Transfer Students: Welcome to the Department of Geography |
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We welcome you to explore our home page at geography.berkeley.edu to learn all about the department—the program, the faculty, the students, our activities, research that our people are doing—and even to look at some gorgeous photography. Just for transfer students, we have gathered here a summary of things we think you’ll find useful to get started, whether you are just exploring the major or beginning to fulfill your major program requirements. Please contact the advisors below with any questions not answered here, or even if you just want to talk about Geography as a major. |
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Advisor Contact Information |
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| Carol Page Student Affairs Officer and Undergraduate Major Advisor 517 McCone Hall Hours: 8:00-12 noon and 1:00-5:00 Monday-Friday Drop in or make an appointment. E-mail: carolpage@berkeley.edu Phone: 642-3904
Asst. Prof. and Undergraduate Faculty Advisor 539 McCone Hall E-mail for appointment: rrhew@atmos.berkeley.edu Phone: 643-3579
Asst. Prof. and Undergraduate Faculty Advisor 589 McCone Hall Office hour signup sheet posted on office door. E-mail: nsayre@berkeley.edu Phone: 643-4084 The Student Affairs Officer, Carol Page, will help you to plan and execute your course work in the major program and answer questions concerning requirements and course substitutions. Robert Rhew and Nathan Sayre are the Designated Undergraduate Faculty Advisors for 2007-2008. They may be consulted on any other questions concerning the major during their office hours or by special appointment. Students are also encouraged to seek substantive advice on academic matters from other faculty who share their interests or with whom they have had classes. |
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Getting to Know Us |
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There is no general orientation to the program; it is done on an individual basis by the Student Affairs Officer (SAO), Carol Page. However, there is an all-department reception in the Fall of every year on Wednesday of the first week of classes. As a prospective student or just declared major, you are welcome to come and meet other undergraduates and grad students who may someday be your GSIs (Graduate Student Instructors), as well as Geography Department faculty and staff. If you arrive in the Spring semester, there is another chance to meet folks at the Department Picnic in late April or early May. |
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Major Requirements |
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| Lower Division: All majors take three (3) lower division courses, one of which must be: GEOG 1 (Global Environments) GEOG 40 (Introduction to Earth System Science). This covers physical geography basics. Everyone must take one of these. Two more must be chosen from the following--one from each group: GEOG 10 (World Regions, Peoples, and States) or GEOG 20 (Globalization). This covers world geography. GEOG 50AC (California) or GEOG C32 (Introduction to Development) or GEOG 51 (Political Economy of Development in East Asia). This represents regional geographies. Some of you will not have been able to take courses equivalent to the above at your community college (check on ASSIST for articulation agreements: http://www.assist.org/web-assist/welcome.html). In those cases, it is possible to make substitutions for the above requirements. Please see the SAO to get approval. You will need to provide a course description, syllabus, and/or textbooks used in the courses in question. |
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| Upper Division: Majors may select from one of the following plans: 5-2-1 option Majors must take at least eight (8) upper division courses. Five (5) of these must be in one specialty group and two (2) from the other. One (1) course from the methodology group must also be completed. Everyone choosing the Earth System Science option must take Geography 140A (Physical Landscapes: Process and Form). Everyone choosing the Geography of Economy, Culture & Society option must take Geography C110 (Economic Geography of the Industrial World) -OR- Geography 130 (Natural Resources and Population). 4-2-2 option Majors must take at least eight (8) upper division courses. Four (4) of these must be in one specialty group and two (2) from the other. Two (2) courses from the methodology group must also be completed. Everyone choosing the Earth System Science option must take Geography 140A (Physical Landscapes: Process and Form). Everyone choosing the Geography of Economy, Culture & Society option must take Geography C110 (Economic Geography of the Industrial World) -OR- Geography 130 (Natural Resources and Population). |
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Specialty Groups:
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| * Class required within the specialty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Declaring the Major |
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| Students may declare the Geography major after they have completed at least 30 units and have a C (2.0) average. Transfer students should declare their major no later than the end of their second semester. To declare, see the Student Affairs Officer to obtain a “Petition to Declare a Major” and a Departmental Information Sheet. These should be turned in with an unofficial transcript (showing UC Berkeley or community college work completed). The SAO or one of the Faculty Advisors can approve this petition. |
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Getting Started with Coursework |
