<p>@momfromme -</p>
<p>Well, I am not very interested in public policy and planning. I noticed this aspect on some Geography department webpages for LAC's. I am more interested in theoretical Geography and cartography.</p>
<p>@UCBChemEgrad -</p>
<p>What kind of careers? I actually read this on some college's pages that there are virtually no unemployed geographers.</p>
<p>I know Dartmouth offers Geography. Not many top schools do.</p>
<p>Good luck! What area of theoretical geography most interests you now?</p>
<p>What colleges in North Carolina have good geography programs?</p>
<p>How can I better myself for a career in geography and GIS? I am currently a junior in high school. My high school does not offer any geography or GIS classes.</p>
<p>Though it is probably not in a neighborhood you are looking at, Humboldt State has a great geography dept. and mapping lab <a href="http://www.humboldt.edu/%7Ekosmos/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.humboldt.edu/~kosmos/index.html</a></p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch csleslie51!</p>
<p>humboldt is probably a great school, but it has a reputation for being a stoner school in California. (just a heads up)</p>
<p>Well, I don't really fancy drug users. ;-)</p>
<p>Michael Jordan majored in geography at UNC-CH :D</p>
<p>I graduated many, many moons ago with a degree in "Applied Geography with an emphasis in Urban & Regional Planning" from Illinois State. I had a great career and always a job related to my field of interest. Geography is a great major because you are exposed to a broad spectrum of topics such as economics, sociology, and analytical science. During my undergrad years I did research projects that included urban heat islands, sediment displacement on Lake Michigan, suburban development patterns and options for bike pathways. I fondly remember long hours in the Cartography lab (I still love maps!), feeding punch cards into the computer reader for a program that today's GPS systems are based on, and field trips to study moraine formations.</p>
<p>I’m not up on which schools have the strongest program in the field these days, but all the schools other posters have listed are good. I’d recommend you take the time to visit the Geography departments of the schools you are accepted to and find out what kinds of resources they have. I’d also try to get a feel for the department. I loved how quirky and devoted to the subject my profs were (most are retired now)…they really made every class fun and gave me a solid foundation to build a career.</p>
<p>Good luck and enjoy studying geography!</p>
<p>mapster-Take courses in economics, biology and physics. Advanced math courses are also helpful. If your school offers any computer or environmental science courses, that would be good, too. A side note: Though not related to a geography major, boost your writing and public speaking skills. They can be very helpful in advancing your career.</p>
<p>Sligh_Anarchist-I just realized I forgot to answer your question about careers. I went the public policy/urban-planning route. I worked in community development programs revitalizing blighted areas, then was recruited to lobby on behalf of a trade organization. I had a very fun and interesting career where I got to use just about everything I learned in the classroom.</p>
<p>Most geography grads from my school were recruited for jobs at Defense Mapping, the CIA and Waste Management. I think some are also high school teachers and college profs. I was also recruited out of college for a research position with a major insurance company. There are a lot of different career paths you can pursue specializing in cartography. I always dreamed of working for NASA analyzing planetary landscapes and enjoyed mapping satellite imagery...very exciting stuff.</p>
<p>PSU is probably one of your best bets. It seems to fit what you're looking for really well. Or maybe BU.</p>
<p>And, actually, I'm not sute if it's been mentioned yet, but Colorado - Boulder has a really strong program too.</p>
<p>The world has already been mapped out. Geography is irrelevant.</p>
<p>^Tell that to the people who make millions a year selling GPS devices for cars and boats.</p>
<p>"The world has already been mapped out. Geography is irrelevant."
I'm sorry to find you feel that way. It is rather like saying English is irrelevant as so many good books have already been written. Geography is much more than mapping countries and if you think "the world" is done changing boundaries, then you most certainly have not been paying attention to current events.
"humboldt is probably a great school, but it has a reputation for being a stoner school in California. (just a heads up)
As for Humboldt, the reputation is more about the area than the school. I doubt you'd find drug use at many colleges to be less, not that that is any excuse. In fact I hear more about chemical stimulant use and harder drug use in connection with some of the more "prestigious" schools mentioned on CC. But then, this thread is about geography, a highly useful major in today's changing world.Check out this link for jobs for geographers: CU</a> Dept. of Geography Resources: Jobs for Geographers</p>
<p>I'm currently majoring in geography at Middlebury. PM me with any questions. The only selective top private schools that offer it are Middlebury, Dartmouth, Colgate, Vassar, and Macalester. Lots of top publics offer it. Penn State, Wisconsin, UCLA and Clark have the best the best grad programs and would probably be very good for undergrad. GIS can lead to lots of career opportunities. Geography used to have a much more widespread presence in academia, but Harvard axed it in the late 50's declaring it to "no longer be a respectable discipline" because the outbreak of the world wars was sometimes blamed on germany's obsessive and futile attempts to scientifically uncover "laws of geopolitics," which lead to the development of things like the schiffen plan etc. etc.</p>
<p>2forcollege, can you comment on Illinois State's current undergrad Geography program?</p>
<p>Clark. Clark. Clark.</p>
<p>Boring Boring Boring.</p>