Available Minors
Geography and the Environment
Geography and the Environment is the study of place in the same sense that history is the study of time. Moreover, geographers can visit and explore any place in the world. Geographers concentrate on asking two essential questions – “Where are things located?” and “Why are they located there?” From the information we obtain to these questions, geographers can study the local, national and global patterns that shape our lives.
Geographers are interdisciplinary scientists who study both the human and natural environments. As a result, geographers are free to study issues and phenomena from virtually all other disciplines. Geography is divided into three (3) distinct fields and numerous subfields:
- Human geography
- Physical geography
- Technical geography
Human geography is the study of topics in the social sciences and human environment such as social, political, economic, or population issues. Physical geography is the study of topics in the physical sciences and natural environment such as climate, geology, resources, or biology. Technical geography encompasses the technical skills of geography including mapping and data analysis. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have enabled geographers to merge these technical skills.
Jacksonville University hosts the Kappa Eta chapter of Gamma Theta Upsilon. Eligible students will be invited to join each year by the faculty advisor, Dr. Jeff Martin.
The Geography minor requires 15 credits of coursework. Complete minor requirements are available through Academic Advising.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Geographic Information Systems professionals analyze and visualize all kinds of data to help businesses and organizations better understand patterns and spatial relationships. You can put your GIS skills to work in industries like government, engineering, health sciences, utilities, environmental planning, and more.
The GIS minor requires 15 credits of coursework. Complete minor requirements are available through Academic Advising.
Sustainability
Sustainability is a concept that first emerged out of ecology to address the capacity of biological systems to remain diverse and productive over time. A variety of disciplines now use the term to describe continued existence as the condition of the interaction among three things: the natural environment; the economic activity through which we transform it; and society, which both directs and lives from this productive work.
Sustainability is, in effect, the idea of a balance between the environment, society, and the economy in which each finds a level that permits the flourishing of the other two. In a sustainable world, economic production proceeds without degrading the environment or society to the point they are no longer diverse and productive. The environment is protected, without stifling economic activity, and society flourishes without sacrificing the interests of future generations for short-term economic growth.
Jacksonville University seeks to be “widely recognized as a national model for a Green University” through its teaching, research projects, and campus activities.
The sustainabilty minor requires 15 credits of coursework. Complete minor requirements are available through Academic Advising.