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Department of Geography, Environment & Spatial Analysis
The Department of Geography, Environment & Spatial Analysis at Cal Poly Humboldt helps students understand how people, place, power, and environment shape the world through fieldwork, research, and geospatial tools.
B.A. in Geography
Research and explain how people and environments shape the world. Build skills in fieldwork, qualitative and mixed-methods research, and critical spatial analysis focused on socio-ecological change, cultural landscapes, and spatial justice.
B.S. in Geospatial Science & Technology
Use GIS, remote sensing, and spatial data to map and solve real-world problems. Build technical skills in geospatial analysis, modeling, and field data collection for environmental and social applications.
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Academic Programs
Geography, B.A.
The Geography B.A. program at Cal Poly Humboldt prepares students to analyze how people, places, and environments interact in a rapidly changing world. Coursework engages with topics such as global environmental change, social movements, political ecology, and spatial justice, helping students connect local places to broader systems and power relations.
Graduates are prepared for careers and graduate study in planning, environmental and community organizations, education, public service, and related fields where analysis and communication matter.
Geospatial Science & Technology, B.S.
The Geospatial Science & Technology B.S. is a dynamic, interdisciplinary program where students gain hands-on experience with mapping technologies, spatial data analysis, environmental modeling, and remote sensing to solve real-world environmental and social challenges.
The program builds strong technical proficiency alongside applied problem-solving, preparing graduates to work across diverse landscapes and professional sectors.
Geospatial Certificate Programs
Geospatial Certificate Programs offer flexible, stackable pathways to build in-demand skills in mapping, GIS, and remote sensing. Start with the Basic Certificate to develop spatial thinking, data analysis, and geovisualization, then add focused certificates in GIS, Remote Sensing, or Cartography.
For undergrads, grads, and non-degree learners, courses emphasize hands-on projects, real data, and portfolio-ready work for careers in many fields nationwide.
Real World, Hands-On Learning
Whether you're collecting environmental samples, learning new spatial analysis software, or collaborating with local organizations, you’ll learn by doing—both in the classroom and out in the world. Our students gain practical experience through local fieldwork, lab training, and community partnerships that bring geography and geospatial science to life.
Research Experience & Career Prep
Our seniors complete self-designed research projects that build critical thinking, technical fluency, and a portfolio of work for graduate school or employment. The department also supports student travel to conferences, publishing opportunities, and research collaborations with faculty mentors.
Small Classes, Big Support
Our small class sizes foster close connections with professors and peers who know you by name. You'll grow intellectually while sharpening your analytical and technical skillset, all within a supportive community that guides you from your first semester through graduation and beyond.
Place-Based Learning Community: People & Planet
As a freshman, you’ll participate in hands-on geographic and community activities with your peers before classes even start, and in some cases, have the opportunity to live in the same residence halls with your peers. Geography students will join four other departments for People & Planet, which focuses on learning how sustainability is both local and global, while addressing specific case studies in fields such as agriculture, clean energy, and climate justice.
Achievements
Find out what our students, faculty, and staff are being recognized for.
Dr. Amy Rock
Geography, Environment & Spatial Analysis
Minding the Gender Gap: Working Toward Parity for Women in U.S. Academic Geography (Mossa, J., B. Dixon, S. Sultana, A. Rock, and B. Kar, 2026) has just been released in electronic format. The latest release from the Status of Women in Geography Project, this piece examines 50 years of gender composition of Geography departments in higher ed, finding that while parity has been reached at lower ranks, female full professors still lag behind, even when compared with other social sciences. A map by Dr. Rock related to this project is currently hanging in Founders Hall outside the Geography Department. (Full article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2026.2621345)
Margaret Wickens Pearce
Geography, Environment & Spatial Analysis
Former Geography faculty (1998-2001) and Potawatomi Nation tribal member Margaret Wickens Pearce was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship for her “Foregrounding Indigenous understandings of land and place in maps that visualize Native Peoples’ knowledge, history, and stories.” The Fellowship is an $800,000, no-strings-attached grant for individuals who demonstrate exceptional creativity in their work and the promise to do more. This follows multiple NSF grants and a 2023 Guggenheim award. While at Humboldt, Margaret and Mary Beth Cunha established the Kosmos Lab from which students then and now have won an avalanche of state and national awards for their innovative cartography.
Dr. Laura Johnson
Geography, Environment & Spatial Analysis
Dr. Laura Johnson has joined the Embodied Philosophy teaching community to offer a transformative course, Yoga for Ecological Grief. Blending yin and restorative yoga, meditation, pranayama, poetry, and socio-ecological awareness, this course invites you to stay present with the realities of our time rather than turn away. This self-paced, pre-recorded offering provides accessible movement, guided meditations, mudras, reflections, and curated resources to help you engage ecological grief as a pathway toward connection, resilience, and meaningful action. Learn more about the course and about Dr. Johnson's offerings at A Restful Space.