Geography is the study of the earth’s peoples, places and environments. It bridges the humanities and social and natural sciences, with an emphasis on the study of the processes that shape our landscapes and societies over space and time. Geography thus draws from multiple fields of knowledge to study complex human and environmental systems.
The UC Davis Geography Graduate Group (GGG) is an interdisciplinary academic program that spans multiple departments. We offer both Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Geography. Our program provides a strong core in Geographic concepts, theories, and methods, with more in-depth course-work available in many other areas. The program aims to provide a stimulating, innovative, and dynamic intellectual environment. We want to ensure that our students obtain the an outstanding education possible; and become excellent researchers, educators, and/or practitioners, so that they can pursue excellence in their chosen career objectives.
Particular strengths of our program include the following:
- With over 55 geography affiliated world-class faculty members in 20 departments across campus, in terms of the number and diversity of affiliated faculty, we are the nation’s largest geography graduate program. The graduate group structure supports the members shared interest in interdisciplinary research. Current areas of faculty strength include: global environmental change; environmental and social dimensions of regional change; community development; analysis of the built environment; agriculture and food systems; political ecology and environmental justice; and geoinformatics and computational geography.
- Our faculty are all involved in cutting edge research that often transcends traditional academic departmental boundaries. Specific research centers and programs led by GGG faculty members include the Center for Spatial Sciences, the Center for Regional Change, the Agricultural Sustainability Institute, and the Sustainable Transportation Center.
- We have over 120 alumni from all over the globe, with positions in a range of universities, non-governmental organizations and government agencies.
- Our location in California provides a unique and invaluable context for our faculty and student research efforts. California, if it were a country, would be the world's 5th largest economy that combines a strong agricultural sector with the global center of the entertainment and computer technology industries. Davis is a stone's throw away from the state's capital city Sacramento that has been referred to as "America's Most Diverse City" (students in the Sacramento school district speak more than 70 different languages at home). We are in the heart of one of the the most fertile and productive agricultural region in the world, but with substantial challenges related to sustainable water use. The diverse ecosystems of California, ranging from the deep underwater trenches of the Monterey Bay, to the southern desserts, the redwood forests, and highest mountains in the continental U.S. also provides ample research opportunities on biogeography, conservation, and the use of natural resources.