Welcome

The Department of Geography & Urban Planning offers two separate, but related majors: geography and urban planning.

Geography and urban planning enable us to better understand the interaction between global forces and local places. The skills and knowledge that students in geography and urban planning acquire are practical and valued both at the global scale and at the local scale.

These fields are provide a window into a world made smaller by advances in telecommunications and transportation technology, by the integrated operations of multinational corporations(such as Intel and Toyota), by the threat of international terrorism and by environmental hazards (such as global warming or climate change).

Our graduates acquire a broad knowledge base, allowing them to provide insight into the complexity of the Middle East, or helping a grocery retailer decide where to put another store. UW Oshkosh Geography and Urban Planning graduates design models of global climate change, as well as help design a plan to minimize the negative impact of a new highway upon nearby wetlands.

Mission Statement

The mission of the department of Geography and Urban Planning is to provide students with an understanding of the elements that influence the social and physical environment at both the local and global scale.

We see our role as equipping students with the knowledge to deal with the challenges of a rapidly changing world by teaching them critical thinking and problem solving skills. We seek to advance knowledge through research and to share this knowledge with our students, our colleagues and the broader community.