About Geography
Minnesota's undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in Geography, Urban Studies and Geographic Information Science prepare students for careers in academia, industry, government, and non-profit sectors. Our top-ranked department provides a setting for undergraduate and graduate study or professional training in one of the nation's outstanding public land-grant research universities, located at the heart of one of America's most attractive and vital metropolitan areas.
We have expertise in the four primary areas of:
- biophysical geography
- human geography (space and society)
- coupled human-environment systems (nature and society) and
- geographic information science
with a variety of research themes that represent varying degrees of integration between or among these four key sub-disciplines.
The department offers both B.A. and B.S. degrees in geography and in urban studies. Programs may be structured within a variety of teaching/research areas of the department or may be designed individually in consultation with a faculty adviser.
The M.A. program meets needs of the early- and mid-career students pursuing post-graduate studies in human geography, biophysical geography, or geographic information science. The MGIS program— one of the first of such degrees offered in the U.S.—is a professional degree program that provides a comprehensive GIS degree that balances work in the theoretical/conceptual, technical, and application domains of GIS. Ph.D. students work closely with their chosen advisers in designing individualized programs that meet their research interests, needs and employment goals.
We provide up-to-date cartography/GIS and physical geography laboratories, support for tree-ring analysis, soil characterization, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and one of the nation’s finest libraries including the Borchert Map Library supporting all graduate, professional and undergraduate research and training programs. Students work with leading hardware and software used in contemporary research, teaching, and commercial applications.
Various departmental institutions foster community and intellectual exchange. For example, we have weekly coffee hours featuring research presentations on a variety of topics, the annual Ralph H. Brown lecture and awards banquet and other social functions.
Contact Us
University of Minnesota
Department of Geography
414 Social Sciences Building
267 19th Avenue S.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Telephone: 612-625-6080
Fax: 612-624-1044
E-mail: geog@umn.edu
| Interim Chair | Abdi Samatar samat001@umn.edu |
374 Social Science Bldg. 612-626-1877 |
|---|---|---|
| Associate Chair | George Henderson hende057@umn.edu |
481 Social Science Bldg. 612-625-4085 |
| Director of Graduate Studies |
Kathy Klink klink@umn.edu |
573 Social Science Bldg. 612-625-3452 |
| DGS Assistant | Bonnie Williams willi046@umn.edu |
414A Social Science Bldg. 612-625-6080 |
| Director of Undergraduate Studies |
George Henderson hende057@umn.edu |
481 Social Science Bldg. 612-625-4085 |
| Undergraduate Advisor | Lisa Brownell advisor@geog.umn.edu |
414A Social Science Bldg. 612-625-0133 |
| Departmental Administrator | Glen Powell powel160@umn.edu |
408 Social Science Bldg. 612-625-8828 |
| Executive Office & Administrative Specialist |
Jodi Larson larso036@umn.edu |
414 Social Science Bldg. 612-625-6080 |
| Computer Support | Kevin Schmit kschmit@umn.edu |
410 B Blegen Hall office: 612-625-8389 |