Teaching Geography

Individuals interested in teaching in K-12 schools must complete a degree in the content area they want to teach plus the teacher preparation program through the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Individuals must complete the teaching major/teaching track within that degree program, which may contain different course requirements than the academic major since the sequence of courses is designed to meet state standards. Upon completion of the degree program with the teaching track and the secondary licensure program, one will be eligible for a standard Montana teaching license in this content area.

Students who want to be licensed to teach geography at the middle and high school level must complete the B.A. degree requirements in geography (general geography, no option required).  They also must complete a teaching major or minor in a second field of their choice and the professional licensure program in the College of Education.  Students may also earn a teaching minor in geography.  See the Department of Curriculum & Instruction for information about admission to the Teacher Education Program and completion of the licensure program.

To sign up for this option, you need to contact the Curriculum and Instruction Department. Do not fill out a major/minor form for graduation or the major/minor/concentration section of the major change form. Approvals for this option must come from the Curriculum and Instruction Department.  

Tracks will not appear on your UM transcript, diploma, university lists, student data system, or university publication and are used for advising purposes only. You do not fill out a major change for a track.

Bachelor of Arts - Geography; Track: Teaching Geography

College Humanities & Sciences

Catalog Year: 2014-2015

Degree Specific Credits: 39

Required Cumulative GPA: 2.0


Introduction to Geography

Rule: Must complete all of the following courses:

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description GPHY 111N - Intro to Physical Geography
Offered autumn and spring. Introduction to the earth’s major natural environmental systems, their spatial distribution and interrelationships, including weather and climate, vegetation and ecosystems, soils, landforms, and earth-surface processes.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 112N - Intro to Phys Geography Lab
Offered autumn and spring. Prereq. or coreq., GPHY 111. Introduction to concepts and techniques needed to understand and analyze the information contained in various types of maps, graphs, aerial photos, imagery, and other graphics and geographic data sets. This is prerequisite to GPHY 385.
1 Credits
Show Description GPHY 121S - Human Geography
Offered autumn and spring. Introduction to Human Geography focuses upon the linkages between geography and society including analysis of regions, ethnic groups, urban landscapes, migration and population change, geopolitics, economics, and cultural differences.
3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 7 Total Credits Required

Regional Geography Course

Rule: Must complete at least 1 of the following courses

Note: GPHY 141 Geography of World Regions is highly recommended for Geography teaching majors.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description GPHY 141S - Geography of World Regions
Offered autumn. An overall view of how the lands and peoples of the world are organized into coherent geographical regions, how landscapes differ from region to region, and how the people differ in terms of their traits, beliefs, ways of life, and economic livelihood.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 144 - Montana's Mountains
Consent of Instructor. A field-based course offered during winter session in the winter splendor of the North Fork of the Flathead River and Glacier National Park. Topics addressed include physical geography, geology, winter ecology, national park management, environmental history, and the changing economy of the region.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 241 - Montana
Offered autumn.  The physical, cultural, economic, political,  and historical geography of the state including Montana’s mountains and the prairies.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 243X - Africa
Offered intermittently. A survey of the biophysical and cultural geography of Sub-Saharan Africa. Emphasis is on the region's cultural-historical development and current ecological, demographic, and economic patterns.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 245X - The Middle East
Offered intermittently. A survey of the biophysical and cultural geography of Southwest Asia and North Africa.  Emphasis on environmental change; rehistory; patterns of cultural and historical change; issues of socio-economic, religious, and political diversity; and the broader political significance of the region.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 342 - North America
Offered intermittently. Physiographic regions of North America; highlights of historical geography blended with physical and cultural aspects of the continent. Lesser known places are explored.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 344 - Crown of the Continent
Offered autumn. The study of the geographical setting of the Crown of the Continent of North America, including the richness of physical geography, history, culture, and models of conservation. Examines ongoing research initiatives, impacts of climate change, regional transformations, and the relationship between people and this mountainous environment.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 347 - Regional Geography (Mult Reg)
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Selected regions will be listed as appropriate in each Class Schedule.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 348 - Field Studies in Geography
(R-12)  Offered autumn and spring.  Through extended backcountry travel, experiential examination of regional landforms, climate, hydrology, soils, and patterns of vegetation and wildlife.  Local landscapes, natural-resource endowment, and societies with particular emphasis on human-environmental interaction.  Geographical skills and techniques, including map reading and navigational skills.  Offered by the Wild Rockies Field Institute as part of a semester-long, 12-credit field experience with corequisite courses in allied fields.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 442 - Regionalism & Rocky Mtn West
Offered intermittently. Same as HSTA 462. Investigation of regionalism as a concept and its future in the Rocky Mountain West. Regionalism as a geographical, economic, political, and cultural entity.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 444 - High Asia
Offered intermittently. A study of the geography and mountain-society interactions in High Asia.  The course includes attention to the theory and methodology of mountain geography, with attention to physical and human systems and their interaction.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 445 - Regional Geography
Offered intermittently. In-depth treatment of a geographic region, a particular regional problem, or the methodology of regional geography. Topics vary.
3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Geographic Methods

