Geotourism Minor

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Tourism stimulates the global movement of people. It creates relationships between people and places they visit and impacts national, regional, and local economies and environments. National Geographic defines Geotourism as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place – its environment, geology, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents. Academic institutions, tourism bureaus, the hospitality industry, regional and national governments have begun to adopt this new concept in tourism development.

Learn

How does tourism shape landscapes, impact the environment, effect communities, and economic development? These are just some of the questions that are explored in studies in geotourism.

Opportunities

Geotourism at EMU seeks to develop tourism education, research, and community engagement rooted in the discipline of Geography that enhances the geographic character of places and landscapes. Study at EMU enables graduates to become leaders and entrepreneurs in local, national, and international tourism initiatives.

Career opportunities for graduates include City Planning and Community Development, City, state, and national tourism offices, convention and visitor bureaus, Entrepreneurship, Event planning, Festival Organization, National Park Services, Non-governmental organizations, Recreation and leisure management, Travel agencies, airlines, and accommodation providers, World tourism organizations.

Department Information

Geography & Geology 140D Strong Hall, 734.487.0218

Christine Clark, PhD, Department Head

Advisor Information

Matthew Cook, PhD, 140X Strong Hall, 734.487.8485

Minor Requirements: 22-24 hours

Required Courses: 17 hours
GEOG 110 World Regions [GEGA] 3 hrs
GEOG 112 Introduction to Travel and Tourism 3 hrs
GEOG 212 Geography of Travel and Tourism 3 hrs
GEOG 360 Cultural Geography 3 hrs
GEOG 445 Cultural Tourism Resources 3 hrs
GEOG 446 Heritage Interpretation 2 hrs
Restricted Electives: 5-7 hours

Choose 5-7 credit hours from the following. Please note that electives outside of the department may require additional prerequisite courses not accounted for in the minor’s required courses.
ANTH 412W Culture, Tourism and Anthropology [GEWI] 3 hrs
ESSC 114 Geology of the National Parks [GEKN] 4 hrs
GEOG 111 Regions and Resources 3 hrs
GEOG 113 Great Lakes Geotourism: Water and Wine 3 hrs
GEOG 115 Observing the Human Landscape 2 hrs
GEOG 276 Principles of Geographic Information Systems 3 hrs
GEOG 313 Geography of Michigan 3 hrs
GEOG 315 Travel and Tourism: The European Scene 3 hrs
GEOG 318 Geography of Asia 3 hrs
GEOG 319 Geography of Europe 3 hrs
GEOG 320 Geography of the United States and Canada 3 hrs
GEOG 321 Geography of Latin America 3 hrs
GEOG 322 Geography of Africa 3 hrs
GEOG 333W Unsettled Geographies [GEWI] 3 hrs
GEOG 336 Tourism and Socioeconomic Development 3 hrs
GEOG 346 Destination Branding 3 hrs
GHPR 335 Historic Preservation 3 hrs
GHPR 443 Heritage Tourism and Preservation 3 hrs
URP 115 The American City [GEKS] 3 hrs
URP 215 Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning 3 hrs

Critical Graduation Information

Each undergraduate student will be responsible for fulfilling the requirements (or their equivalents) of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

Minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University

Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult this catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.

Earn a minimum total of 120 credit hours at the 100-level and above.
- Courses numbered below 100 are not counted toward this degree requirement.
- At most, eight credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses are counted toward this requirement.
Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below), including completing a Writing Intensive (GEWI) course in the student’s major.
Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details).
Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor. A double major automatically satisfies the need for a minor unless one of the two majors requires a specific minor. Students should check the requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required.
Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits over the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 120 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
- Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
- Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
- Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; individual departments/schools conduct the internal review of such courses within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit for transferred courses; grades are not used to calculate an EMU GPA.
Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses a student takes at EMU and those applied to their major or minor are used to calculate their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)

General Education Requirements - EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education section of the catalog.

Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.