Geography Department

Course Descriptions

Earth Systems

• ERTH 303N - Weather and Climate

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Natural Science Course

Geography

• GPHY 111N - Intro to Physical Geography

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Natural Science Course

• GPHY 112N - Intro to Phys Geography Lab

  Credits: 1. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Natural Science Lab Course
  • Natural Science Course

• GPHY 121S - Human Geography

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Social Sciences Course

• GPHY 141S - Geography of World Regions

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Social Sciences Course

• GPHY 144 - Montana's Mountains

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

• GPHY 191X - Special Topics

  Credits: 1 TO 3. Level: Undergraduate. (R 6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one time offerings of current topics.

  Course Attributes:

  • Internships/Practicums
  • Indigenous and Global

• GPHY 241 - Montana

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. Offered autumn.  The physical, cultural, economic, political,  and historical geography of the state including Montana’s mountains and the prairies.

• GPHY 243X - Africa

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Indigenous and Global

• GPHY 245X - The Middle East

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Indigenous and Global

• GPHY 284 - Intro to GIS and Cartography

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

• GPHY 291 - Special Topics

  Credits: 1 TO 6. Level: Undergraduate. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

• GPHY 311N - Biogeography

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Natural Science Course

• GPHY 314 - Global Mountain Environments

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

• GPHY 317 - Geomorphology

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. Offered intermittently. Prereq., GPHY 111N or GEO 101N. Important landforms and landscapes, their biophysical processes, and their formative elements.

• GPHY 323S - Econ. Geog. of Rural Areas

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Social Sciences Course

• GPHY 335 - Water Policy

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Writing Course-Upper-Division

• GPHY 336 - Exploration & Discovery

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

• GPHY 338 - Mountains and Society

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

• GPHY 342 - North America

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

• GPHY 344 - Crown of the Continent

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

• GPHY 347 - Regional Geography (Mult Reg)

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. (R-9) Offered intermittently. Selected regions will be listed as appropriate in each Class Schedule.

• GPHY 348 - Field Studies in Geography

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. (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.

• GPHY 378 - Preceptorship in Geography

  Credits: 1 TO 3. Level: Undergraduate. (R-6) Offered autumn and spring. Consent of instructor. Assisting a faculty member by tutoring, conducting review sessions, helping students with research projects, and carrying out other class-related responsibilities. Open to juniors and seniors who apply to instructor for consent.

• GPHY 385 - Field Techniques

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. 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.

• GPHY 391 - Special Topics

  Credits: 1 TO 12. Level: Undergraduate. (R-12) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

• GPHY 392 - Independent Study

  Credits: 1 TO 9. Level: Undergraduate. (R-9) Offered every term. Consent of instructor. Independent study in any subfield of geography.

• GPHY 400 - Geography Capstone

  Credits: 1. Level: Undergraduate. Offered autumn. Prereq.,Senior standing. Exploration of current research, projects, and programs of geographers and scientists/practitioners in allied disciplines and fields, and preparation of a professional portfolio. Student preparation for post-graduate professional and academic careers is emphasized.

• GPHY 421 - Sustainable Cities

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. 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.

• GPHY 423 - Migration & Population Change

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered intermittently. Focus on internal migration and population change in the U.S., in particular in the Mountain West. Review of migration theories and empirical research; development of practical skills for conducting empirical research related to migration and population change.

• GPHY 432 - Human Role Environ Change

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. 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.

• GPHY 433 - Cultural Ecology

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Writing Course-Upper-Division

• GPHY 434 - Food and Famine

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. 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.

• GPHY 438 - Mountain Field Study

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (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.

• GPHY 442 - Regionalism & Rocky Mtn West

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. 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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Writing Course-Upper-Division

• GPHY 443 - Cultural & Global Competence

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. 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.

• GPHY 444 - High Asia

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. 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.

• GPHY 445 - Regional Geography

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered intermittently. In-depth treatment of a geographic region, a particular regional problem, or the methodology of regional geography. Topics vary.