Rule: Must complete all of the following subcategories

Minimum Required Grade: C-
5-6 Total Credits Required

GIS

Rule: Must complete the following course

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description GPHY 284 - Intro to GIS and Cartography
Offered every term. Open to sophomores or juniors or with Consent of Instructor. This course is designed as a practical introduction to the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for storing, retrieving, analyzing and displaying spatial data. It will also cover the history of cartography and the conventions of the modern map-making process.
3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Field Techniques/Workshop

Rule: Must complete 1 of the following courses

Note: GPHY 284 and 385 are offered at least once per year. GPHY 497 is offered intermittently in summer.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description GPHY 385 - Field Techniques
Offered autumn and intermittently in spring. Prereq., GPHY 112 or Consent of Instructor. Field techniques used by geographers and planners in making field observations and in collecting data.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 497 - Workshop in Teaching Geography
Offered intermittently. Concepts and techniques in geography, with emphasis on their use in teaching geography in Montana schools. Students are required to prepare and present a teaching unit project. Designed for pre-service or in-service teachers.
2 To 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 2-3 Total Credits Required

Upper Division Systematic Geography

Rule: Must complete the following subcategories of courses

9 Total Credits Required

Physical Geography

Rule: Must complete at least 1 of the following courses

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description ERTH 303N - Weather and Climate
Offered spring. Origin, composition, structure, and dynamics of the atmosphere, gas and radiation laws, energy budget and balance, weather elements, North American weather systems, and climate change. To succeed in this course students should have comfort with basic algebra.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 311N - Biogeography
Offered intermittently. Changing patterns of plant and animal distributions in space and time. Combination of historical and ecological approaches to biological species and communities. Study of external causes of plant and animal distributions, especially climatic change and human impacts.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 314 - Global Mountain Environments
Offered autumn. The study of mountain environments and their physical processes around the globe: Andes, Appalachians, East African Mountains, European Alps, Hindu Kush-Himalaya-Karakoram, Pamir, Rocky Mountains, Southern Alps of New Zealand, Tien Shan, and others.  Topics include mountain building, alpine glaciers, mountain geomorphology and climatology, mountain watersheds, mountain biogeography, and mountain hazards such as earthquakes and mass movements.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 317 - Geomorphology
Offered intermittently. Prereq., GPHY 111N or GEO 101N. Important landforms and landscapes, their biophysical processes, and their formative elements.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 438 - Mountain Field Study
(R-6) Upper-division or graduate standing and consent of instructor. Examination of aspects of the study of mountain geography through a two-week field course based in a mountainous country and/or region. Possible areas of focus include, but are not limited to, the Northern Rocky Mountains, the Alps, the Himalaya, and the Andes.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 525 - Adv Physical Geography
.(R-9) Offered intermittently. Advanced topics in climate and global change, paleo-environments and biogeography, landform analysis, soils, and other selected topics. Topic titles will appear in the Class Schedule.
3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Geography and Society

Rule: Must complete at least 1 of the following:

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description GPHY 323S - Econ. Geog. of Rural Areas
Offered spring odd-numbered years. Study of the location of economic activities, including agriculture, industry, and services.  Focus on the changing nature of rural areas.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 421 - Sustainable Cities
Offered spring even-numbered years. Prereq., upper-division or graduate standing. A discussion of sustainability efforts in cities around the world.  Topics include, for example, urban sprawl and smart growth, alternative energy, public transportation, integrated waste management, integrated water management, green architecture, and urban agriculture.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 434 - Food and Famine
Offered intermittently. Exploration of the production, distribution, and consumption of food; the causes and consequences of hunger; and measures that might be taken to relieve hunger.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 443 - Cultural & Global Competence
Offered intermittently.  Prereq., upper-division or graduate standing.  Designed to increase awareness of student’s own culture and increase cross-cultural sensitivity.  Understanding the perspectives of other cultures and resolving possible conflicts.  Examination of the role of perception, belief systems, social structures, and culture practices.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 515 - Adv Human Geography
(R-9) Offered intermittently. Advanced topics in cultural and historical geography, gender issues, migration and population change, economic geography, urban and settlement geography, and other selected topics. Topic titles will appear in the Class Schedule.
3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Human Environment Interaction

