Global Environmental Systems

Physical geographers seek to understand Earth's environmental systems and processes and their interactions with human activities across spatial and temporal scales. Geographers in this concentration conduct field and laboratory work and use geospatial technologies to explore and model environmental phenomena such as vegetation and wildlife, wetlands ecology and management, landscape dynamics, climate systems, and global environmental change. Some topics of study include the burning of fossil fuels and emissions of greenhouse gasses and particulates into the atmosphere, natural gas fracking and earthquakes, river diversion and dam construction, groundwater withdrawal and land subsidence, urbanization and the "heat island" effect, land clearance and deforestation, irrigated agriculture, wildland fire, the introduction of invasive species, and coastal overdevelopment.

You Might Like This Program If...

• You are interested in the integrated ways in which Earth's near-surface atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere interact.
• You would like to address real-world issues of how human activities impact and are impacted by the physical landscape at many scales, from local to international.

Global environmental systems students characterize and analyze Earth's physical environment across time and space through the study of physical geography. This 12-credit certificate helps to prepare students for a variety of careers in resource management, ecological restoration, and climate change mitigation where an understanding of geographic patterns and physical processes associated with water, landforms, soils, vegetation, and climate are critical for the survival of life on planet Earth. Learning Objectives: Identify, describe, and analyze the processes that lead to spatial variation on Earth's surface, and the current and historical, physical and biotic processes that shape specific landscapes.

• Majors in Geography will demonstrate knowledge of fundamental geographic skills and concepts and apply them to complex spatial relationships (interactions, patterns, processes) within the human socio-cultural and natural environments at global, regional, and local scales.
• Majors in Geography will engage in spatial and environmental critical thinking by analyzing, discussing and synthesizing geographical information that may include professional/technical documents, primary data, maps, graphics, and/or archival data.
• Majors in Geography will communicate geographic information utilizing oral, written, and visual formats to effectively process and integrate facts, ideas, and research results.
• Majors in Geography will develop research skills by locating, understanding, and explaining geographic challenges and opportunities related to human socio-cultural and/or environmental phenomena at global, regional, and local scales.

If you are a first year student applying to Penn State:

Click Apply to start your Penn State application. Before starting, you can also review the Applying Online Worksheet for more details and helpful hints about the application.

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After completing your Academic History, you will need to provide your Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR). As you begin the SRAR process, a new window will open allowing you to complete your SRAR. SRAR will focus on your high school coursework. It is important that this step is a complete and accurate representation of your school record. Therefore, have a copy of your secondary school records available as you complete your SRAR. You will need to enter every class and every grade earned for the last three years, as well as those classes in progress.

After completing your SRAR, you will be directed back to the Penn State application in order to complete the Program of Study portion of the application. Here, you will indicate your desired starting semester, your intended program of study, and your starting and ending campus. For further details on how to complete this portion based on your applicant type, please see the steps to apply for first-year students.

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If you are a transfer student applying to Penn State:

All international transfer students will be required to submit official high school transcripts in order to complete the application. International transfer students will not complete the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) for either their high school or college coursework.

If you have accepted your offer of admission to Penn State:

If you completed SRAR and are accepted to Penn State, please provide the following for grade verification:

• Official transcript from years 9, 10, 11, and 12. If the transcript is issued in a language other than English, it must be accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.
• Official copy of the Tawjihi, accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.

Students earning the Global Environmental Systems certificate learn a wide range of  research and  analytical skills  that are highly valued by employers. Students trained in physical geography find jobs in all levels of government, nonprofit organizations, and in industry. This is one of several geography-related certificates that students can use to tailor their educational experience in preparation for the job market. In addition to Global Environmental Systems, the Department of Geography offers certificates in Environment and Society Geography; Geospatial Big Data Analytics; Geographic Information Systems; Human Geography; Justice, Ethics and Diversity in Space; and Landscape Ecology.

Students earning the certificate in Global Environmental Systems are well-positioned to find employment with diverse organizations spanning business, government, and nonprofit sectors. Such organizations may include (but are not limited to): Conservation International; Federal Emergency Management Agency; NASA; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; National Park Service; Natural Resources Defense Council; Resources for the Future; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S.  Forest Service; U.S. Geological Survey; local, regional, and state planning agencies, environmental and engineering consulting firms; policy research institutes; private corporations; and humanitarian organizations.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL CAREER OPTIONS FOR GRADUATES WITH A CERTIFICATE IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Opportunities for Graduate Studies

A certificate in Global Environmental Systems is useful for students who are interested in pursuing graduate degrees in the environmental and social sciences. Alumni enter graduate and professional studies in a variety of programs, including (but not limited to) geography, environmental sciences, ecology, sustainability, public policy, emergency management, planning, and law. They sometimes begin graduate or professional programs directly after finishing undergraduate studies, but often get several years' work experience before returning to school, either full or part-time.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE STUDIES

Professional Resources

• American Association of Geographers (AAG)
• American Geophysical Union (AGU)
• Ecological Society of America (ESA)
• American Geosciences Institute (AGI)