Prospective Students

CONSIDERING GEOGRAPHY AS A MAJOR?

Geography is much more than maps and capitals.  It is a diverse discipline with many interesting and relevant career paths.  There is also excellent potential to enter into the job market with just a bachelor's degree and earn a competitive salary.

DIVERSE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Geography is a diverse discipline that has aspects of the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, with jobs in government, business, and non-governmental agencies.

  • Environmental management
  • Sustainable development
  • Alternative energy
  • Urban planning
  • Public safety
  • Public health
  • International aid
  • Business logistics
  • Marketing
  • Oil and gas

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Geography plays a role in everything we do.  By understanding the world around you, you can solve real world challenges like how to:

  • Protect our water supply
  • Reduce the spread of disease
  • Plan for natural disasters
  • Make business more efficient
  • Become more sustainable

MARKETABLE SKILLS

Geography requires a variety of transferable skills that employers are looking for, such as:

  • Effective communication
  • Computer and technical literacy
  • Problem solving and creativity
  • Teamwork
  • Planning and organizing
  • Big picture understanding

Discover your future with Geography!  To find out more about careers in Geography, check out the following resources:

The Royal Geographical Society (UK) has excellent information about geographic careers.   "I am Geography" and "Going Places with Geography" are brochures that show the range of careers that geography majors can be found in.  They have also put much of this information into two videos (Going Places with Geography, pt 1 - and pt 2).

Penn State University has produced an online video series, Geospatial Revolution, that shows how geospatial technology and geography are being used to solve a wide range of problems in different career settings.

The US Department of Labor published a brochure on jobs in geography. They have also identified geospatial technology as one of the top three high-growth potential industries.  

The science journal, Nature, also highlighted job opportunities within the geospatial industry.