Formed in 2002, the Department of Environment and Society is the first of its kind in a college of natural resources in the country and has served as a model for the development of similar departments at other institutions of higher learning. The masters program in geography is centered on exploring how the geographic perspective informs our understanding of human-environment relationships. Broadly, geographers are concerned with the relationship between people and place and why place matters, the spatial patterns of human activity across the earth and the processes underlying those patterns, and the linkages among places in a globalizing world.
Geography is a diverse field, covering a wide range of issues, including the social aspects of natural resource management and conservation, land-use and environmental change, international and rural development, map making, planning, natural disaster response, and more. The geography degree combines technical training in geographic/information systems, remote sensing, and quantitative and qualitative analysis with the study of the human-environment relationship.
Specialization(s):
- Climate Adaptation Science (Geography MS): The Climate Adaptation Science specialization provides students with experiences in actionable science through internship and research experiences. Program includes interdisciplinary research to identify adaptive responses to changing climate extremes and two-part internships with agency, NGO, and industry partners. In a first internship, students contribute to projects and learn the workplace cultures and science needs of the host. The internship experiences inform interdisciplinary climate adaptation research by student teams. In a second internship, students share science results and tools with the host organization and help put that science into action.

