BA in Geography (Geographic Information Science) in Sacramento United States | California State University, Sacramento

The Bachelor of Arts in Geography with a Geographic Information Science (GIScience) concentration focuses on building students' geospatial abilities. Through Geographic Information Science, cartography, remote sensing, and qualitative and quantitative approaches, students gain the tools to address spatially-oriented challenges—whether helping a business choose optimal sites for expansion or suppliers, simulating wildfire progression across landscapes, or examining the worldwide dissemination of diseases and innovations.
At Sacramento State, Geography students investigate natural and cultural environments using techniques from both natural and social sciences. They examine climate, weather, landforms, water resources, flora and fauna, as well as populations, societies, economies, and urban areas. These elements interact in complex ways, creating unique places and regions. Geography emphasizes spatial relationships, patterns, and the underlying processes in nature and human activity.

Students handle quantitative and qualitative data from diverse sources such as published censuses, maps, aerial imagery, fieldwork, laboratory studies, surveys, and interviews. They employ tools like Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and other computer applications to gather, visualize, and interpret spatial information. Geography students explore and tackle intricate issues, particularly those involving human-environment interactions, including climate change, resource management, urban development and planning, globalization, migration, cultural identity, and territorial disputes. This geographical perspective is applied across scales, from local to global, while developing regional expertise.