“When we teach geography, we’re not teaching the standard geography you would maybe get in K-12 where you’re memorizing place names,” said Thomas Larsen, instructor of geography at UNI. “We are trying to link together knowledge spanning the humanities, the social sciences and the physical sciences to come up with a more holistic picture of what’s going on in our world.”

Becoming a geography major will expand your view of the world around you, helping you appreciate what you might otherwise take for granted. 

While working toward your geography degree, you can expect your classes to be taught by engaging professors who know you personally, thanks to smaller class sizes. This will set you up for success in the program. Even at the undergraduate level, you’ll be exposed to hands-on research opportunities.

The UNI geography major has three unique tracks: globalization and regional geography, environmental systems and sustainability and planning and developing. The UNI geography department also houses the environmental resource management major and the geographic information science major, which is the only major of its kind in the state. 

Geography degree jobs are a high-growth area, so you can expect lots of job opportunities to await you at graduation. UNI alums who have earned their geography degree have gone on to work for non-governmental organizations and governments at the local, state and federal levels to help find solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems.

Whether you’re most excited about the arts or the natural sciences, there’s a place for you in the University of Northern Iowa’s geography program. Explore the opportunities that await as a geography major today!