Geography

Why Choose Geography as a Minor?

Geography is an excellent minor 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 Will You Learn?

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. 

Tools and Software

• Padlet
• ParesHub
• Coggle
• ArcGIS Pro
• ArcGIS Online
• ArcMap
• Tableau
• Excel
• Story Maps 

Learn more about the geography minor:

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

Geography as a Concentration

In addition to geography as a minor, students can also choose geography as a concentration within the sociology major. Visit this page for more information on geography as a concentration.