1. Program overview
Geography is a science that studies the natural features and phenomena of the Earth's surface and the interactions between people and the environment, including the ways these features and interactions vary throughout the world. Geographic knowledge is essential for understanding rapid social and environmental changes in a globalized society. Our school has diverse research fields ranging from geosciences and GIS to other fields of earth system sciences. The program provides general liberal arts enrichment, preparation for graduate work, and training for careers in geography and interdisciplinary fields. The students can choose specialized modules from the geography program, which are related to environmental protection, resource development and problem solving, and planning a career in the area of geographic information science and regional development using a variety of spatial analysis techniques.
2. Objectives and Advantages
Our school strides to provide the students with high-quality geographical education and teaching.
(1) Elite talent training: with the mission of "promoting scientific progress, cultivating outstanding talents, and serving the needs of the country", the school makes efforts in cultivating highly qualified geography talents with global vision and professional competence. This program encourages students to continue their studies after graduation at home and abroad, and more than 50% of its undergraduates are expected to further their master study without the national mandatory graduate entrance examination.
(2) Leading scientific training: the school has one provincial key laboratory and one Critical Zone Observatory of Bohai Coastal Region (Bohai CZO); it has set up a leading technical analysis system in earth sciences including advanced instruments such as Nano SIMS, FT-ICR MS, etc. Academic staff members are undertaking a number of international and national key scientific projects, which facilitates the undergraduates’ participation in frontier research.
(3) International exchange and collaboration: the school has invited more than 10 well-known scientists from the United States, UK, France, Japan and Canada as honorary professors of Tianjin University; it has signed cooperation agreements with the department of environmental science of Birmingham University, the department of geography and geosciences of Glasgow University, and the earth science research center of Hebrew University of Israel for student exchange and articulation program. More international programs, like 2+2, 3+1+1, field practice, are to be developed.
(4) Individual mentoring: upon the beginning, each undergraduate student is assigned a tutor for academic mentoring. The tutor is expected to guide the students to take part in research projects for understanding the science itself and to enlighten them in career planning.
3. Program Duration
4 academic years in general. The duration could be adjusted to 3-6 years upon application and approval. The minimum required credits for graduation are 162 credits (including 142 compulsory credits and 20 elective credits). Those who meet the requirements for bachelor's degree are awarded with bachelor's degree.
4. Courses and Credits
In the first two years, the general education mode is adopted to strengthen the systematic training of humanities, mathematics, physics and chemistry, computer science and geography science, to master the basic knowledge, theory, skills and methods of the discipline, and to understand the position and role of geographical science in the economic and social construction. In the third and fourth years, it will adopt the hierarchical and individualized training mode, and cultivate students according to their interest, specialty and career planning; it will provide personalized and high-quality elective courses for the needs of academic frontiers and industry references. Geographical science major adopts interdisciplinary and integrated curriculum system, and the curriculum and credit distribution are mainly composed of the following:
A. General-education module: including English, mathematics, ideological and political, physical education, military, health education, computer, chemistry, social and philosophical education, art and aesthetics education, natural science general education, thinking cultivation and communication expression. A total of 86.5 credits, including 78.5 compulsory credits and 8 elective credits;
B. Professional-education module: it includes 5 credits for basic courses, 28.5 credits for professional core courses, 10 credits for module 1 (surface process and environmental geography) and 10 credits for module 2 (data and geographic information science and technology). Students can choose one from the two modules; 8 credits for major elective courses; and 20 credits for practical courses (including field practice of natural geography and general geology, geography recognition practice and graduation thesis). A total of 71.5 credits, including 63.5 compulsory credits and 8 elective credits;
C. Innovation and entrepreneurship education module: including innovation and entrepreneurship curriculum and practice. 4 credits in total. In addition, it also includes some extracurricular practice courses.
