Geography is the study of place, or space, in the same sense that history is the study of time. Geography's study of human-land relationships and spatial interactions has always been of general interest, but Geography has added importance today due to the many environmental and economic challenges faced in today's world.
Geography, as a disclipine, is often divided into three distinct fields and numerous subfields

Physical/Environmental (climatological, meteorological, biogeographical, and geomorphological)
Human (urban, population, political, cultural, economic)
Technical (cartography, remote sensing, geographic information systems, and spatial analysis)

Within this framework, geographers identify and analyze the global patterns that shape our lives. Geographers play a crucial role in global warming, natural hazards, housing for low income groups, resource distribution and use, cultural systems, urban and rural deprivation, gender issues, and population growth. They have, it seems, almost an innate desire to model the complex systems that comprise our world. Furthermore, as interdependence between places increases, so career opportunities for geographers continue to grow (adapted from the Association of American Geographers)

For example, geographers want to know:

Where and how will the global environment adapt to anticipated world population growth?
Why and where do people migrate? What are the effects on the regions from which migrants come and where they go?
How can we use our diminishing agricultural land resources more efficiently than in the past?
What is the extent and severity of acid rain?
Where has illicit drug production affected the local agricultural economy? What are the implications of drug traffic for international trade?
Where are the most profitable locations for new stores and why do corporations locate their headquarters in certain places rather than in others?
Where are nuclear weapons being deployed, and what are the global consequences of nuclear war?

The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects employment of geographers to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations. Some career fields, such as computer assisted cartography, will grow faster than others. Some bachelor's degree holders may teach at the high school level with proper certification in the Social Sciences.

Individuals with geography backgrounds are needed in governmental research and planning agencies at the federal, state and local levels, in the research departments of many economic development units, both public and private and in business. Opportunitiies in business and service sectors are available in urban and environmental management and planning, including such fields as market and location analysis, land and water resources planning, and health planning. Those with strong backgrounds in urban, economic, and in physical geography should be in particular demand. Remote sensing specialists and cartographers are and will likely continue to be in demand.

Geography faculty help majors fulfill their educational and career goals by providing help and information for securing student internships, graduate internships, and information on geography or geography-related jobs whenever possible. Students may also utilize the services of UMD's Career Development and Placement Office.

Additional information regarding course content and the geography program at UMD is available in the Departmental Office - Cina 329.