Department of History & Political Science
Bachelor of Arts in Cultural & Geospatial Studies
The baccalaureate degree in cultural and geospatial studies prepares students for careers in community development and cultural resources management.
The degree program in cultural and geospatial studies draws from courses in anthropology and geography, providing students with skills necessary for careers in a wide-range of fields related to community development. These include regional and community planning, economic development, cultural resources management, heritage preservation, ethnographic studies, and geographic information science.
The cultural and geospatial studies degree requires thirty-three semester hours in major curriculum requirements beyond the required General Education curriculum.
To satisfy General Education requirements, majors are required to take:
- ANTH 1213 Introduction to Anthropology,
- ANTH 2003 Cultural Anthropology, and
- GEOG 2013 World Regional Geography.
The thirty-three semester hours required for the degree includes:
- GEOG 2833 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems,
- ANTH 2833 Cultural Resources Management,
- and HIST 2203 Introduction to Public History.
Those students completing the anthropology track will take an additional course emphasizing qualitative research methods (ANTH 3403 Ethnographic Methods) and an upper-level anthropology seminar (ANTH 4983 Seminar in Anthropology).
Those students completing the geography track will take an additional methods course in geographic information science (GEOG 3403 GIS II - Planning Applications) and a senior level geography seminar (GEOG 4983 Geography Seminar).
Of the remaining eighteen hours of required anthropology/geography credit, six must come from anthropology and six from geography. Twenty-one of the required thirty-three semester hours must be on the 3000-4000 level.
Majors in this program are also required to take six hours of beginning foreign language courses or obtain the appropriate waiver for high school language study.
Curriculum
The matrix below is a sample plan for all coursework required for this program.
1See appropriate alternatives or substitutions in "General Education Requirements".
2At least 40 of the total hours required for graduation must be 3000 - 4000 level courses.
3Must be in one language. Students may waive three hours of language requirement for
every one year of language study in high school with grades of "C" or better.
4ANTH 3403 Ethnographic Methods and ANTH 4983 Seminar in Anthropology or GEOG 3403 GIS II - Planning Applications and GEOG 4983 Geography Seminar.