Geography Minor
A minor in Geography requires detailed study of particular places at different scales, from the Lowcountry to Africa, and teaches students to understand and appreciate the physical and social processes that shape the world we live in. Students are introduced to the discipline of geography through World Regional Geography, a required course. All declared minors also take Reading the Lowcountry Landscape, which is a field-intensive methods course that builds geographic skills by analyzing the various processes that have shaped the Lowcountry. The minor is offered by the Department of Political Science and administered by a steering committee of faculty. Additional geography electives and cognate courses may be proposed by other departments for inclusion at any time.
Students are required to take at least one systematic course in geography: environmental, political, or urban geography. From there students choose geography and cognate electives for a total of 18 hours in the discipline.*
• Geography Minor Contact: Professor Mark Long
email:LongM@cofc.edu; phone: 953-1883
• To declare a minor in Geography, visit the Political Science Main office.
Minor Declaration Form (pdf)
Requirements for the Geography Minor
The core of the minor includes:
• POLS 104 World Regional Geography
• GEOG 219 Reading the Lowcountry Landscape
Plus, any one of the following:
• POLS 310 Environmental Geography
• POLS 368 Political Geography
• POLS 305 Urbanization and Urban Geography
Students must also take 9 hours of electives.
One elective must be drawn from the following list of Geography courses:
• POLS 305 Urbanization and Urban Geography
• POLS 310 Environmental Geography
• POLS 311 Environmental Change and Management in the
American West
• POLS 334 Geographies and politics of the European Union
• POLS 336 Geographies and politics of food
• POLS 337 Geography and politics of the U.S. and Canada
• POLS 367 The geography of international conflict
• POLS 368 Political geography
• POLS 396 Race, Ethnicity and the City
• GEOG 119 Special Topics in Geography
• GEOG 301 Special Topics in Geography
• GEOG 401 Reading and Independent Study in Geography
The remaining 2 electives can be selected from the above list of Geography courses and/or these Cognate courses:
• POLS 321 Politics of Latin America
• POLS 322 Politics of Africa
• POLS 323 Politics of East Asia
• POLS 324 Politics of the Middle East
• POLS 326 Soviet and Russian Politics
* NOTE: a maximum of 9 hours of coursework in the Geography Minor may be applied to the requirements for the major in Political Science.
Geography Course descriptions
GEOG 119 Special Topics
This course examines selected topics in geography not covered in other courses.
GEOG 219 Reading the Lowcountry Landscape (3)
This course will develop geographic skills through a critical analysis of the South Carolina Lowcountry. The course takes holistic approach to understanding the Lowcountry by exploring the various processes (such as environmental, political, cultural, and economic) that have shaped the region. Because geography emphasizes sensitivity to place, field research is an integral component of this course.
GEOG 301 Special Topics in Geography (3)
This course examines selected topics in geography not covered in other courses.
GEOG 401 Reading and Independent Study in Geography (1-3)
This is a course designed primarily for the student interested in a particular topic. The amount of reading and/or the nature of the project will determine the credit to be assigned. Prerequesite: Permission of the instructor. May be repeated. No more than six hours may be applied to the minor.