Rule: Must complete at least 1 of the following:

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description GPHY 335 - Water Policy
Offered autumn. Prereq., WRIT 101 or WRIT 201, and one Approved Writing Course. Exploration of water resources issues facing the public, resource managers, and water users in the western United States today. Examines concepts, terms, and regulatory environment which provide the foundation for modern water management and policy.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 336 - Exploration & Discovery
Offered intermittently. Emphasis on the evidence of language, genetics, material culture, and transoceanic plant and animal exchanges in assessing mobility and population distributions in prehistory; factors that motivate exploration; the history of navigation; the impacts of exploration upon science, society, economics, and government.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 338 - Mountains and Society
Offered spring. Physical and cultural aspects of the mountains of North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Emphasis on combining the physical landscape with an overview of the indigenous people who inhabit the worlds’ heights.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 432 - Human Role Environ Change
Offered intermittently. A systematic examination of the ways in which the major physical systems and ecosystems of the earth have been modified by human activity, and approaches to the rehabilitation of these systems.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 433 - Cultural Ecology
Offered spring. Prereq., WRIT 101 or WRIT 201 and one Approved Writing Course.or consent of instructor. Examines issues related to culture and the natural environment. Topics include cultural origins and diversity, geography of religion, geolinguistics, plant and animal domestication, livelihood systems, folk and popular culture, ethnic geography, political patterns, demography, industries, urban genesis, and the transformation of environmental systems.
3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Upper Division Writing

Rule: Must complete 1 of the following courses

Note: GPHY 335 or GPHY 433 will also count toward the upper division core requirements.
GPHY 499 will also count toward upper-division electives.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description GPHY 335 - Water Policy
Offered autumn. Prereq., WRIT 101 or WRIT 201, and one Approved Writing Course. Exploration of water resources issues facing the public, resource managers, and water users in the western United States today. Examines concepts, terms, and regulatory environment which provide the foundation for modern water management and policy.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 433 - Cultural Ecology
Offered spring. Prereq., WRIT 101 or WRIT 201 and one Approved Writing Course.or consent of instructor. Examines issues related to culture and the natural environment. Topics include cultural origins and diversity, geography of religion, geolinguistics, plant and animal domestication, livelihood systems, folk and popular culture, ethnic geography, political patterns, demography, industries, urban genesis, and the transformation of environmental systems.
3 Credits
Show Description GPHY 499 - senior thesis / capstone
(R-6) Offered autumn and spring. Senior standing and consent of instructor. Independent research project in any geographical topic supervised by a faculty member, and leading to completion of the baccalaureate degree.
3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Degree Electives

Rule: Must complete sufficient credits of GPHY electives to fulfill the 39 degree credit total

Note: Students must fulfill the degree credit total of 39 credits plus the university requirement for 39 upper division credits.
EDU 497 Methods: 5-12 Social Studies' counts toward degree credit totals.

Minimum Required Grade: C-

Teaching Licensure Requirements

Note: Students must be formally admitted to the Teacher Education Program and complete all of the professional education licensure requirements. See the Department of Curriculum & Instruction in the College of Education and Human Sciences for more information. A major GPA of 2.75 is required to be eligible for student teaching. This major does not qualify as a single field endorsement. Individuals must complete a second teaching major or minor in another content area.