• GPHY 465 - Planning Princ & Processes

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered autumn even-numbered years. Prereq., upper-division or graduate standing. Surveys planning principles, practices and issues in urban and rural environments. Attention is devoted to Montana, state planning programs in the United States., and federal programs and policies that influence land-use planning. Emphasizes skills and techniques used in plan development and implementation.

• GPHY 466 - Environmental Planning

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered autumn odd-numbered years. Introduction to practice of environmental planning which includes elements of physical planning, planning design at the landscape scale, and conservation planning. Includes field visits and project-based work.

• GPHY 468 - Community & Regional Analysis

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered autumn. Prereq., M 115 or M 121 or Consent of Instructor. Coreq., GPHY 469. Socio-demographic analysis of communities and regions: population, employment, and spatial interaction. Hands-on course designed for future planners, GIS analysts, and others interested in socio-demographic change.

• GPHY 469 - Planning & Analysis Laboratory

  Credits: 1. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered autumn.  Coreq., GPHY 468.  Laboratory to accompany GPHY 468.

• GPHY 481 - Advanced Cartographic Design

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered autumn. Prereq GPHY 284 or GPHY 381 or FORS 250 or Consent of Instructor. The course concentrates on the presentation of spatial data and the construction of cartographic products that have clear communication and excellent aesthetic design. The class meets the University's service learning course objectives through a semester long project where students consult with a client, design and construct a map, and deliver a final product.

• GPHY 482 - Spatial Analysis & GIS

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered intermittently. Prereq., GPHY 284 and STAT 216, or Consent of Instructor. Quantitative analysis of spatial data, including techniques for pattern analysis, classification, and interpolation within a GIS environment.

• GPHY 485 - Internet GIS

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered intermittently. Prereq., GPHY 284 or GPHY 381; coreq., GPHY 489. Principles and techniques for distributing GIS and mapping applications through the Internet.

• GPHY 486 - Transport, Planning & GIS

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered intermittently. Prereq., M 115 or M 121 or Consent of Instructor. Coreq., GPHY 489. A project-oriented course focusing on patterns and trends in urban passenger transportation, principles of transport planning, and modeling in GIS-T.

• GPHY 487 - Remote Sensing/Raster GIS

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered autumn. Prereq. or coreq., GPHY 284 or GPHY 381 or Consent of Instructor. Coreq., GPHY 489. Basic principles of remote sensing and analyzing images within a raster GIS. Review current data sources.

• GPHY 488 - Thematic Cartography & GIS

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered spring. Prereq., GPHY 284 or GPHY 381 or FORS 250 or consent of instr.; coreq., GPHY 489. Communicating and analyzing topical information with maps. Choropleth maps, dot maps, proportional figure maps, isarithmic maps, and others. Includes computer mapping and GIS exercises.

• GPHY 489 - Cartography/GIS Laboratory

  Credits: 1. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-4) Offered autumn and spring.  Coreq., GPHY 486, 485, 487 or 488. Lab to accompany cartography and GIS courses.

• GPHY 491 - Special Topics

  Credits: 0 TO 9. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-9) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

• GPHY 492 - Independent Study

  Credits: 1 TO 9. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-9) Offered every term. Consent of instructor. Independent study in any subfield of geography.

• GPHY 497 - Workshop in Teaching Geography

  Credits: 2 TO 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. 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.

• GPHY 498 - Internship

  Credits: 1 TO 6. Level: Undergraduate. Offered every term. Consent of instructor. Extended classroom experience which provides practical application of classroom learning during placements within governmental agencies or the business community. A maximum of 6 credits of Internship may count toward graduation.

  Course Attributes:

  • Internships/Practicums
  • Internship graduation limit 6

• GPHY 499 - senior thesis / capstone

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate. (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.

  Course Attributes:

  • Writing Course-Upper-Division

• GPHY 500 - Geography Graduate Colloquium

  Credits: 1. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-3) Offered autumn. Presentation of faculty and student research. Guest lecturers. Graded pass/not pass only. Enrollment required every autumn graduate students are in residence.

• GPHY 504 - Geographical Research

  Credits: 1. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered autumn. To be taken during first semester of graduate studies.  Understanding of diverse research approaches in geography and development of a thesis topic.  To be continued in spring in GPHY 505.

