GEG 101
WORLD NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS
3, 3/0; K
Nature of geography; earth-sun relationships; maps and map interpretation; and classification, distribution, and origins of the major elements of the natural environment: weather, climates, soils, natural vegetation, landforms, and developmental processes.
GEG 102
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
3, 3/0; Y
Introduction to cultural geography through the application of five themes: religion, diffusion,ecology, interaction, and landscape. The distribution of value systems, ethnicity, language, religion, and population as indices of human variety. Cultural impacts of globalization.
GEG 120
CAVERN STUDIES
1, 1/0
The development and unique environment of solution caves. Students will explore caves while on a weekend field trip, studying cave development and the formation of depositional features. Other topics include cave climatology, biology, chemistry, and the application of survey/mapping techniques.
GEG 199
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER USE IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
3, 3/0
Hands-on introduction to the application of computers to applied social research problems. Includes review of past practices, current uses, and future trends. Students analyze data using computers to develop insight into the use of computers for social improvement.
GEG 206
GEOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK STATE
3, 3/0
Landforms, regions, climates, and natural resources; distribution of population; location and functions of cities; development of transportation; utilization and conservation of soil, mineral, forest, wildlife, and water resources; industrial development.
GEG /GES241
METEOROLOGY
3, 3/0; K
An introduction to weather, including the makeup of the atmosphere, seasonality, heat and radiation balance, temperature, humidity, and precipitation, atmospheric motion, atmospheric pressure and wind, air masses and fronts, severe weather, meteorological instrumentation, local weather, climate controls, and synoptic forecasting. Includes laboratory modules. Emphasis on the relationship between weather systems, technology, and humans.
GEG 300
WORLD REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY
3, 3/0
National and state geography standards; concept of region; map essentials; physical, cultural, economic, and political geography fundamentals within selected regions.
GEG 303
GLOBAL CLIMATOLOGY
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: GEG 101. Study of the earth’s climate through analysis of climatic controls, classification schemes, and feedback cycles. Includes an examination of past climates and global climate change scenarios.
GEG 305
PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: ECO 202. Introduction to the theoretical study of economic geography; location theory; theoretical spatial distribution of economic activities, including agriculture, manufacturing, urban land use, services, and transportation.
GEG 307
CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
3, 3/0
The nature of resources; concepts and philosophy of conservation; strategies for environmental management of the earth’s land, water, air, and energy resources; local, regional, and global impacts of resource use.
GEG 309
URBAN GEOGRAPHY
3, 3/0; 8
Prerequisite: One social science course. Internal spatial structure of American metropolitan areas and their relationships. Spatial arrangements of land uses; ethnics, racial and economic composition of the population; dynamics of population growth and change; influence of minorities on cities and suburbs; geographic consequences of poverty and segregation on growth and change; transportation and fiscal problems confronting local governments.
GEG 310
URBAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: GEG 309 or PLN 315. Comparative study of the modes of transportation, transportation planning, and the benefits and effects of transportation. Emphasis on application to urban transportation. The importance of accessibility to the development of a modern metropolitan transportation system.
GEG 320
HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES
3, 3/0
Approach and methods of historical geography, exploration and discovery, regional variation of cultural landscapes, origins and dispersals of selected cultural traits.
GEG 325
REMOTE SENSING AND MAPPING
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: GEG 101 or GEG 307 or GES 101. Fundamental elements of maps, air photographs, and satellite images, and the methodology of interpreting them. Spatial data sources, data presentation, globe and map grids, and the use of maps, air photos, satellite images, and global positioning systems (GPS) to identify, present, and study spatial phenomena.
GEG 330
LAND RESOURCE ANALYSIS AND PLANNING
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: PLN 315. The principles of land resource management with emphasis on land-use patterns, controls, and policies. Attention to urban, suburban, and rural land-use situations.
GEG 340
HISTORICAL-URBAN ANALYSIS OF THE BUFFALO METROPOLITAN AREA
3, 3/0
The metropolitan Buffalo area, the nature of the city, and its growth and problems related to past growth from a historical-geographical viewpoint.
GEG 359
ARCTIC GEOGRAPHY FROM AN INUIT PERSPECTIVE
3, 3/0; 5
Prerequisite: Upper-division status. A study of the physical, political, economic and cultural environments of Arctic regions from an Inuit perspective. Topics focus on interaction between the Arctic environment and its peoples before and after Euro-American contact. Students will also study contemporary issues in today’s Arctic.
GEG 360
GEOGRAPHY OF ASIA
3, 3/0; 5
Prerequisite: One social science course. A regional geographic analysis of south, east, and southeast Asia. Overview of the continent’s natural environment. Examination of the principal elements of the cultural environment: demography and ethnicity, urbanization, economy, and political structure. Interaction between the physical and cultural environments.
GEG 362
GEOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
3, 3/0
Basic geographic elements of North America including the natural environment, natural resources, economic activities, population, and urbanization.
GEG 364
GEOGRAPHY OF EUROPE
3, 3/0; 1
Prerequisite: One social science course. Physiographic regions, landforms, climate, vegetation, soils, and drainage patterns. Culture regions, language, religion, population, migration, politics, economics, and impacts on the natural environment. Interdependence of regions within Europe and within the global context. Excludes the former Soviet Union.
GEG 365
SOIL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: GEG 101 or GES 101. Introduction to the study of soils, including physical and chemical properties, weathering and soil formation, productivity and management for agriculture, soil erosion and conservation, engineering properties, soil classification. Includes regular laboratory assignments and fieldwork to enhance understanding of soil properties.
