Geography

Sample Courses

  • Cartography
  • The Developing World
  • Environmental Issues
  • Human Geography
  • Intro to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • Physical Geography

Popular Electives

  • Biogeography
  • Climate Change and Variability
  • Conservation and Resource Management
  • Geography of Food
  • Sports Geography
  • Urban Historical Geography

Recent Internships

  • City of Rochester Neighborhood and Business Development
  • Genesee Valley Conservancy
  • Greenlight Networks
  • Livingston County Planning Department
  • NYC Office of Environmental Conservation
  • Various State Parks and State Historic Park Preserves

Alumni Spotlight

Andrew Arcese '17

Majors: Geography, Sociology

Minors: Urban Studies, Environmental Studies

Career: Arcese is a borough planner at the NYC Department of Transportation in the Queens Borough Commissioner's Office.

Geography

Why study geography at Geneseo?

Known as a "bridging" discipline that focuses on human-environment interaction, geography unites the natural and social sciences. Geneseo offers both natural science and social science courses, integrating them in areas such as sustainability, climate change, conservation, resource management, urban and regional planning, biogeography, and geographic information systems (GIS).

Faculty encourage students to get involved in directed studies, internships, study abroad experiences, field experiences, teaching practicums, service-learning, and academic conferences. The department also has a long tradition of supporting one-on-one academic and professional advisement and individual student-faculty research. Students are well prepared to pursue careers or further education, and graduates have an excellent record of professional and graduate school placement.

Canadian Rockies

Students on a geography field trip to the Canadian Rockies.

Program Options

Additional Options

Program Highlights

  • Bachelors Program of Excellence Award from the American Association of Geographers (2018)
  • Award-winning faculty; 100% with PhD in geography
  • Student-faculty research averages 20 directed studies per year where students work one-on-one with professors on independent projects, most of which result in presentations at academic and professional conferences. Student research is often supported financially with internal and external grants. 
  • Dedicated modern classroom, lab, and research spaces for Physical Geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Cartography in a recently renovated building
  • Strong tradition of field study and study abroad (Argentina, Ghana, Canada, Netherlands) 
  • Geography Club activities include Mapathon events, a global service activity sponsored by YouthMappers, an international network of university-student-led chapters.

Example Careers

  • Environmental science, climate science, agricultural science, consulting, or nonprofits
  • Urban and regional planning, real estate, land management, community organizer
  • Geographic information systems/science, geospatial data analytics
  • U.S. Census, national intelligence, national and state parks, conservation officer
  • Teacher, professor, environmental educator

Recent Employers

  • Apple Maps
  • National Geographic Society
  • NYC Department of Transportation
  • U.S. Bureau of Land Management
  • U.S. Census Bureau
  • Utah State University
  • Western NY Land Conservancy

Recent Grad Schools

  • Boston University
  • Columbia University
  • Montana State University
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • University of Colorado–Boulder
  • University of Tennessee

Contact Info

James Kernan, Department Chair
kernan@geneseo.edu
Bailey Hall 234
585-245-6194

Geography & Sustainability Studies

Geography & Sustainability Faculty

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