AAG

Oklahoma is determined by a combination of high school class rank,
GPA, and ACT or SAT scores. Students can become geography majors
by declaring so upon admission or by consulting with a departmental
faculty member after arriving on campus. University of Central
Oklahoma students are eligible for a variety of grants, scholarships,
and loans through the university’s financial aid office. More
information can be obtained by contacting the Office of Admissions,
Enrollment Services; University of Central Oklahoma; 100 N.
University Dr.; Edmond, OK 73034; http://www.uco.edu/future.htm.
FACULTY:
Michelle Brym, Ph.D., Tennessee, 2009, Assistant Professor—cultural
geography, population geography, Europe
Brad W. Watkins, Ph.D., Oklahoma State, 2007, Assistant Professor—
applied GIS, historical GIS, environmental geography
ADJUNCT AND EMERITI FACULTY:
Shannon Hall, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, 2015, Lecturer—
cultural geography, quantitative geography, North America,
Oklahoma
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
DATE FOUNDED: 1946
GRADUATE PROGRAM FOUNDED: 1930
DEGREES OFFERED: B.A., B.S., M.A., Ph.D. in
Geography; B.A., B.S. in GIS; and B.A., B.S., M.S. in
Environmental Sustainability, Graduate Certificate in
Geospatial Information Technologies.
GRANTED 9/1/14-8/31/15: 53 Bachelors, 7 Masters, 1 Ph.D.
STUDENTS IN RESIDENCE: 234 Bachelors, 18 Masters,
22 Ph.D.
CHAIR: Kirsten de Beurs
DEPARTMENT ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT:
Deborah Marsh
FOR CATALOG AND FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT: General Information: Dr. Kirsten de
Beurs, kdebeurs@ou.edu Graduate Program: Dr. Laurel Smith,
Graduate Liaison, laurel@ou.edu; Undergraduate Program: Ms. Jamie
Steele, Undergraduate Advisor, jamie@ou.edu; Department of
Geography and Environmental Sustainability, 100 E. Boyd St., SEC
510, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019-1007.
Telephone (405) 325-5325.
PROGRAMS AND RESEARCH FACILITIES: The Department of
Geography and Environmental Sustainability offers undergraduate
degrees in Geography (B.A., B.S.), Geographic Information Science
(B.A., B.S.) and Environmental Sustainability (B.A., B.S), a master’s
degree (M.S.) in environmental sustainability, as well as graduate
(M.A., Ph.D.) degrees in geography.
Course offerings and research opportunities in Geography are
concentrated in three major areas of specialization: human geography
and geohumanities, physical geography, and geospatial sciences,
including GIS and remote sensing. Research emphases within human
geography include cultural geography, political geography, and
political ecology. Within physical geography, faculty research
emphasizes work in biogeography, climatology, geomorphology, and
hydrology. Research in remote sensing and geographic information
systems emphasizes integrated geospatial technologies for analyzing
the effect of humans and climate on the global vegetative land surface.
All Environmental Sustainability students take a common set of six
core courses to give them strong grounding in the principles of
environmental sustainability. Subsequently, students may specialize in
one of three areas of concentration. These are: Sustainability Science
and Natural Resources. This concentration focuses on the physical
environmental or ecosystem aspects of sustainability as well as the
forces impacting on it. Sustainability Planning and Management. This
concentration focuses on how organizations and institutions perceive,
adopt, and implement sustainability programs and
practices. Sustainability, Culture, and Society. This concentration
focuses on the human dimensions of sustainability, including the
dynamics driving the perception and management of sustainability in
different societies and cultures around the world.
Regional research specialties of the faculty include North America
(especially the Southwest and Great Plains), Latin America, South
Asia, West Africa, and Europe/Russia.
The Department strongly encourages faculty-student collaboration in
research and teaching and emphasizes strong mentoring relationships
with graduate and undergraduate students. Affiliate centers include
The Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic Education (OKAGE), the
Oklahoma Wind Power Initiative (OWPI) and the Center for Spatial
Analysis (CSA). The many resources of the University include the
National Weather Center, the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, the
Oklahoma Biological Survey, the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the
Western History Collections, the NASA Space Grant Consortium, and
the History of Science Library. The University also hosts the South
Central Climate Science Center
ACADEMIC PLAN, ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS, AND
FINANCIAL AID: The University operates with two semesters and a
summer session. Graduate teaching and research assistantships are
available to qualified doctoral and master’s students. In addition,
individual faculty members support students from research grants and
contracts. Other scholarships and financial aid packages are available
from University sources.
An application for admission must be accompanied by official
transcripts, two letters of recommendation, official GRE scores, and a
statement of research interests and goals. Graduate applicants are
strongly encouraged to identify and contact potential research
advisors. Applicants for graduate assistantship positions should submit
application materials by January 15 in order to ensure consideration
for the next academic year.
FACULTY:
Kirsten de Beurs, Ph.D., University of Nebraska--Lincoln, 2005,
Associate Professor and Chair—impacts of humans and climate
on global vegetative land surface, phenology, remote sensing,
GIS.
Nicholas Bauch, Ph.D., University of California – Los Angeles, 2010,
Assistant Professor—geohumanities.
Travis Gliedt, Ph.D., University of Waterloo, Canada, Assistant
Professor—environmental economic geography, strategic green
decisions in organizations, green entrepreneurship, sustainable
development, energy systems and sustainability.
J. Scott Greene, Ph.D., University of Delaware, 1994, Professor—
synoptic and applied climatology, climate change, renewable
energy.
Gary Gress, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, 2000, Lecturer and
Coordinator of the Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic
Education—cultural geography, geographic education
Bruce Hoagland, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, 1995, Professor and
Oklahoma Natural Heritage Biologist—landscape ecology, plant
community ecology, biogeography
Jennifer Koch, Ph.D., University of Kassel, Germany, 2010, Assistant
Professor—regional and continental scale land use land cover
change and use, ecological modeling, multi-agent simulation,
GIS
Rebecca Loraamm, Ph.D., University of South Florida, 2015,
Assistant Professor—GIS, time geography, location modeling,
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