Department of Geography, University of Washington

Department of Geography, University of Washington
Washington Geography
Established 1928 (1928)
Chair of Department Professor Lucy A. Jarosz
Academic staff
 17
Administrative staff
 7
Postgraduates 34
Location Seattle, Washington, United States of America
47°39′24″N 122°18′27″W / 47.6566°N 122.3074°W / 47.6566; -122.3074Coordinates: 47°39′24″N 122°18′27″W / 47.6566°N 122.3074°W / 47.6566; -122.3074
Website depts.washington.edu/geog

The Department of Geography at the University of Washington is a key site for the contemporary development of critical geography and was a significant location for the quantitative revolution.[1] The department is located in Seattle, Washington and has been highly ranked among leading geography graduate programs in the United States.[2]

History

Coursework in geography have been offered at the University of Washington at least since the 1890s, although no department was formally established.[3] Early courses included political geography and physical geography.

When the university was reorganized at its new location between Lake Union and Lake Washington in 1895, geography coursework was offered through the Department of Geology and Mineralogy in Denny Hall. Science Hall (now Parrington Hall) would become the new home for the department in 1902. Direction for new geographic coursework came under Henry Landes, who was head of the department, and had studied with William Morris Davis at Harvard University.

George T. Renner (Columbia) was hired in 1927 as the first geographer, and expanded the course offerings, which were dominated by physical geography. New courses included economic geography and human geography. In 1928, the department's title was renamed Department of Geology and Geography. Since 1928, there have been twelve heads (or chairs) of the department (Geography would become its own department in 1935):

  1. Henry Landes, 1895 to 1935
  2. Howard Martin, 1935 to 1950
  3. Donald Hudson, 1950 to 1963
  4. John Sherman, 1963 to 1973
  5. Richard Morrill, 1973 to 1983
  6. Morgan Thomas, 1983 to 1990
  7. William Beyers, 1990 to 1995, 2005 to 2008
  8. David Hodge, 1995 to 1997
  9. Victoria Lawson, 1997 to 2000
  10. J.W. Harrington, 2000 to 2005
  11. Katharyne Mitchell, 2008 to 2013
  12. Lucy A. Jarosz, 2013 to present

In 1942, the Department of Geography moved into its present location, Smith Hall on the Quad. Since the start of their graduate program in 1928, the department has granted over 500 M.A. degrees and over 300 Ph.D. degrees.[4]

Current Research

Research in the department is organized in the following research themes:

Alumni and Faculty

The department has several notable alumni, including:

Notable faculty of the department include:

References

  1. ↑ "Geography's Underworld" (2008) Trevor Barnes
  2. ↑ "A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States (2011)" (29 April 2011) (accessed 30 June 2015)
  3. ↑ “Geography at the University of Washington” (1994) by Joseph Velikonja. The bulk of this history comes directly from this professor emeritus (accessed 3 August 2015)
  4. ↑ "Theses & Dissertations" (2015) (accessed 4 August 2015)

External links

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