The UCCS undergraduate Geography & Environmental Studies degree (GES) has been ranked in the Top 10 Online Bachelor’s Programs, coming in at eighth overall in the nation.
The list comes from GISDegree.org, which lauds the GES bachelor’s as “thoughtful” for its strong career focus, personalization options, sustainability internship and access to research labs. Rankings are carefully assessed on strong returns to investment and school reputation for geography among employers, along with data on debt, salary and completions, and each of the schools in the Top 10 list has also been featured by U.S. News & World Report geography rankings.
Along with this accolade, the GES department has been making many other strides. Faculty member Fuzhen Yin, Ph.D., who specializes in Geographic Information Science, joined the team, allowing GES to expand capacity for teaching and research in the field. The department also created a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Hub to leverage student and faculty expertise to complete GIS projects for regional non-profit, agency, or corporate contracts, and CU regents approved undergraduate and graduate GIS certificates as work-study eligible this past year, which are open to both UCCS students and community members. Additionally, the department added a new undergraduate Conservation, Parks, and Outdoor Recreation minor.
“We’re grateful to see the GES Department at UCCS recognized nationally as an outstanding program and are proud of the work our students, faculty, and staff do each day to advance geographic understanding and engage positively with the world’s diverse cultures and environments,” said David Havlick, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of GES.
GES features award-winning faculty with diverse interests that create high-impact learning opportunities for students in inclusive, small-group settings, both inside and outside the classroom. GES offers minors in GES, Geology, and Sustainability, and a certificate in GIScience. Program faculty offer a range of diverse research interests and run four on-campus labs.