Human Geography Track
Human Geography in Action
Human Geography Track
Population, political, urban, social, and cultural geography
Human geography first and foremost involves the study of human beings--more specifically, of the organization of human activity and of spatial patterns as they affect and, in turn, respond to the world about us. The processes under study derive from distinct, but interactive, substructures: pursuit of livelihood (economic), social interaction (socio-political), and historical inertia and meaning (cultural). The products are change, conflict, diffusion, differentiation, and repetition in the human organization of the land. These same human processes will interact with biophysical processes, (e.g., air quality or plant introductions) to shape humanized landscapes and regional character. Human geographers typically investigate problems associated with locational strategies and human decisions. Such problems cut through subjects as diverse as analysis of regional markets, racial segregation in cities, migration flows, hazardous sites, international development, medieval landscape patterns, or formulation of impact statements.
Students must complete at least 37 and no more than 45 credit hours in Geography with grades of C- or better (23 hours must be upper division). No pass/fail grades are allowed in the major. Transfer students majoring in Geography must complete at least 12 hours of upper-division Geography courses at CU-Boulder. No course may be used to fulfill more than one requirement for the major.
In addition to the courses required of all concentrations, complete the following GEOG coursework.
| GEOG 3742 | Place, Power, and Contemporary Culture | 3 |
| or GEOG 3682 | International Development: Economics, Power, and Place | |
| A third-year university-level proficiency in a foreign language appropriate to the geographic concentration is required. 1 | ||
| Select three of the following electives: 2 | 9-10 | |
| Political Ecology | ||
| Reimagining Cities: Spaces of Power, Privilege, and Possibility | ||
| Cities of the Global South | ||
| Economic Geography | ||
| Who Runs the World? Sex, Power, and Gender in Geography | ||
| International Development: Economics, Power, and Place | ||
| Introduction to Global Public Health | ||
| Place, Power, and Contemporary Culture | ||
| Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean | ||
| China’s Diverse Geographies: Environment, Society, Politics | ||
| Love & War Geographies: Imperialism, Militarism, and Development in South Asia | ||
| Human Geography of Czechia: Political, Economic and Social Transitions | ||
| Global Africa: Environment, Development, and Culture | ||
| Geography of the Former Soviet Union | ||
| Topics in Human and Environment/Society Geography 3 | ||
| Research Seminar (may be applied to the concentration on a case-by-case basis) | ||
| Migration, Immigrant Adaptation, and Development | ||
| City Life | ||
| Development Geography | ||
| Political Geography | ||
| Population Geography | ||
| Geographies of Political Islam | ||
| Geography of Tibet | ||
| Health and Medical Geography | ||
| Internship (may be applied to the concentration on a case-by-case basis) | ||
| Senior Thesis (may be applied to the concentration on a case-by-case basis) | ||
| Take one upper-division elective in Geographic Information Science, Environment and Society, or Physical Geography. | 3-4 | |
Total Credit Hours | 15-17 | |
1This requirement may be met by completion of one or two semester-long, third year, university-level grammar courses (depending on the language) with a grade of C- or better, while also satisfying language department requirements for advancement through the sequence.
2Unless otherwise noted, the department-enforced prerequisite for all courses is GEOG 1962, GEOG 1982, GEOG 1992 or GEOG 2092.
3Special topics courses may be used to satisfy upper-division concentration requirements with approval from the department.