We offer students excellent undergraduate and graduate programs of study in geography, earth sciences, sustainability, and the mapping sciences. Our undergraduate programs are designed to give students an appreciation of the natural and human environments of the earth, how they are coupled, and how they interact. Our students develop skills in collecting, recording, and analyzing geoenvironmental data. They become involved in laboratory work, field investigations, and environmental exercises that help students sharpen their critical-thinking and technological skills and to arrive at solutions based on evidence and inductive reasoning.
Our Interdisciplinary Nature
The Department of Geography-Earth Science has an interdisciplinary nature for our faculty members come from diverse backgrounds and have had professional and entrepreneurial experiences before joining academia.
Our faculty members are currently working on solving real problems in the Cumberland Valley, the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Delaware River watershed, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Europe, Latin America, South America, and Asia. Accordingly, our programs and courses focus on the importance of location, the reasons why places and regions are different physically and culturally but linked economically.
The unique quality of our department is its object of analysis - the earth's surface. Its purpose is to understand how that surface is structured and differentiated and how people have affected, affect, and will affect the landscape.
Majors: Geoenvironmental Science and Sustainability, BS
Students will learn that the field of geoenvironmental science is diverse, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. It is a major that involves learning core natural sciences (i.e. the geographic and geologic study of land, sea, air, soil, rocks, water and the processes that shape them) as well as the social sciences (the study of humans and their interactions with each other and with the Earth).
Minors and Certificates
Geography-Earth Science Minor
In this minor, students learn that the geoenvironmental field is diverse, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. The minor helps students learn to develop a working knowledge of geography and earth science disciplines and helps them learn basic skills needed to be critical thinkers and effective problem-solvers in natural/social science-centered careers.
Geographic Information Science Minor
The geographic information science minor is a great complement to any major that focuses on people, money, resources or the environment in general. You will develop geospatial thinking, database and mapping skills. Beyond the strong core courses in GIS, you will have elective options that cover special topics in the field. This minor can be useful for students pursuing careers in business, supply chain management and criminal justice. It is also appropriate for students in biology, computer science or other programs where spatial skills are critical for analyses.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Certificate
This program provides a strong intermediate background in geographic information systems, data analysis and geotechnology (GPS, remote sensing, drones, etc.). Elective options provide you with some flexibility to pursue certain interests. All students at Shippensburg University, except GIS majors, are eligible to earn the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) certificate. This includes non-degree seeking students.
Marine Science Minor
This program covers foundational concepts and contemporary issues in marine science related to geology, physics, chemistry, biology of the oceans and our coasts. You will learn to evaluate complex interactions in marine systems and the ways in which humans impact the oceans and are impacted by the oceans. You will use the scientific method as you develop your skills with common laboratory, field techniques and equipment to solve marine science related problems.
Sustainability Minor
Sustainability minors learn to effectively apply the principals of sustainability to their major field to help businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and others develop and implement ways to be better stewards of our natural and living resources, while facilitating enhancement of our collective human resources and economies by solving challenges on a planet with a growing population.
Geography and Earth Science Faculty and Staff
Shippensburg University’s Geography/Earth Science Department faculty members come from diverse backgrounds and have had professional and entrepreneurial experiences before joining academia. Our faculty members are currently working on solving real problems in the region, throughout the United States and the world.
Our world-class faculty regularly publishes in top regional, national, and international journals (often with students) and has worked with diverse funding partners. This real-world research forms the basis of much of the teaching throughout the curriculum and provides practical examples and illustrations of concepts for our students.