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Geography Schools and Programs in The United States

98 schools in The United States teach Geography.

  • Stetson University

    University DeLand, The United States In an official register

    Stetson University is an independent institution of higher learning, established in 1883, operating four colleges and schools across the I-4 corridor in Central Florida. The primary undergraduate campus is located in DeLand, Florida, USA. The Center for International…

Geography Studies in The United States

Geography studies the Earth's land, features and inhabitants and the connections between people and their environments. In the United States it spans physical geography (landforms, climate, soils, water and vegetation), human geography (economic, cultural, political and health topics) and a fast-growing technical side: geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing and cartography. Departments often sit in a college of arts and sciences or of social sciences, and many now market their programmes around spatial data science.

How the degree is organised

Each US university designs its own programmes; the usual levels are:

  • Associate degree (two years) at a community college, often as the first half of a bachelor's degree
  • Bachelor's degree (four years), a B.A. or B.S. in Geography, sometimes with concentrations or a separate GIS major
  • Master's degree (typically two years), research-based (M.A. or M.S.) or professional, for example in GIS
  • PhD (five to eight years), for research and university teaching
  • Certificates in GIS or geospatial data science, which can be added to another degree

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), geography programmes may include courses in physical and human geography, statistics or mathematics, remote sensing and GIS, and internships help students put the theory into practice. US credits reflect weekly class hours, not ECTS, and students usually declare their major at the end of the second year.

Some examples from the departments' own pages: the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers two undergraduate majors, Geography and Cartography & GIS, a certificate in Geospatial Data Science (new in 2025), MS and PhD degrees in Geography and an MS in Cartography & GIS, including an accelerated non-thesis option. The University of Washington in Seattle offers a B.A. in Geography with a Data Science option, a minor, and M.A. and PhD programmes. The University of Colorado Boulder has concentrations in human and social geography, environmental and earth sciences, and geographic information and data sciences, plus certificates in GIS, hydrology and Arctic studies. The University of Maryland's Department of Geographical Sciences runs a combined BS/MS programme and focuses its research on remote sensing and global environmental change.

Admission and visa

For a bachelor's degree you need to have completed secondary school and be at least 17. Each university reviews foreign records and may ask for a credential evaluation, and US universities require an English proficiency test. Graduate programmes have their own admission rules for international applicants; CU Boulder, for example, publishes a separate page for international graduate applicants.

Before applying for a visa you must be accepted by an institution certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which issues the Form I-20 or DS-2019. Degree students use the F visa and exchange students the J visa. EducationUSA recommends checking accreditation, since recognition of credits and degrees by other institutions and employers is linked to it.

Where to study geography in the United States

Geography is taught across the country. The cities with the most schools on this page are Baltimore, Tuscaloosa, Denver, Los Angeles (the University of Southern California and UCLA), Seattle (the University of Washington and Seattle Central College) and Miami (the University of Miami and Florida International University). Other examples include The Ohio State University, The University of Texas at Austin, The Pennsylvania State University, the University of Florida, the University of Oregon, The University of Chicago, Northwestern University and Dartmouth College, as well as community colleges such as Pasadena City College and American River College in Sacramento. Community colleges provide the first two years of a four-year degree at lower cost.

Careers

Few graduates work under the job title "geographer": the BLS counts only about 1,500 geographers in 2025, 64 percent of them in the federal government, with a median annual wage of $102,040 in May 2025 and a projected decline of 2 percent from 2025 to 2035. A bachelor's degree can lead to entry-level jobs and federal positions, while jobs outside the federal government may require a master's degree in geography or GIS. Geography graduates who use GIS also work as cartographers and photogrammetrists, surveyors, urban and regional planners, geoscientists and hydrologists. Cartographers and photogrammetrists earned a median $81,390 in May 2025, and their employment is projected to grow 7 percent from 2025 to 2035.

Frequently asked questions

Is geography in the US mostly about maps?

No. Programmes cover physical and human geography, environmental change and spatial data analysis; mapping and GIS are one part, sometimes offered as a separate major.

Do I need a master's degree to work in geography?

Not always. A bachelor's degree can lead to entry-level and federal jobs, but many jobs outside the federal government ask for a master's degree in geography or GIS, and research posts may require a PhD.

Can I study GIS without a full geography degree?

Yes. Many universities offer GIS or geospatial data science certificates, and some, like UW-Madison, offer professional master's programmes in cartography and GIS.