Geography

Geography’s interdisciplinary focus, positioned between the natural and social sciences, is reflected in the diversity of this degree program’s content. Geography describes, explains and shapes spatial structures and processes, and aids in finding strategies to solve environmentally and socially relevant problems both locally and globally. Thus, for example, natural phenomena like floods, landslides, or desertification can be objects of geographic investigation.

Geography consists of two main fields: physical geography and human geography. Physical geography includes, among others, geomorphology (the study of surface shapes), soil science, hydrogeography, climate geography and landscape ecology. Human geography is involved with population geography, settlement geography, social geography, economic geography and development geography research, among others.

As its subfields suggest, the study of geography requires basic courses and methodologies in mathematics and natural sciences or in social sciences and economics. Theoretical instruction is complemented by excursions and practical methodological or field courses to assure that what students learn approximates practice in the profession.

In teaching degree programs for grammar and comprehensive schools, students choose two school subjects. Thus, in addition to Geography, students are enrolled for a second subject as well as educational sciences.

Possible lines of work:

Teaching at German public grammar or comprehensive schools. To teach at a German public school, candidates must follow up their bachelor’s degree with a Master of Education degree program as well as practical teacher training.

Development cooperation, geographic information systems (GIS), market/opinion research, consulting, natural hazard management, nature/environmental protection, public relations/media, spatial/landscape planning, transport planning and transport infrastructure planning, urban planning/development, academia (research management, teaching/research at universities, research institutions, etc.)