Bachelor of Arts in Geography

Our students become able and ready to help shape the world, in part by knowing how people are shaped by the world; they have a wide range of career choices, including indigenous mapping, fire ecology, GIS, landscapes of war and recovery, and environmental change.

Geographers strive to understand how people are shaped by, and in turn help shape, our world. Our top-ranked geography program allows students to combine fields of inquiry—from indigenous mapping and fire ecology to GIS and social landscapes of war and recovery. Geographers often work in interdisciplinary teams to focus on environmental change; global development and other social and economic issues; and resource use in an increasingly complex and interdependent world.

  • Gain field-oriented, hands-on experience engaging in topics that include biogeography, snow hydrology, glaciology and ethnography
  • Explore concepts that can hold the key to many global issues
  •  Learn practical skills for working in the field, such as GIS and GPS, conducting surveys, and taking water samples

One of the top 15 universities in the world in geography

(Academic Ranking of World Universities, 2020)

No other geography department in the country receives as much external research funding as CU Boulder

Learn from experienced faculty with fieldwork sites that range from the Greenland ice sheet and the temperate forests of Patagonia to the savannas of East Africa and the plateau of Tibet

Be successful.

Be prepared to meet the needs of our 21st-century society by applying your knowledge and skills in a wide variety of careers.

 
$57,100

Median salary of CU Boulder geography students 1–5 years after graduation

 

GIS analyst, environmental consultant, conservation officer and research assistant are common job opportunities for graduates

 

Work for the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service or for international relief and development organizations

Academic Plan & Requirements

In addition to the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences, students must complete a minimum of 37 and no more than 45 credit hours in geography; 23 credit hours must be upper division. This is true whether you pursue the general major or a concentration.

Students can study with our general geography major or choose from our four optional tracks:

  • Physical geography
  • Human geography
  • Environment-society relations
  • Geographic information science (GIS)

An additional degree option for geography students includes:

  • The International Bachelor of Arts (IBA): This joint degree is between CU Boulder and the University of Wollongong in Australia. To earn an IBA in geography, in addition to completing all the requirements for the BA at CU Boulder, students must complete one full-time semester of customized international learning at the University of Wollongong.

Community & Involvement

We strive to create a warm and friendly environment by providing opportunities for students in the geography department to get acquainted outside the classroom.

Be inspired.

The Department of Geography has an extensive alumni network working in a variety of industries across the globe.

Some alumni of the program include:

Waleed Abdalati

(PhD'96)
Director of CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences). He previously served as chief scientist for NASA and head of cryospheric sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

James Balog

(MA'77)
President and founder of the Extreme Ice Survey and Earth Vision Institute. He is an acclaimed photographer and was featured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary Chasing Ice.

Michael Brown

(BA'90)
Has summited Mount Everest five times and made dozens of films on location from the highest peaks in the world, from South America to Antarctica. He’s also a teacher and founder of the Outside Adventure Film School in Boulder. Outside magazine, which sponsors the school, has called him a “swashbuckling librarian.”

Joshua Cousins

(BA'07)
An assistant professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Adam Serafin

(BA'02)
Lead knowledge analyst in geoanalytics at The Boston Consulting Group.

Jeff Kerridge

(BA'84)
Senior vice president at Digital Globe.

News & Stories

College of Arts & Sciences magazine cover