Geography, Planning, & Recreation

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Department of Geography, Planning, & Recreation

Southwest Forest Science Complex Building, room 119

NAU, PO Box 15016, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5016

928-523-2650 (fax 928-523-2275)

www.geog.nau.edu/

Department Chair

Alan A. Lew

Undergraduate Information

You may pursue the following undergraduate academic plans in NAU’s Department of Geography, Planning, and Recreation:

• B.S. in geography

• B.S. in geography (extended major)

• B.S. in  geographic information science (extended major)

• B.S. in parks and recreation management (extended major)

with emphases in community and commercial recreation, individualized study, interpretation, outdoor education, outdoor leader, outdoor recreation planner, park protection, tourism, and wildland recreation management

• B.S. in public planning (extended major)

with foci in environmental planning, indigenous/Native American planning, geographic information systems, land-use planning, and recreation and tourism planning

• B.S.Ed. in geography secondary education

• B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies: parks and recreation management (extended major)

• B.S. Interdisciplinary Studies: parks and recreation management (extended major)

• minor in cartography

• minor in community design

• minor in environmental planning

• minor in geographic information systems

• minor in geography

• minor in parks and recreation management

• minor in physical geography

• minor in remote sensing

• certificate in parks and recreation management

• content emphasis in geography

(For The B.S.Ed. In Elementary Education)

We designed these plans to provide you with knowledge of the interrelationships between the earth and humankind, to give you knowledge and skills in environmental land-use planning; to equip you with skills and techniques for applied professional careers in outdoor and community recreation, geographic information systems, and remote sensing; to provide you with a geographic background if you are an educator; and to prepare you for academic work in graduate programs.

Click here for more information regarding Geography undergraduate courses, Parks & Recreation undergraduate courses, Planning undergraduate courses, and Faculty.

Graduate Information

You may pursue the following graduate academic plans through the Department of Geography, Planning, and Recreation:

• M.A Rural Geography: Community Planning (Nonthesis Plan)

• M.A Rural Geography: Community Planning (Thesis Plan)

• M.A Rural Geography: Human Geography non-thesis plan)

• M.A. Rural Geography: Human Geography (thesis plan)

• M.A Rural Geography: Physical Geography (non-thesis plan)

• M.A. Rural Geography: Physical Geography (thesis plan)

• M.S. Geographic Information Science (Nonthesis Plan)

• M.S. Geographic Information Science (Thesis Plan)

• Certificate Geographic Information Systems

We offer academic plans in community planning, geographic information science, human geography, and physical geography as both thesis and nonthesis plans. The thesis plans allow you to pursue a solid academic and scholarly education, for possible advancement to a doctoral program. You may want to complete a nonthesis plan if you seek advanced applied education without intending to continue on to a doctoral program; the nonthesis plan requires a professional paper in place of a thesis.

The master’s plans in rural geography provide an advanced degree for geographers wishing to work in the area of rural, environmental, and small-town planning and analysis. There is a growing need for professionals with skills that are particularly applicable to the needs of small towns, rural and natural areas, and Native American reservations. We concentrate on rural development patterns; principles and practices of rural land use; impacts, problems, and potentials of resource development in rural areas; land-use planning for small towns; and tools of spatial analysis that are specifically appropriate for conducting research and solving problems in rural areas.

The M.S. in geographic information science is an interdisciplinary degree that provides you with a solid foundation in GIS technology and skills, as well as application to a field of study selected from across the university curriculum.

Finally, our certificate plan in geographic information systems combines computer technology and geographic theory to prepare you to maintain and analyze spatially referenced data in various fields.

Click here for more information regarding Geography graduate courses, Parks & Recreation graduate courses, Planning graduate courses, and Faculty.

Admissions Requirements

For admission to one of the M.A. plans, you must indicate the academic plan you wish to pursue and identify a full-time faculty member in the department who is willing to be your initial advisor. If you have not majored or minored in geography for your baccalaureate degree, you may be required to take supplemental deficiency courses. If you have not taken a statistics course within three years of entering our program, you will be required to do so within the first year of study.

For admission to one of the M.S. plans, you must indicate in which disciplinary field of study you intend to apply GIS technology and identify a full-time faculty member in that field who will serve as your disciplinary advisor. If you didn’t major or minor in that discipline for your baccalaureate degree, you may be required to take supplemental deficiency courses.