Search Go

SUU Home | A to Z Index | Contact Info

GeoSciences

Mission Statement

GEOGRAPHY 

Geography is traditionally divided into three areas, and all three are offered in the SUU geography curriculum. These include physical geography, an examination of earth's physical systems; human or cultural geography, which explores spatial relationships in human activities; and technical geography, or the technologies of geographic research. This last area encompasses cartography, GIS, GPS, and related fields. The mission of the SUU geography program is:

1. To continue and expand the relationship with the departments of physical and social sciences and to support the programs and degrees offered by these departments.
2. To discover, describe, explain, and interpret the character of the Earth as home to humans. We focus on interrelationships within and among natural and cultural subsystems and regional components. This is done by training students in concepts, skills, and real world problem solving, not by requiring rote memorization of isolated facts.
3. To contribute to the liberal education offered by the university, to provide excellence in teaching, and to offer students the best in geography education that can be obtained at any institution of higher learning. We will continue to evaluate and update courses to reflect the concepts that geography is fun, exciting, useful, relevant, rewarding, and remunerative. Quality teaching is our highest priority.
4. To offer specialized training in cartography and GIS for persons form a variety of disciplines. These include, but are no limited to, biology, geology, history, sociology, business, engineering, technology, and geography. GIS can become a powerful tool for undergraduate research projects in these and other areas.

GEOLOGY

The geology area strives to provide students at Southern Utah University with excellence in earth science education. Our integrated efforts are directed toward those methods we feel produce the best possible educational experience. The primary goal of the geology faculty is to ensure academic excellence while demanding integrity and building self-esteem in our students.

Specifically, our mission is to foster a positive learning environment which serves a variety of needs including:

1. Preparation of students who choose to pursue graduate studies in geology;
2. Preparation of students to directly enter the work force;
3. Preparation of students who choose to pursue careers in areas other than science (i.e. business or law), but need a broadly based background in geology as a foundation for those pursuits;
4. Preparation of students who choose a career in earth science education;
5. Preparation of students choosing physical science general education courses to be more knowledgeable citizens by providing a quality educational experience.

The geology area carries out its role through application of, and involvement with, the basic principles of science and by instilling understanding and appreciation of scientific methodologies.

| Geosciences | Department of Physical Science | College of Science |