GEG 370
WATER RESOURCE PLANNING
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: GEG 375 or GES 452. Introduction to water resource planning in the United States. Emphasis on project management and planning processes used by federal water resources agencies. Field trip and group project required.
GEG 375
PRINCIPLES OF HYDROLOGY
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: GEG 101 or GES 101. Principles of hydrology and its relationship to water resource management. Emphasis on describing the processes governing surface and groundwater movement. Field trip provides example of the practical application of hydrologic principles.
GEG 382
WEATHER FORECASTING
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: Upper-division status and GEG 101 or GES 241. A focus on synoptic and dynamic meteorology, as applied to weather forecasting. Weather conditions will be diagnosed using various case studies. Learn how to develop and to present weather forecasts. Emphasis on practice and interpretation of daily weather and modeled data.
GEG 384
ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Upper-division status. Study of the earth’s atmosphere as a unique place. Emphasis on atmospheric structure and composition, dynamics of motion, moisture and clouds, atmospheric chemistry, regional and local air pollution, aurora displays, and optical phenomena. Includes a study of atmospheres ranging from those of other planets to indoor air.
GEG 386
APPLIED CLIMATOLOGY
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: Upper-division status; GEG 101 or GES 241. Use of climatic information in various aspects of our lives to solve practical problems with environmental, social, and economic implications. The importance of climate on agriculture, human health, severe weather management, litigation, commerce, architecture, and city planning.
GEG 390
QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN GEOGRAPHY AND PLANNING
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: Upper-division status and GEG 199. Introduction to statistical methods with a focus on spatial and time-series data analysis in geography and planning applications. Statistical theory is reinforced through application of commonly used computer software to solve real world problems.
GEG 405
ADVANCED URBAN GEOGRAPHY
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: GEG 309. Growth of cities in a national system. Relationships among cities. Regional growth within the national system. Central place theory and urban hierarchies. Role of urban geography in urban planning. The role of planning on a regional scale.
GEG 406
GEOGRAPHY OF RETAILING
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: Upper-division status; ECO 202 or GEG 305. The spatial structure of markets and how geography has a critical role in the location and success of retail activity. Presents the theoretical and practical application of locational analysis for retail businesses. Focus on the use of Geographic Information Systems in the retail location process.
GEG 415
PROSEMINAR
3, 3/0
Investigation, examination, and discussion of topics of current interest in geography. Techniques and analysis of geographic research.
GEG 421
WATERSHED ANALYSIS
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: Upper-division status; GEG 101 or GES 101, and at least 6 credit hours ingeography, planning, or earth science. Introduction to the systematic analysis of stream dynamics of watersheds and the impact of humans on these dynamics. Emphasizes the importance of physical, chemical, and biological processes in watershed management. Class discussion and a class project will focus on a practical watershed assessment problem.
GEG 425
FUNDAMENTALS OF GIS
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: GEG 199 or CIS 101. Geographic information systems (GIS) and computer cartography. Principles and methods of spatial data automation, models and structures of spatial databases, spatial analysis and map display in computerized environment. Computer mapping principles including scales, map projections, symbolization, coloring strategy, and thematic mapping.
GEG 426
ARCVIEW APPLICATIONS
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: GEG 199 or CIS 101. Experience in the use of the desktop Geographic Information System, ArcView GIS, and its application in a variety of private- and publicindustry sectors including retailing, health care, urban and regional planning, and transportation.
GEG 427
CORPORATE APPLICATIONS IN GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: GEG 199 or SOC 199 and upperdivision status. This course is composed of a series of lectures, class assignments and projects that are designed to teach students the fundamentals and application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geographic analysis within a business environment. Students will learn how to conduct specialized business GIS related projects. These projects range from data integration to market assessment and site assessment.
GEG 428
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING APPLICATIONS IN GIS
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: GEG 425 or equivalent. Advanced concepts of GIS with a focus on spatial analytical applications in GIS for environmental assessment and planning. GIS theories and software implementations are presented through lecture and hands-on practice to solve real world environmental and planning problems.
GEG 429
ADVANCED TOPICS IN GIS
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: GEG 425 or GEG 390 or equivalent statistics course. Builds from the topics covered in GEG 425 Fundamentals of GIS focusing more on digital representation of the human and physical environment, including location referencing from a human perspective, database design, data quality issues (how to identify and document errors), spatial statistical analysis using GIS, the fourth dimension (time) in GIS, and understanding spatial analysis algorithms and models. Introduces programming in a GIS environment.
GEG 430
SENIOR THESIS
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: SOC 300 or PSC 300 and senior geography or planning major. Research in geography or planning and presentation of selected research-related topics by department faculty.
GEG 480
AIR POLLUTION MODELING
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: Upper-division status; GEG 101, GEG 199 or an equivalent course, GEG 384, and GEG 390 or an equivalent course. Receptor, dispersion, and risk assessment modeling techniques to determine the source, fate, and impact of air pollutants. Overview of atmospheric deposition, regional transport, and global circulation models.
GEG 488
INTERNSHIP
Variable credit
Prerequisites: GEG 101 and 6 credit hours of geography or planning coursework at the upper-division level; minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5; background of courses or experience within area of interest; adviser and department chair permission. Guided, supervised field experiences that complement the academic program.
GEG 495
SPECIAL PROJECT
GEG 499
INDEPENDENT STUDY
