Our research and teaching examine some of today’s greatest challenges, including climate change, environmental justice, inequality, economic development and water rights. Using cutting edge technologies to map and analyze social and environmental processes, we develop future geographers to work locally, nationally and globally to make a world of difference.

Whether you’re interested in cities, environmental sustainability, global geopolitics, social justice, political economy, climate science or geospatial technologies like mapping and unmanned aerial vehicles, the Geography and the Environment Department is a great place to be. We offer an array of undergraduate majors and minors, graduate degrees and certificates of advanced study.

Our department has been a leader in geographic research and teaching for more than 80 years. With strengths in environmental, urban, political and community geography, as well as geospatial techniques and landscape processes, geography combines critical analysis with practical skills, to help you better understand the world and have a positive impact on it.

Geography Colloquium: The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race, and the Struggle for Sustainability

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related majors, minors, graduate degrees and certificate programs

66%

of Maxwell faculty conduct international research

topical research clusters provide vast academic and experiential opportunities

Undergraduate Studies

Our dynamic major and minor programs provide a solid foundation in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities.

Geography, B.A.

Environment, sustainability and policy integrated learning major (double major program), B.A. or B.S depending on base major

Minor in geography

Minor in environment and society

Graduate Studies

Graduate students are part of a vibrant intellectual community and work closely with faculty members in research and teaching. Advanced degree options include:

Geography, M.A.

Geography, Ph.D.

Joint degree program with the master of public administration (M.P.A.)

Certificate of Advanced Study in GIS and spatial analysis (concurrent with graduate studies)

There's a world of possibilities waiting for you.

View of Syracuse University Campus with Onondaga Lake in the background

Syracuse, N.Y. - A Learning Laboratory

Syracuse University’s location in Central New York serves as a learning laboratory, where students gain real-world experience through research, internships and more.

Students interested in environmental processes and management have easy access to the Finger Lakes and the region’s other extensive groundwater resources; ecological restoration projects in Onondaga Lake; environmental justice issues in Syracuse, N.Y.; or conservation challenges in the nearby Adirondack mountains.

Syracuse is also located within the first-in-the-nation unmanned vehicle traffic management corridor. This 50-mile stretch of land has become the most advanced drone testing corridor in the U.S., generating data that will inform future drone applications.

A Capital Experience

Many students of geography and the environment choose to study in Washington, D.C.; Albany; and New York City, key centers of state, national and international environmental and sustainability policy.

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Learn About the NYS Assembly Internship

Applied and Scholarly Research

Faculty members within the Geography and the Environment Department represent wide-ranging interests and sub-specialties, providing students with the opportunity to address real-world problems through multiple lenses.

Map of "food deserts" in Central New York

Community Geography

This unique partnership offers students with interests in urban studies, public health, environmental justice or community development opportunities to work on participatory research projects with local and regional community organizations.

Environment and Society

Professor Ethan Coffel is principal investigator on a three-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant project exploring the link between climate and agricultural change. He is one of many faculty in our department whose research focuses on energy and natural resources.

GIS and Geospatial Technologies

Watch this video interview with Professor Jane Read and learn about the tools and procedures for collecting, analyzing, visualizing, disseminating and understanding information about the earth, its inhabitants and physical processes using satellite imagery and other information technologies.

Map to represent historic geography in the city of Syracuse

Historical Geography and Geohumanities

This research area links historical geography with the growing interdisciplinary field of the geohumanities, including historical GIS, digital humanities, spatial history and the environmental humanities.