Geography Teacher Education (Minor)

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Program Summary

Geography is traditionally divided into three areas, and all three are offered in the SUU geography curriculum. These include (1) physical geography, an examination of earth’s physical systems; (2) human or cultural geography, which explores spatial relationships in human activities; and (3) technical or applied geography, including the technologies of geographic research, which encompasses cartography, GIS, GPS, and related technologies.

The mission of the SUU geography program is:

To continue and expand the relationship between the departments of Physical Science and History and Sociology and to support the programs and degrees offered by these departments.
To discover, describe, explain, and interpret the character of the Earth as home to humans by focusing on interrelationships within and among natural and cultural subsystems and regions.
To contribute to the liberal education offered by the University, to provide excellence in teaching, and to offer students the best in geography education that can be obtained at any institution of higher learning.
To offer specialized training in applied geography, including GIS and cartography.

Geography Minors

SUU offers two geography minors. The academic geography minor can be used either to fulfill graduation requirements or to prepare the student for graduate school. The geography education minor will qualify the student for certification to teach geography in Utah’s secondary schools.

Program Information

All courses must be passed with a “C” (2.0) or better to be counted in the minor.
All prerequisite courses must be passed with “C” (2.0) or better.
Credits greater than 10 years old will not be accepted for this minor.
Some courses are taught every other year. Consult your advisor for scheduling help.

Geography Teacher Education Minor Curriculum (20 Credits)

Required Courses (12 Credits)

GEOG 1000 - Earth’s Natural Environments: Physical Geography 3 Credit(s)
GEOG 1005 - Earth’s Natural Environments: Physical Geography Lab 1 Credit(s)
GEOG 1300 - Globalization in the 21st Century: World Regional Geography 3 Credit(s)
GEOG 3600 - Geography of Utah 3 Credit(s)
GEOG 4900 - Teaching Methods of Geography 2 Credit(s)

Elective Courses (8 Credits)

Select 8 credits from the following:

AGSC 3560 - Soils 3 Credit(s)
AGSC 3565 - Soils Science Lab 1 Credit(s)
GEOG 1400 - Human Geography 3 Credit(s)
GEOG 3110 - The Earth from Space: Intro to Remote Sensing 3 Credit(s)
GEOG 3115 - Earth from Space: Intro to Remote Sensing Laboratory 1 Credit(s)
GEOG 3220 - Weather and Climate 3 Credit(s)
GEOG 3225 - Weather and Climate Lab 1 Credit(s)
GEOG 3350 - Geomorphology 3 Credit(s)
GEOG 3355 - Geomorphology Lab 1 Credit(s)
GEOG 3400 - Environmental Geography 3 Credit(s)
GEOG 3500 - Introduction to Cartography 3 Credit(s)
GEOG 3505 - Introduction to Cartography Lab 1 Credit(s)
GEOG 3550 - Principles of Geographic Information Systems 3 Credit(s)
GEOG 3555 - Principles of GIS Lab 2 Credit(s)

Total Credits, Minor: 20

Licensure Notification

This program typically leads to licensure/certification and was designed to meet such qualifications for the state of Utah. Students who are or may be planning to pursue licensure/certification in any other U.S. state or territory may need to meet additional education requirements. This is not a reflection of SUU’s accreditation or quality, as each state and territory regulates their own education requirements for occupational licensure.

Students enrolled in a teacher preparation program may potentially be able to use a Utah educator license to obtain licensure through reciprocity. Additional information may be found through the Department of Teacher Education’s reciprocity table.

An overview of all of SUU’s programs that lead to licensure/certification and the programs’ current determination statuses may be found at www.suu.edu/provost/licensure.html.