Graduate Course Offerings
GES 700 – Special Topics [3]
In addition to the courses listed below, GES 700 is offered each semester to provide graduate-level work on topics not found elsewhere in the course offerings. Instructor and topics rotate each semester. Past and upcoming special topics include:
- Environment and Power with Dr. Biehler
- Latinx and Black Geographies with Dr. Valencia
- Logics of Capital: Witchcraft, Slavery, and the Proletariat with Dr. Mahmoudi
- Geographies of Dis/posession: Social Justice and The City with Dr. Aufseeser
- Geographies of Resilience: Technology, Ecologies, and Power with Dr. Lansing
- Geographies of Health and Disease with Dr. Biehler
- Valuing Nature: Power, Production, & the Environment with Dr. Mahmoudi
GES 701 – Introduction to Geography and Environmental Systems [3]
GES 702 – Research Methods for Geography and Environmental Systems [3]
GES 605 – Applied Landscape Ecology [4]
GES 610 – Atmospheric Science [3]
GES 611 – Fluvial Geomorphology [3]
GEOG 612: Biogeochemical Cycles and the Global Environment [3]
GES 613 – Advanced Biogeography Seminar [3]
GES 615 – Climate Change [3]
The course will present the historical evolution of Earth’s atmosphere and its response as a dynamic system to both internal and external forcings, including anthropogenic influences. This will include examination of the unique manner in which Earth’s atmosphere evolved compared to other planetary atmospheres, and the linkages between climate and other Earth spheres (biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere). The various timescales of climate change ranging from millions of years to decades will be discussed. Theories that involve changes in orbital parameters, solar output, plate tectonics, ocean thermohaline circulations, planetary impactors, volcanic emissions, the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and human emissions of carbon dioxide will be investigated in detail. Students will gain insight into the workings of General Circulation Models (GCMs) and run their own climate simulations using the EdGCM model developed jointly between NASA and Columbia University. The course will include a lab component where students will run a climate model. Prerequisite: GES 701.
GES 616 – Physical Hydrology [4]
GES 621 – Water in the Urban Environment [3]
GES 622 – Research Design for the Urban Environment [3]
GES 629 – Graduate Seminar in Geography of Disease and Health [3]
GES 634 – Wildlife Law and the Endangered Species Act [3]
GES 651 – Seminar in Urban Sustainability [3]
GES 662 – Spatial Analysis of Coupled Human-Environmental Systems [3]
GES 681 – Remote Sensing of Environment [3]
GES 686 – Introduction to Geographic Information Systems [4]
GES 687 – Advanced Applications of Geographic Information Systems [3]
GES 688 –Seminar in Geography and Environmental Systems [1]
This is a 1-credit seminar that may be offered by department faculty on any topic of special interest. Students will met with the faculty member once each week to discuss key concepts and methods as presented in the scholarly literature. May be repeated for credit and may be offered in multiple sections concurrently.
GES 689 – Department Seminar [1]
GES 799 – Master’s Thesis Research [2-9]