Department of Geography

Welcome

Welcome to the Department of Geography. Our department has been growing rapidly over the last few years and we are looking forward to new challenges ahead. Please take time to browse through the links on this site to learn more about our department, faculty, students, and staff.

If you are interested in studying in our department and you have additional questions, or you would like to make an appointment to visit with the Department Chair, or faculty members, please contact us. Graduate students please visit the Graduate School web site for application materials and additional information.

News & Events

Spring 2013 News

Recent geography undergraduate, Lowell Chandler, has been selected for an Internship at National Geographic in Washington, DC this spring. Lowell graduated last spring with a dual major in Geography and Environmental Studies, and is a member of GTU (the International Geography Honor Society) and the Golden Key International Honor Society. He'l be working with NG's Education Foundation and Alliance Networks supporting geo-education in the US. Congratulations Lowell!!

New Search for Tenure-Track Assistant Professor

The Geography Department is happy to announce that we are searching for a new Assistant Professor in GIScience. This position serves as the heart of the Department's and University's established GIS & Cartography program. Our new hire will have an enthusiastic vision to lead this program into the future. We seek candidates with a strong background and training in the technical and conceptual aspects of geospatial technologies. Review of applications will begin 10 January 2013. See http://umjobs.silkroad.com/ for full description, qualifications, details, and to apply online.

Fall 2012 News

UM Geographers, Dr. Tom Sullivan and graduate students Sophia Albov, Alex Pichacz, and Mace Wescott, were recently featured in an article in the Missoulian for their work helping to design the new park in Hellgate Canyon. Check it out here.

UM-related folks sweep MAGIP's GIS Day 2012 Online Map Contest. ALL of the winners have UM ties including current employees (Mike Sweet - Forestry's GIS guru) and collaborators (Van Shelhamer who works with us through MontanaView and does great education outreach on GPS, GIS, and RS throughout the state) and former students (Casey Wilson & John Driessen both employed in Missoula doing GIS). Congratulations to all of them!! Check their maps out here. 1st Place: Watch Missoula Grow (Casey Wilson); 2nd Place: Lubrecht Forest Nordic Ski Trails (Mike Sweet); 3rd Place Tie: Land Cover Exploration after Forest Fires (Van Schelhamer) and Missoula, MT Trails (John Driessen).

Dr. Irena Mrak, an avid mountain climber and geographer from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, has received a Visiting Fulbright Scholarship to visit the Geography Department this fall to work on her project: Geomorphic Dynamics and Natural Hazards in Mountains of Slovenia since the Last Glacial Maximum: The example of Mount Kosuta (Karavanke Range).

Geography Graduate Colloquium Fall 2012

Click here to view our Geography Graduate Colloquium Schedule! Every Tuesday, 3:30PM, Stone Hall 217.

Summer 2012 News

Dr. Sarah Halvorson and Nicky Phear (Coordinator of the Climate Change Studies Program) raced as a duo at the 24 hour mountain bike race in Spokane last May. They competed in a division with mostly men - 22 teams total - and got third place overall. There was no separate podium for the women, so they just had to beat the men to a spot. They did 21 total laps, 15 miles each lap. This was just one of a series of Sarah's cycling victories this summer. Way to go!!