• GPHY 505 - Research Design

  Credits: 2. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered spring. Prereq., GPHY 504. Preparation of a thesis proposal: research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation. Recommended to be taken during the second semester of graduate studies.

• GPHY 515 - Advanced Human Geography

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (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.

• GPHY 520 - Seminar Geographical Thought

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered autumn. Geographical ideas, concepts, approaches, and techniques from ancient to modern times.  Recommended to be taken during first semester of graduate studies.

• GPHY 525 - Advanced Physical Geography

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. .(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.

• GPHY 535 - Seminar in Water Resources

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered intermittently. Examines water resources issues and management approaches in the United States and internationally. Specific regional focus, issues, methods, and theoretical foundations to vary depending on instructor, their expertise, and student needs.

• GPHY 550 - Seminar in Geography

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-9) Offered intermittently. Seminar topics in geography and society, human-environmental interaction, physical geography, regional geography, or geographical techniques.

• GPHY 560 - Seminar in Planning

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered spring odd-numbered years.  A critical analysis of land planning history, theory, approaches, and practice.  Emphasis is on the United States and England.

• GPHY 561 - Land Use Planning Law

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered autumn.  Same as ENST 561 and LAW 687.  Basic overview of the law of land-use planning including, background in the traditional governmental regulatory, proprietary, and fiscal land use tools. Examination of modern techniques for land-use planning; consideration of constitutional limits of the authority of state and local governments.  Focus on skills in interpreting, drafting, and applying state legislation and local ordinances.

• GPHY 562 - Land Use Planning Clinic

  Credits: 1 TO 6. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-6) Offered every term.  Prereq. or coreq., GPHY 561.  Same as ENST 562.  Students assist local communities in long-range planning efforts and development of growth management plans as required by Montana law; ordinance drafting, development proposals, and land use issues. 

• GPHY 564 - Planning Design

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered spring even-numbered years. Prereq., graduate standing or Consent of Instructor. Analysis of land-use problems and design.

• GPHY 578 - Preceptorship in Geography

  Credits: 1 TO 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-6) Offered autumn and spring. Graduate standing and consent of Instructor. Assisting a faculty member by tutoring, helping students with research projects, and carrying out other class-related activities.

• GPHY 580 - Seminar GIS & Cartography

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-9) Offered spring. Seminar topics in cartography and GIS. Applications to advanced studies in human and physical geography.

• GPHY 587 - Image Analysis & Modeling

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered every two years. Prereq., GPHY 487 or FORS 351 or consent of instr.; coreq., GPHY 589.  Advanced topics in image analysis (e.g. hyperspectral images and pattern-recognition-based classification) and foundations of simple raster-based models.

• GPHY 588 - Vector GIS

  Credits: 3. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered autumn. Coreq., GPHY 589. Applications of GIS in human geography. Mapping and map analysis methods employing census data, TIGER Files, city and county data bases, county surveyors maps, and others. Theory, concepts, and practices of GIS focusing on the vector data model

• GPHY 589 - Cartography/GIS Laboratory

  Credits: 1. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-4) Offered autumn and spring.  Laboratory to accompany GPHY 587 or 588.

• GPHY 595 - Special Topics

  Credits: 1 TO 8. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-9) Offered intermittently. Prereq., consent of instr. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

  Course Attributes:

  • Internships/Practicums

• GPHY 596 - Independent Study

  Credits: 1 TO 9. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-9) Offered every term. Graduate standing and consent of instructor. Independent research in geography or planning.

  Course Attributes:

  • Service Learning/Volunteer

• GPHY 597 - Professional Paper

  Credits: 1 TO 6. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-6) Offered autumn and spring. Graduate standing in Geography and consent of advisor.

• GPHY 598 - Internship

  Credits: 1 TO 9. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. (R-9) Offered every term. Graduate standing and consent of instructor. Extended classroom experience which provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus.

  Course Attributes:

  • Internships/Practicums

• GPHY 599 - Thesis

  Credits: 1 TO 6. Level: Undergraduate, Graduate. Offered every term. Graduate standing in Geography and consent of advisor.