Transfer Articulation: Geography

Cooperative Program Leading to the Associate Degree and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography at Sam Houston State University.

Geography is the study of the Earth and its people. Because of the breadth of its subject matter, it integrates information from a wide variety of other disciplines and examines that information from a spatial perspective. For those individuals that are curious about the world, there are few disciplines that will satisfy that curiosity as much as geography.

Recently, the world’s population passed the 7.5 billion mark, and it continues to grow rapidly. With so many people to be housed, fed, and educated while resources are becoming increasingly scarce and damage to the environment accelerates, many environmental and social issues are becoming more acute and difficult to solve. For this reason, geography has become increasingly focused on the nature of the relationship between humans and their environment and on how these relationships vary from one culture to another. The resource limits that every society must deal with also affect such things as the social, political, and economic characteristics of a society and the way in which that society interacts with others. The Geography Program at Sam Houston State University provides students with an increased awareness of the spatial differences between the multitude of world cultures and environments, and with a basic understanding of why these differences exist.

The study of the world requires that students learn about the physical environment, with its variety of land-forms, weather, and climate, and that they also learn about people and cultures. They also learn how the physical environment and humans have interacted to create a variety of cultural regions, each with its own unique characteristics. Through a study of these things, students will develop an understanding and appreciation of the fact that we live in an increasingly interdependent world in which the welfare of the environment and of other cultures affect all of us.

Geography’s focus on spatial relationships, in conjunction with new advances in technology, have led to the development of new geographical tools—principally Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS)—that are now used by many geographers in a wide variety of fields. The department has a fully-equipped GIS Lab as well as a Remote Sensing and Computer Cartography Lab. We offer a minor in GIS and a minor in Geospatial Science, both of which integrate GIS, remote sensing, and computer cartography.  This combination of technical skills makes our GIS graduates well prepared for careers involving applications of GIS related to the environment, criminal justice, business, and urban planning. In fact, geospatial technology is one of the top three technology fields in the country, and it has virtually unlimited applicability.  Geographers, both those that are technically trained in geospatial technology and those that are not, find employment in government, business, the military, and in teaching.

Department of Environmental and Geosciences
Department Chair:  John "Pat" Harris
Phone: (936) 294-1452
Location: Room 300, Lee Drain Building

Courses Transfer Students Should Take at the Community College:*

*Note: Other courses may transfer, depending upon the selected degree or program. Meet with your academic advisor to confirm whether coursework will transfer from another institution.  For a complete listing of degree-specific requirements, please, review the degree plan within the Undergraduate Catalog. 

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Environmental Science (Pollution Abatement)

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Environmental Science (Sustainability)

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Environmental Science (Water Resources)

• Bachelor of Arts, Major in Geography (Environment, Culture, and Development)

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Geography (Environment, Culture, and Development)

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Geography, Geo-spatial Information Sciences

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Geology

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Geology (Geoscience)

• Minor in Environmental Science

• Minor in Geography

• Minor in Geology

• Minor in Geo-Spatial Science

For the past several years, there have been scholarships available for both graduate and undergraduate students majoring in Biology, Geography & Geology, Mathematics & Statistics.  Roughly 35 scholarships are administered each year through the PEERS Program (Peers Enhancing their Education through Research and Scholarship), federally-funded through the National Science Foundation.  Up to $6,000 is available each year to students in these majors that maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 and demonstrate financial need.

Field of Study 

Sam Houston State University supports the State of Texas Fields of Study. 

The Core Curriculum at Sam Houston State University (to be used by all incoming students as of fall 2014) contains 42 semester credit hours, encompassing nine component areas. Each component area has a minimum credit hour requirement and a selection of specific courses that may be used to satisfy the requirement. The Core Curriculum details Sam Houston State University courses and their Texas Common Course Number (TCCN) equivalents for college transfer students which comprise SHSU’s core curriculum.

Many SHSU disciplines including the sciences, business, and education require specific courses from the SHSU core as degree specific graduation requirements. To minimize cost and time to complete degree requirements always select SHSU/transfer core courses specified as degree requirements in your intended major.  If you have not decided on a major, select core courses supporting your intended area of academic concentration.

Prior to enrolling in core classes, students are encouraged to review specific degree requirements for their major. Selection of major-specified core courses reduces the total number of hours required for graduation.

If you do not see a Texas Common Course Number (TCCN) mapping a specific core course to your transfer institution, please go to Transfer Course Equivalency Guide and select your institution from the drop-down menu. The result will list all currently mapped transfer courses from your institution to SHSU courses.