Teaching Track

Rule: Must complete the following course

Note: The EDU 497 course number is used for multiple courses. Students should register for EDU 497 Methods: 5-12 Social Studies.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description EDU 497 - Teaching and Assessing
(R-15) Offered autumn and/or spring. Prereq. admission to the Teacher Education Program. This course number is used for multiple elementary and secondary methods courses. Check the class schedule or with your advisor regarding appropriate sections. 5-8 Mathematics: 3 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., EDU 222; M 135 and 136. Special note: Refer to Program Description. This class must be taken concurrently with Level 3 Block courses and is restricted to students who have completed coursework in Levels 1 & 2. Methods of teaching, assessing, and evaluating mathematics in the 5-8 middle grades including number and operations, rational numbers, ratio and proportion, measurement, algebra, expressions and equations, geometry, probability, statistics, and functions. K-8 Social Studies: 3 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., HSTA 255, GPHY 121 or 141. Special note: Refer to Program Description. This class must be taken concurrently with Level 3 Block courses and is restricted to students who have completed coursework in Levels 1 & 2. Emphasis on developing teaching and assessing social studies teaching/learning opportunities that incorporate literature, primary sources and other developmentally appropriate activities. Overarching themes address diversity, integration across the curriculum and understanding state and national curriculum standards. K-8 Science: 3 cr. Offered every fall and spring. Pre-req., SCI 225, SCI 226;SCI 350, M135, M136, HHP 223, HHP 339, ARTZ 302A, DANC 346, THTR 339, MUSE 397, EDU 222, EDU 331, EDU 345, EDU 395, EDU 370, EDU 397, EDU 407 and all general education/content/specialty courses. Coreq., EDU 450/451, 497, 497, 497, 497, 340. Emphasis on developing, teaching, and assessing science teaching/learning opportunities that are inquiry-based, developmentally appropriate, integrated across the curriculum, and aligned with state and national curriculum standards. 4-8 Reading: 3 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Prereq. EDU 397, EDU 395, Coreq., 497 block, EDU 340, EDU 451. Preparation for teaching reading in a 4-8 setting so that all students are successful. Emphasis on reading to learn. Focus on using assessment to guide instruction, learning from trade books, textbooks, and electronic texts, activating prior knowledge, studying texts, and developing student enthusiasm for reading. 5-12 Science: 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., EDU 221 (C&I 303), a science teaching major or minor. Methods and materials to teach science in grades 5-12. Techniques of evaluation. 5-12 Social Studies: 3 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., EDU 221 (C&I 303). Foundations and purpose of the middle and secondary social studies curriculum. Elements of lesson design, including instructional methods, materials and assessment. 5-12 Mathematics: 4 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., EDU 202 and 221 (C&I 200 and 303), and at least two-thirds of the teaching major or minor in mathematics. Methods for teaching mathematics in grades 5-12 focusing on presentation of mathematics concepts and procedures through models, problem solving, and technology. Development of instructional strategies and classroom organizational models, discourse in the classroom, and multiple means for assessing student progress. 5-12 Business Subjects: 4 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., EDU 221 (C&I 303), business teaching experience. Methods of unit and lesson planning methods of instruction and presentation including learning theory computer applications student assessment micro teaching test design and evaluation of business courses and students.
0 To 4 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

General Ed Mathematics

Rule: Must complete 1 of the following

Note: Students are encouraged to take M 115. Students who successfully complete M 122 Trigonometry, M 171 Calculus I, or M 172 Calculus II also meet the degree specific Gen Ed Mathematics requirement. Gen Ed credits do not count towards degree credits.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description M 115 - Probability and Linear Math
Offered every term. Prereq., M 090 with a grade of B- or better, or M 095, or ALEKS placement >= 3. Systems of linear equations and matrix algebra. Introduction to probability with emphasis on models and probabilistic reasoning. Examples of applications of the material in many fields.
3 Credits
Show Description M 121 - College Algebra
Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., M 095 or ALEKS placement >= 4. Intended to strengthen algebra skills. The study of functions and their inverses; polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions. Credit not allowed for both M 121, and M 151.
3 Credits
Show Description M 151 - Precalculus
Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., ALEKS placement >= 4. A one semester preparation for calculus (as an alternative to M 121-122. Functions of one real variable are introduced in general and then applied to the usual elementary functions, namely polynomial and rational functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, trigonometric functions, and miscellaneous others. Inverse functions, polar coordinates and trigonometric identities are included. Credit not allowed for both M 151 and M 121 or 122.
4 Credits
Show Description M 162 - Applied Calculus
Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., ALEKS placement >= 5 or one of M 121, 122 or 151. Introductory course surveying the principal ideas of differential and integral calculus with emphasis on applications and computer software. Mathematical modeling in discrete and continuous settings. Intended primarily for students who do not plan to take higher calculus.
4 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

General Ed Symbolic Systems

Rule: Must complete either 1 year of a foreign language or STAT 216 Introduction to Statistics

Note: Gen Ed credits do not count towards degree credits.

Minimum Required Grade: C-
3-10 Total Credits Required