Graduate Certificate in Geography Education
The First Course: Field Geography. May 1, 2011: The field course kicks off the program with online readings and preparation for the summer. You fly to Denver in mid-June (2011) and make your way to Grand Junction, Colorado where you start a 3-day river trip field course on the Colorado River. Our trip ends at the head of Westwater Canyon in Utah.
The Colorado River—a natural link between the high Rockies and Mexico, providing water to seven western states and traversing a myriad of canyons (J Dunn photo).
The time on the river is spent exploring field methods used to study geographic problems. Rivers are great arteries that connect places, and the Colorado River is a perfect example of a natural link between the Never Summer range of the Rockies and the Gulf of California. It also distributes water, a critical resource in the west, to seven states and Mexico. You learn how to generate geographic questions, identify and practice selected field methods, and appreciate the value of collecting primary data. The field course will be taught by Dr. James Dunn of the University of Northern Colorado, and a past co-coordinator of the Colorado Geographic Alliance.
Dr. Dunn has taught field courses since 1986 and offers annual trips for undergraduate students as well. He has also conducted field research on plant invasions along the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers.
This is an igneous intrusion found high up in Mee Canyon near its confluence with the Colorado River in far western Colorado (J Dunn photo).
After the river trip, spend two days in Grand Junction studying water resource issues and urban geography in the west before you head out on your own to begin the online graduate courses that follow.
The Next Two Courses: Urban Geography and Advanced Human Geography
The next two courses are taught online by Dr. Timothy Vowles. A specialist in Human Geography, Tim Vowles earned his doctorate in Geography from the University of Denver in 2000. He has taught a variety of courses in the discipline including Introduction to Human Geography, Introduction to Cultural Geography, World Geography, and Urban Geography in addition to a wide array of courses focusing on urban and transport topics. Tim joined the faculty at UNC in 2008 after spending time as a professor at Colorado State University, the University of North Florida, and Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand.
