Learn to gather and analyze geographical data to create safe and healthy communities. With a Geography minor, you'll learn to map solutions for cities, nature preserves and more.
Why Minor in Geography?
Location matters. By minoring in geography, you will study the places and conditions where people live. You will see the effects of natural and man-made phenomena like weather and urban density.
With your knowledge, you can protect local beaches and create green space in a neighborhood. You can help people live more sustainable lives and fight location-based inequalities. Your minor will help set you apart in any career field that impacts how people live all over the world.
Why Study Geography at CSUN?
Bigger and Better
The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at CSUN is one of the largest in the nation. Along with excellent faculty, we have a wide variety of classes to help you shape your minor. We also have extensive field and lab equipment to put your knowledge into practice. You'll be able to learn both in and out of the classroom, as some courses have field trips to perform observations and experiments.
Flexible Minor
Shape your Geography minor to fit your future goals. Because of the breadth of our courses, you will be able to create a program that fits your needs and area of interest. You can learn about several geography fields to get a broad overview. You can also choose to concentrate in one area, such as urban geography or ecology.
Cutting-edge Technology
The Geography and Environmental Studies ensures that students have access to leading technology. We house two state-of-the-art geospatial computer labs with the latest software. These computers host Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, which manages and maps data. You'll be able to practice using this technology both in classes and for your own research projects.
What You'll Learn
A Geography minor can enhance many majors because of its flexibility. In consultation with a Geography advisor, you will be able to create a program that fits your needs. You can choose to follow a broad plan that covers many geography topics, or you can focus on a particular field.
Many of our courses include labs, which will give you hands-on experience with equipment and analysis methods. Some of your classes may also require you to travel to local research sites to perform experiments and collect samples.
Some topics you can explore include:
- Climatology
- Cultural geography
- Economic geography
- Urban geography
- Environmental geography
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Cartography
- Geomorphology
Let's check the weather.
Learn to program and maintain the Geography and Environmental Studies Department's Weather Network. You'll help collect atmospheric data from stations all over Southern California. Gain technical and data analysis skills while also knowing if you need to bring an umbrella tomorrow.