What Can You Do with a Geography Degree?
The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies is using the power of GIS to illustrate answers to the questions, where do our alumni go, and what do they do? GIS is a multidisciplinary field that brings together geography, cartography, statistical analysis, and computer science to bring relevance to data sets that may well seem to be unrelated and to represent that data in an easily understood, visual manner. It is a dynamic area that has broad appeal in fields where people might never have considered working with visualizing data. Dr. Jacquelyn Chase, professor of geography and environmental studies, is working with the department’s advisory board to develop projects that will illustrate the professional trajectory of geography majors. The department has teamed up with members of its advisory board outreach subcommittee as well as the campus’s Geographical Information Center and the Office of Institutional Research to create a dynamic map of geography and environmental studies alumni who reside in the United States. The alumni data extend back to the founding of the department in 1964 and when mapped using GIS, geographical patterns by occupational field are revealed. These patterns reinforce the notion that there is a broad distribution of Chico State geographers in every state and county, from metropolitan areas to rural locations.
