Requirements

Required for the Major in Geography

Ten (10) Courses:

• GEOG 0100 (Intro Course/ Place and Society)
• GEOG 0151 (The Global Environment) OR ESCS 0112 (Environmental Geology)
• Two (2) of the following methods courses:

      GEOG 0251 (Mapping Global Environmental Change)

      GEOG 0261 (Human Geography with GIS)

      GEOG 0271 (Cartography)

      GEOG 0281 (Place Based Data and Analysis)

• Five (5) Geography electives, at least one must be numbered below 0250.

At least three of the electives must be semester-long courses, completed on the Middlebury Campus.

• One (1) 0400- level geography seminar OR a 0700-level senior independent project

*Pre-req for 0400 is at least one elective numbered over 0250.

*Pre-req for 0700 is at least one elective at the 0300 level

Students wishing to pursue independent 0700-level senior work must have a proposal approved by a primary advisor and second reader prior to registering for the 0700-level credit.

Required for a Joint Major in Geography

Seven (7) Courses:

• GEOG 0100 (Intro Course/ Place and Society) OR GEOG 0151 (The Global Environment)
• One (1) GEOG Course numbered between 0250 and 0300
• Four (4) GEOG electives, numbered below 400, (at least one of which must be numbered below 0250)

At least two of the electives must be semester-long courses completed on the Middlebury Campus.

• One (1)  0400- level geography seminar OR a 0700-level senior independent project

                   *Pre-req for 0400 is at least one elective numbered over 0250

                   *Pre-req for 0700 is at least one elective at the 0300 level.

Students wishing to pursue independent 0700-level senior work must have a proposal approved by a primary advisor and second reader prior to registering for the 0700-level credit.

Required for a Minor in Geography

The Geography minor consists of 5 courses: one course at the 100-level; one course numbered between 0250 and 0300; three additional geography courses numbered below 0400.

Advanced Placement

One course credit will be awarded for an advanced placement (AP) score of 5 in human geography. Geography majors who receive a 5 on the AP exam may count this course credit as one 0200-level equivalent toward their major requirements, but are still required to complete GEOG 0100. The AP credit may not be used to satisfy joint major or minor requirements.

Departmental Honors

Students who seek to earn honors are required to write a two-credit honors thesis. They must have at least a 3.3 GPA in the major when they propose the thesis and must have a 3.5 GPA in the major, not including the thesis grade, to be considered for honors upon graduation. In order to complete a senior thesis, students must have a proposal approved by a primary thesis advisor and a secondary reader prior to registering for the first 0701 credit. Upon completion of the thesis, thesis students will present their work in a public lecture and defend the thesis in front of the departmental faculty. Thesis presentations and defenses will typically take place during the final week of classes or the examination period. Upon completion of the presentation and defense, the primary advisor and secondary reader will be responsible for evaluating and grading the thesis. It is strongly encouraged that students considering a thesis discuss their ideas with an advisor during the semester prior to registering for formal thesis credits. Honors will be conferred or denied on the basis of an evaluation of the thesis by the faculty and the student’s GPA in the major, as explained above.