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| Some tips and information about requirments of the major If students have not completed three lower division courses in Geography at their community college, they can take GEOG 40 (physical geography) and GEOG 4 (which can substitute for a world geography requirement) in summer school. If they would like to get a jump start on upper division courses, GEOG 130 and 138 are generally offered in summer and both satisfy the human geography requirement. Because GEOG 140A is required for the Earth System Science focus, because it can be offered irregularly, and because it is a prerequisite to 140B, majors choosing that option should take it as soon as it’s offered. Students choosing the Economic, Culture and Society focus should take GEOG 110 or GEOG 130 as soon as they can because either is required for that option. Methodology Requirement Regarding the methodology requirement: Plan ahead! Methodology courses teach you how to "do" geography rather than think or theorize about it. It is the practice of geography that will help inform all of your geographic scholarship. Here are some tips about what methodology courses to take and when: • Cartographic Representation (GEOG 183): Take Cartography as soon as you can. It is always offered in the Spring. You will be able to intern in the class the following year to get experience and polish your skills. There are also freelance opportunities administered by the cartography instructor for students who excel in cartography. • GIS (GEOG C188): Always offered in the Fall. If you are not particularly computer savvy but want to master GIS, consider taking ESPM 72 before taking GEOG C188. • Urban field methods (GEOG 181): This course is frequently oversubscribed. If you enter Cal in the Fall and cannot get a place in the class, take it the following Fall, being sure to enroll during Phase I when you will have priority. • Physical field methods (GEOG 180): Offered in the Spring only. Involves long-weekend field trips. Open to physical or human geographers. Additional tips Students should consult the UMA (Undergraduate Major Advisor, Carol Page) • if they could not take all three prerequisites or their equivalents as listed on ASSIST at their community college. Substitutions are possible for transfer students. • if they cannot take two or more courses they want because of schedule conflicts. The UMA will know about course rotation patterns and can help students make decisions about which to take first. • for the chart of classes planned for the coming year in order to better plan the whole year’s curriculum. • to see if there are any one-time-only classes that will count for a particular focus requirement. |
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Other Links |
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| Details about the Geography Major More details about the Geography major can be found at: http://geography.berkeley.edu/ProgramCourses/Major/undergrad.html “Think Geography” In case you haven’t already discovered it, be sure to read “Making a Major Decision? Think Geography” at http://geography.berkeley.edu/ProgramCourses/Major/MajorDecision.html. This piece represents input from current majors and lays out the best reasons for choosing Geography as a major. Even if you’ve already made up your mind, read it over to be sure you know about all the perks coming to you as a Geography major. The Field Studies Class Have you heard about the Geography field class (GEOG 197)? This course does not satisfy anything other than your appetite to learn first hand about the geography of California. As a participant you will take three long-weekend camping trips to different geographical areas of California, bonding with your fellow classmates, sharing the cooking, camp duties, and campfire stories, and you’ll take turns making presentations on the various sites you will visit. Many students report that this is the best Geography course they ever took. It is always offered in the Fall semester. Follow this link for photos and more details: http://geography.berkeley.edu/ProgramCourses/Geog_Field_07.html Scholarships for Geographers There are two scholarships awarded annually to Geography majors: the James J. Parsons Scholarship for Field Research in Geography and the David A. Rose Scholarship in Physical Geography. Geography majors who want to do original research for the Senior Honors Thesis are also good candidates for the Haas Scholars Program. To learn more, and to read about past recipients, go to http://geography.berkeley.edu/ProgramCourses/Major/GeographyScholarships.html. Study Abroad It is not surprising that many Geography majors choose to study in other countries as part of their undergraduate education. Transfer students who want to fit in a semester of study abroad will have to plan carefully. In fact, you can begin exploring your options before you even arrive at Cal. Go to http://eap.ucop.edu/ to explore the Education Abroad programs in various countries. Summers may be your best best, although those programs tend to focus on learning the language of the country. Another doable option is to go abroad in your last semester. You can also consider non-EAP programs, although you may want to check on whether UC Berkeley will award you credit for study there. Internships Internships are a good way to get work experience, to polish your skills, and to learn about careers you are considering. Sometimes they are also the gateway into a paying job at the organization where you intern. We strongly encourage our majors to try to fit this experience into their curriculum. Again, transfer students will have to plan carefully how and when they will intern during their years at Berkeley. The Career Center on campus is an excellent resource for advice about internships and for listings of openings. Their website at http://career.berkeley.edu/Internships/Internships.stm even offers tips on creating your own internship. Graduate School Transfer students are usually top students. Many are already committed to the idea of going on to graduate school, either right after their B.A. or a bit later on. These last two years of college may be the most important in terms of earning a competitive grade point average and getting to know professors who can write recommendations to support graduate applications. Every Fall the Geography Department offers a workshop on “Applying to Graduate School” which is immensely helpful in demystifying the process with lots of sound, practical, and often inside advice. The folks at Letters & Science have also put together a plan for what you can be doing now to prepare yourself. Check out this comprehensive plan, but don’t let it intimidate you: http://ls.berkeley.edu/stepbystep/. Career options The Association of American Geographers is the professional organization for geographers in the U.S. They have an excellent career guide website: https://communicate.aag.org/eseries/scriptcontent/custom/giwis/cguide/. If you want to know what you might do with a degree in Geography, spend some time exploring these pages. Also, take a look at what some of our recent graduates are doing. You really can get a job in your field with a B.A. in Geography! |
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What Are They Doing Now? |
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This is a short list of recent Geography Majors and what they are currently doing in their careers
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Campus offices and their services |
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