Environmental Studies

A Concentration in Geography

Potential careers include Environmental Analyst or Technician, Mapping Analyst, Geographic Information System (GIS) Specialist, Environmental Investigator, Disaster Manager, Environmental Planner, Aerial Survey Technician, Agricultural Consultant, Landscape Consultant, Geoscientist, Natural Resource Officer, Resources Conservationist, and Water Resource Analyst in the following areas: climatology, natural resource management, climate change analysis, environmental protection, forestry conservation, air and water quality, wilderness conservation and restoration, environmental management and quality, wildlife conservation, human-environment research, and national defense.

Potential employers include federal agencies (e.g., National Park Service, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization (NOAA), Soil and Water Conservation Service, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management (BLM)), state government (e.g., Illinois State Geological Survey, Illinois Water Survey), local government (e.g., park districts, forest preserve districts), the private sector (e.g., Arthur Daniel Midland (ADM), Early Bird Fertilizer, civil engineering firms, and mining and resource extraction firms), or non-governmental organizations (e.g., The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defense Fund). Following this concentration is good preparation for graduate studies in physical geography, resource extraction, climatology, geomorphology, environmental science, and biogeography.