Study geography in USA - 58 institutions

The first steps to mastering geography as an academic discipline are taken in the lower grades, in the lessons of studying the world around us: children talk about terrestrial landscapes, water resources, the diversity of the animal, plant world. In middle classes, physical geography is studied, students get an idea of the political geography of the world. In high school, at the High-School Diploma programs, students planning to enter the faculties with a study of geography choose it as one of the core disciplines. Some students go to colleges to obtain an associate degree in geography and then transfer to Bachelor's programs in higher education. High-School Diploma programs, in-depth study of geography in high school at Advanced Placement courses or obtaining an International Baccalaureate certificate provide significant advantages for foreign students in entering American universities.

At school geography courses, students study the use of areas of the earth's surface, connect and interpret the interaction of physical and social phenomena, study the studies of the physical aspects of the region, including the study of climate, soil, plants, animals, as well as the consequences of human activity in the region.

Geographical education in American higher education institutions is diverse for foreign students: it includes the study of geography itself as an academic discipline responsible for studying places, phenomena, their interconnections and existence within complex models. Geography is considered simultaneously as a social and natural science, necessary for understanding the position of a person in the physical world, its interaction with the environment. American universities offer undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs with in-depth study of geography.

Modern popular programs with the study of geography in US universities can be divided into three main areas:

• Development and the environment
• Local and global relations
• Global changes in the environment.

These areas cover a wide range of studies:

• Political Ecology
• Economical geography
• Cultural geography
• Postcolonial studies
• Urban studies
• Geography of race and gender
• Climatology
• Geomorphology
• Remote sensing
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Educational programs in US higher education institutions open for foreign students a wide range of studies in the field of regional geography: studies in Africa, South, East Asia, the Arctic, the Everglades and the Mississippi Delta, Brazil, the Caribbean, and Latin America. In recent years, research in areas such as environmental engineering, landscape ecology and urban planning have become relevant.

Geographical education at US universities includes laboratory, field research. For the study of certain topics (the resettlement of new migrants, the spread of endangered species, the erosion of the coastline, the location of high-tech enterprises), local information collection is required. In laboratories, students learn methods of computer analysis, satellite imagery research, computer modeling of changes in global plant models, and study the distribution of human populations. Students also study independent research in libraries, archives, working with documentary sources.

Studying of geography at US academic programs for foreign students is available in the best universities with diploma programs, short courses dedicated to specific topics, and summer schools for applicants and students who want to earn extra loans during the holidays. Academic programs are conducted by leading teachers on the basis of universities, students have access to university resources, they get acquainted with field research, laboratory studies, improve the level of English, are immersed in an academic atmosphere in an international student environment.

Studying geography at academic programs at universities and research centers in the United States opens up the possibility for foreign students to obtain a certificate and a diploma from a top university. The cost of training and the duration of such courses are lower than studying Bachelor's, Master's programs.