Geography enters realms with better job prospects

Updated on: Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Just imagine a world without the subject of geography. It will be like living in a home and not knowing anything of it — like where is the bedroom, how big is the kitchen, and where the electrical main switch is located.

The Earth is our home and the subject of geography deals with its physical environment, human activities, and their interactive relationships. So without the effort of the geographers who explored the world, risking their lives, in the olden times, we would have lived like creatures unknown to each other.

“Geographers study the spatial and temporal distribution of phenomena, processes, and features as well as the interaction of humans and their environment and it is an interdisciplinary subject that deals with almost all subjects in the social and the physical sciences,” B. Hema Malini from the Department of Geography, Andhra University, says.

When it comes to higher studies, it opens up a totally different facade that has elements of economics, zoology, botany, mathematics, and geology.

Only a few universities and colleges in the country offer an undergraduate BA geography course. It is more a subject at the postgraduate level. And most of the universities such as Andhra University, Osmania University, Delhi University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University offer the M.Sc. or MA geography course. Basically, the study of geography can be divided into two branches: physical geography and human geography.

Prof. Hema Malini says that physical geography focusses on geography as earth sciences and covers areas such as biogeography, climatology and meteorology, coastal geography, environment management, geomorphology, glaciology, hydrology and hydrography, oceanography, palaeo-geography, and quaternary science.

Human geography deals more with patterns and processes that shape human society and covers areas such as culture, development, economy, health, history and time, politics and geopolitics, demography, religion, society, transport, and tourism. She points out that the universities that are located in the south of the country, such as Andhra University, Osmania University and Madras University, have been traditionally strong in physical geography, whereas Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and other universities in the north have been strong in human geography. Talking of the latest trends, she says, “Integrated geography is fast catching up. This branch integrates the spatial aspects of interaction between humans and the natural world.”

Geomatics is another branch or area that is fast catching up. With the advent of tools and concepts such as the Geographic Information System (GIS), remote sensing, and the Global Positioning System (GPS), the study of geography has received a fillip.

“Digital Elevation Model (DEM) or geomatics is a branch of geography that has emerged since the quantitative revolution in geography in the mid-1950s. This year, Andhra University will launch an M.Sc. programme in geo-informatics,” she said. Students who take up geography for higher studies can find placement in the Civil Services or in companies that work on GIS or GPS technologies. Opportunities also come from government departments such as the India Meteorological Department, the National Remote Sensing Centre, and the Space Application Centre.

Companies such as Infotech, RMSI and Google are always on the lookout for geographers. “Though the subject caters to a niche segment, opportunities are aplenty, both in India and abroad, and students from good institutes are much sought after,” Prof. Hema Malini says.

Geography enters realms with better job prospects

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