About Option One:

What a time to be studying geography! Our country's diplomats, scientists, politicians, educators, military leaders, social workers and corporate leaders are dealing with issues like global warming, drought, air quality, relations with China, trade with Asia, famine in Africa, conflicts in the Mideast, Southern Asia, and Afghanistan, and more. The list goes on and on. All of these events have a common thread: they each occur in a particular place and that place -- its physical setting and cultural condition -- greatly influences the event and our understanding of it. As you read here, you can create your own list of global and local events which are effecting your like this very moment. How is one to make sense of it all? How does one get a handle on such a wide array of issues? For those who are curious about our increasingly interdependent world and how we might fit into it, geography may well be the right field of study.

Geography is the one discipline that studies the nature of place and can legitimately connect the relationships between the global economies. Take the industrialization of China, global food resources, and global warming. Are these three events related? You bet they are.

The Program:

Option One is a highly structured program requiring 51 hours of study. Thirty-six hours are specifically prescribed and cover basic content areas of physical and social geography. All Option One students are required to take cartography, geographic information systems, and remote sensing as part of the 36-hour requirement. The remaining 15 hours are selected advanced courses in systematic and regional geography and geographic information systems.

REQUIRED COURSES:  36 hours

•     GEOG 101 Earth, Sea, and Sky: A Geographic View (3)
•     GEOG 120 Economic Geography and Contemporary Issues (3)
•     GEOG 121 Geography of the Cultural Environment (3)
•     GEOG 150 Global Geography (3)
•     GEOG 230 Elementary Meteorology (3)
•     GEOG 240 Map Reading and Interpretation (3)
•     GEOG 265 Introduction to GIS (3)
•     GEOG 340 Cartography and Graphics 1 (3)
•     GEOG 342 Remote Sensing 1 (3)
•     GEOG 440 Advanced Physical Geography (3)
•     GEOG 470 World Political Geography (3)
•     GEOG 494 Geographic Research Methods (3)

ELECTIVE COURSES:  15 hours

3 hours from:

•     GEOG 330 Weather Analysis (3)
•     GEOG 331 Global Climatology (3)
•     GEOG 344 Advanced GIS Analysis (3)
•     GEOG 450 Severe Local Storms (3)

6 hours from:

•     GEOG 261 Tourism Systems (3)
•     GEOG 320 Ethnic Geography (3)
•     GEOG 321 Urban Geography (3)
•     GEOG 423 Population Geography (3)

6 hours from:

•     GEOG 350 Geography of the United States and Canada (3)
•     GEOG 351 Geograpy of Latin America and the Caribbean (3)
•     GEOG 352 Geography of Africa (3)
•     GEOG 354 Geography of Asia (3)
•     GEOG 356 Geography of Russia and Its Neighbors (3)
•     GEOG 357 Geography of Europe (3)

Minors in related fields are recommended.

Employment Opportunities with Option One:

So if Option One nurtures renaissance scholars who seek solutions to complex issues, what do these worldly scholars do in the real world? First, they participate in their communities as liberally educated individuals who understand and appreciate the intricacies and complexities of many of the issues and problems facing communities today. Should a new extension to an existing highway be built? Should the community grant tax abatements to potential employers? Should new housing be constructed in a historically restored neighborhood? Should land uses on the urban fringe be regulated? These are all local questions and issues, which geographers routinely study and consider.

Specifically, Option One graduates go to work in one of many industries. In the private sector, these often include real estate, insurance, marketing, selling, and consulting. In the government, these can include planning, cartography, GIS technicians, and drafting. Many continue to graduate school and earn advanced degrees in geography and related fields. Graduates in geography possess basic skills in geographic information systems, cartography, and remote sensing technologies. These are all currently in demand by a wide array of different employers.

Faculty Contacts for Option One:

Dr. Christopher A. Airriess: Professor of Geography
e-mail: cairries@bsu.edu

Mrs. Carol Hummel Shears: Assistant Professor of Geography, Thesis Adviser for Opt. One
e-mail: cshears@bsu.edu