of geospatial technologies and will learn to map projects using Global Positioning System (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing. You will have the opportunity to conduct and present original research on geography topics that matter to you, and experience fieldwork and travel both nationally and internationally as part of your classes.
Study and build a more sustainable world!
Program Highlights
WHY STUDY GEOGRAPHY AT CONCORDIA?
The geography program at Concordia University, Nebraska equips students through an integrative and broadly-based curriculum with a solid foundation in geographic principles and perspectives and the professional skills to put them into practice so that they can understand problems and implement solutions to improve God’s world.
Serve Abroad
Studying, learning and growing goes beyond just your classes and experiences on campus. Serving abroad equips you with global life skills that no book or classroom can match. Concordia offers many different national and international mission trips to places like Guatemala, China, Haiti and Ethiopia so you can share God’s love while serving the world and discovering a different culture.
Learn more at cune.edu/serveabroad.
Study Abroad
Some of your most memorable learning experiences in college will take place outside the classroom. At Concordia, you can go on study tours, experience service-learning opportunities and earn global internships to promote your intellectual, emotional and spiritual growth.
Learn more at cune.edu/studyabroad.
MEET OUR EXPERT FACULTY
As experts in geography, our faculty and instructors bring years of experience to the classroom.
Meet our students
Geography at Concordia is special because you get to have a lot of experiences you wouldn’t at different universities.
Accreditation
Concordia University, Nebraska is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Degree Goals
A geography program graduate from Concordia University, Nebraska will be able to:
- Use concepts of space, place, location, scale, borders and regions to apply a geographic approach to natural and human systems and explain causation in human-environment interactions.
- Explain human and environmental causes of climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification and deforestation, sea level rise, poverty and inequality, urbanization, geopolitical crises and migration.
- Use a combination of quantitative and qualitative geographic methods and tools such as spatial analysis, mapping and remote sensing assisted by geospatial technologies.
- Apply critical thinking to understand complex issues facing people, cultures and places, including comparing different perspectives, evaluating evidence and arguments and using evidence to support their conclusions
- Communicate efficiently, with clarity and purpose, in the language of the discipline of geography and become active, informed citizens ready to have an impact on society and the environment.
History, Geography, Intercultural Studies and Modern Languages Minors
- American Sign Language
- English as a Second Language
- Geography
- Geospatial Technology
- History
- Mandarin
- Missional Leadership
- Spanish
- World and Intercultural Studies
Career Outcomes
Cartographer
- Measure, analyze and interpret information to create maps and charts for political, cultural and educational purposes
- Compile data from various surveys, reports, photographs and satellite images to prepare digital or physical maps
GIS Analyst
- Analyze data and generate reports based on GIS data
- Design databases, support departments that use GIS information
- Integrate GIS with other technology
Geographer
- Study the Earth and its land, features and inhabitants
- Examine political or cultural structures and study the physical and human geographic characteristics of regions
- Gather geographic data through field observations, maps, photographs, satellite imagery and census data
FAQs
Geographers work in many public agencies and private businesses that use geographic information, geolocation and knowledge of how places, regions, markets, cities and social and natural systems are connected across space.
Planning, environment, population, parks, police and transportation departments employ geographers and so do the bureau of census and emergency management and various other agencies. Those with geography degrees are also well suited to develop careers in
- environmental,
- financial,
- education,
- political,
- public health and
- other private consulting and technology firms.
Many also work for nonprofit agencies, elected officials or community groups. The possibilities for careers in geography are really quite wide-ranging, depending on your own individual interests.
Geography encompasses many different areas of study. At Concordia University, Nebraska, our geography classes concentrate on cultural, political, economic and physical aspects of places across the globe. Geography majors learn how humans interact with their environment. Maps are just one tool that geographers use to study this interaction, but geography itself is not only the study of maps.
Geography not only will broaden your knowledge of the world and interactions between human and natural systems, but will also equip you with analytical skills needed to solve the many problems our world is facing today.
In Concordia University, Nebraska’s geography program, you’ll gain a wide array of skill important in any career, including critical thinking, spatial analysis and analytical writing. In particular, geography majors will learn how to analyze spatial information and make digital and physical maps in order to detect and explain differences between places. In addition to classroom learning, students explore urban and natural environments through our field-based classes and by doing research projects together with community groups.
Related Programs
Environmental Science
The environmental science program at Concordia University, Nebraska will prepare you for a variety of environmental careers by providing a core of required courses in different disciplines. You can then choose your area of emphasis: natural resources, geography, chemistry or business.
Secondary Education
With a degree in secondary education from Concordia University, Nebraska, you will be equipped to teach grades 7-12, encouraging intellectual and emotional growth at a critical time in the lives of your students. You’ll engage in rich coursework, collaborate with faculty and gain invaluable experience first shadowing a professional teacher and then teaching in your own high school classroom.
History
At Concordia University, Nebraska, we provide our students with a broad knowledge of history and equip them with the skills necessary to study and understand the past. You will leave the history program as a strong written and oral communicator and exceptional analytical thinker, which will serve you in studying the history and provide you with the tools you need to be successful in your future, no matter your choice of career.
1 Recent graduates attending graduate school or employed within six months of graduation.
2Average Class Size for Representative Subject Most Aligned with Major, Over Last 5 Years.