The Bachelor of Arts in Geography was first offered at Hofstra in 1936, and has been an important part of the Hofstra curriculum ever since.
Geography is the science of place and space. Geographers ask where things are located on the surface of the earth, why they are located where they are, how places differ from one another, and how people interact with the environment.
There are two main branches of geography: human geography and physical geography. Human geography is concerned with the spatial aspects of human existence - how people and their activity are distributed in space, how they use and perceive space, and how they create and sustain the places that make up the earth's surface. Human geographers work in the fields of urban and regional planning, transportation, marketing, real estate, tourism, and international business.
Physical geographers study patterns of climates, landforms, vegetation, soils, and water. They forecast the weather, manage land and water resources, and analyze and plan for forests, rangelands, and wetlands. Many human and physical geographers have skills in cartography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
The advent of GIS has substantially expanded the job openings for geographers. In a recent article in Nature, the U.S. Department of Labor identified geographic information technology as “one of the three most important emerging and evolving fields, along with nanotechnology and biotechnology.
Job and career opportunities are growing and diversifying as geospatial technologies prove their value in ever more areas. After graduating with a degree in geography, you have multiple career sources in both the public and private sectors.
If you are interested in a career in geography, follow the links on this site or feel free at any time to consult with one of our faculty. We look forward to seeing you in our classes.