<p>I am strongly interested in geography though I am unsure thus far which aspect of it I want to go into (physical, human etc.). </p>
<p>I was told, however, that mostly: geographers see geography as a perspective to be applied to a subject, not a subject in and of itself. </p>
<p>As an undergrad very interested in this subject area，I have a few questions:
- should I think about majoring in geography or should I find a subject area I am also interested in, major in that and later do a geography phd
- how important is it that an undergrad school have a department in this area? I mean most schools have some elements of geography under the guise of urban planning or environmental sciences etc etc. its difficult for me to research though because like i said i am still unsure about which area of geography i would want to go into</p>
<p>This is way out of my field of expertise, but my impression is that departments of geography are fairly rare nowadays–that the field has split into a variety of disciplines. That means that you might find what you’re looking for in, for instance, an environmental sciences, earth sciences, architecture, civil engineering, or even anthropology department rather than a geography department.</p>
<p>When you research schools online, look not only at the overview of their departments but at the specific courses offered, and at the faculty and their research interests, which will give you a better sense of the way the field gets sorted out at each institution.</p>
<p>The undergraduate program in a college of arts and sciences generally involves tons of electives, so don’t fret if exactly the major you want isn’t offered at the schools you prefer. You will most likely be able to put together a solid program by choosing a major that is more or less appropriate and supplementing it with appropriate electives from neighboring departments. Also, many schools allow students to design their own majors if they have coherent plans. So what you need, in short, is not a department or even a major but appropriate faculty and classes.</p>