Why Choose Geography
Geography is an excellent discipline to explore at Manhattan College. A bridge between the natural and social sciences, human geography focuses on the spatial aspects of human systems, while physical geography explores the physical patterns of earth systems. Manhattan’s program is a hybrid that gives students the theoretical foundations and practical skills of these two important branches of geography.
What Skills Will You Leave With?
At the conclusion of your studies, you will be able to:
- Articulate geographic research questions;
- Create spatial data and metadata;
- Analyze spatial data using geographic information system (GIS) software tools;
- Create maps and other visualizations to meaningfully communicate spatial data.
What Kind of Subjects Do You Learn About?
You will learn how geographers think about the complex problems facing our planet: poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, climate change and more. The theoretical foundation of human geography gives students a critical lens to approach human-environment interactions. Through hands-on GIS projects, you’ll gain the tools to answer practical and relevant research questions using real data.
What Will You Do?
The courses use inquiry-based learning techniques to help students foster their own curiosity. Students choose topics that interest them and build their own complex research projects. Past student research includes:
- Poverty in Farming: The Relationship of Farming and Income in the United States
- Public Schools and Environmental Exposure in New York City
- NYC PM2.5 Pollution and Effects on Human Health: How Particulate Matter Is Causing Health Issues for New Yorkers
- Mapping the Effects of Road Noise Pollution in NYC: Its Relationship to Income Per Neighborhood and 311 Noise Complaints
- Brown Fields: New York State, Congressional Results and Demographics
- Deer Population Throughout New York State: The Effects of New York State Conservation Efforts on the Deer Population
Tools and Software
- Padlet
- ParesHub
- Coggle
- ArcGIS Pro
- ArcGIS Online
- ArcMap
- Tableau
- Excel
- Story Maps
Sociology Concentration Requirements
The geography concentration trains students in the diversity and complexity of the earth’s physical and cultural environment. It grounds issues in a spatial perspective, providing a rigorous and critical approach to solving issues of environmental, cultural and economic importance. While sociology and geography are similar in many methodological and pedagogical approaches, the concentration reinforces the strengths of our current sociology major by adding a spatial perspective to human systems.
Students who concentrate in geography must take the introductory class, SOC 296: Introduction to Human Geography. Students then select four additional courses from both categories based on their interests. These courses fill major elective requirements (15).
Required Course:
SOC 296 Introduction to Human Geography
Three (or more) of the following Geographic Theory Electives Courses:
SOC 209 Identities of New York City
SOC 212 Migration, Globalization and Culture
SOC 262 Contemporary Latin American Development
SOC 295 Capitalism
SOC 327 Power and Conflict
SOC 329 Political Economy of Global Migration
SOC 330 Anatomy of a U.S. City
SOC 334 Sustainable Development
SOC 353 Political Ecology
One (or more) of the following geographic skills elective courses:
SOC 225 Telling Stories with Maps
SOC 250 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
SOC 350 Advanced Topics in Geographic Information Systems