Welcome to Geography; welcome to the discipline, and to the Department and its people here at the University of Kentucky. As you first read through the materials that follow, you will be setting forth on a journey that will change your life. The interests and expertise you develop over the next several years could very well dictate the direction and success of your career after graduation. More important, we hope, is that Geography will broaden your knowledge of the world and its many elements, from physical landscapes and climates, to social, political, and economic systems, to cultures and individual perspectives and behaviors. We hope that Geography will deepen your understanding of these many areas, and especially of the complex interrelations between them. We also hope that Geography will help you appreciate the role that YOU have in this world, as an active participant in the human race and as an informed student within a discipline that can certainly “make a difference.”

The Undergraduate Handbook is intended to serve as an aid to undergraduate majors and minors presently in Geography as well as prospective geography majors and minors. The Handbook addresses issues and answers questions specifically related to this department. Our program offers both B.A. and B.S. degrees. Although a brief section is included about university and college requirements, students should consult the most recent University of Kentucky Bulletin (http://www.uky.edu/Registrar/bulletinCurrent/toc2.htm) and Degree Programs: College of Arts and Sciences (http://www.as.uky.edu/Students/current_students.aspx) for a detailed description of requirements. Important features of this Handbook include career opportunities, requirements for the major, requirements for the minor, information about undergraduate course offerings, departmental facilities and activities, and brief biographical sketches of the faculty. We encourage you to carefully review this Handbook, and to keep it on file. Above all, we invite you to talk with anyone and everyone in the Department.