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Specialties of Department

Geography is the study of the places, people, and regions of our changing Earth. Geographers use maps and other geographical tools to investigate where things are located, why they are located there, how they are connected and the consequences of those connections.

The purpose of geographical inquiry is to help people improve the quality of their lives through a deeper understanding of how the world works, and to help communities and regions adapt to changes and develop a sustainable blueprint for the future. Geographic knowledge about places and regions provides guidelines to solving important problems.

Our faculty members use places and regions as laboratories to develop new knowledge and solve problems in South Dakota, the Great Plains, the Prairie Potholes region, the Corn Belt, California, the Southeastern United States and in several international areas including Eastern Europe, especially Romania, West Africa and the Amazon.

There are four main areas of specialty within Geography in which our faculty members are involved here at SDSU
(click below for more information):

Geospatial techniques

Physical environment

Rural and urban land use dynamics