Department Chair: Vincent Del Casino
Department Office: Liberal Arts 4 (LA), Room 106
Telephone: (562) 985-4977 / (562) 985-8432
Website: Geography
Faculty: Bipasha Baruah, James R. Curtis, Molly Debysingh (Emerita), Suzanne Dallman, Vincent Del Casino, Frank Gossette (Emeritus), Camille Holmgren, Christine L. Jocoy, Edward Karabenick (Emeritus), John Kimura (Emeritus), Paul Laris, Christopher T. Lee, Richard Outwater (Emeritus), Christine M. Rodrigue, Dmitrii Sidorov, Joel Splansky (Emeritus), Deborah Thien, Judith Tyner (Emerita), Suzanne P. Wechsler
Undergraduate Advisor: Paul Laris
Graduate Advisor: Christopher T. Lee
Internship Program Director: Suzanne P. Wechsler
Administrative Support Coordinator: Julie Ortiz
Students desiring information should contact the department office for referral to one of the faculty advisors.
Geographer • Urban Planner • Cartographer • Computer Mapping • Regional, Urban and Environmental Planner • Natural Resources Manager • Environmental Monitor • Transportation Planner • Aerial Photo Interpreter • Travel Counselor/Agent • Real Estate Appraiser • Environmental Analyst • Intelligence Analyst • Marketing Analyst • Community Development Specialist • Map Librarian • Demographer • Recreation Resource Planner • Industrial Development Specialist • GIS Specialist • Climatologist • Ecologist • Environmental Impact Report Writer • Teacher (Some of these, and other careers, require additional education or experience. For more information, see CSULB Careers Website.)
Geography focuses on the spatial organization of
human and physical landscapes, the interactions
between human society and the physical environment, as well as on the meanings that people bring to their place in the world. Geography sits at the nexus of the social and physical sciences, drawing from a range of theoretical and methodological approaches for understanding the world around us. We organize the major into four distinct areas of concentration - Human Geography, Environmental/Physical Geography, Geospatial Techniques, and Global and Regional Studies - as a way to structure the diverse approaches that geographers use in thinking about spatial relationships in geographic context. Students are encouraged to focus within one of these concentrations at the undergraduate level.
Because of the diversity of the subject matter that it considers, geography offers a broad, liberal education, which is applicable to many careers. The Geography Department offers the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees, Geography Minor, and two certificates: Urban Studies and Geographic Information Science. Certain Geography courses are applicable to teaching credential programs; to the degree in Liberal Studies; and to certificate programs in Environmental, Urban, Asian, Latin American, and Russian and East European studies, and GIS. Students may obtain materials from the department describing the geography programs and courses recommended for career preparation or visit its home page at www.csulb.edu/geography/.
The Master of Arts degree in geography is designed for those wishing to expand their geographic competence beyond that expected of the bachelor's degree. The Master of Arts degree is becoming a common requirement for employment advancement and it provides the preparation necessary for success in geography Ph.D. programs at other universities. Candidates are responsible for observing the general requirements stated in this Catalog as well as the specific departmental requirements contained in the Geography Master of Arts Handbook.
