GEOGRAPHY MAJOR
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Major Aims & Careers
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Geography is the discipline which seeks to understand the earth as 
the home of mankind, analyzes people's interactions with both their 
physical and human environment, and explains a vast range of spatial 
patterns and processes.  In recent times emphasis has been placed on 
geography's concerns with the rational development and testing of 
theories which both explain and predict the spatial distribution and 
location of various phenomena on the surface of the earth.  The 
synthesizing roles of the discipline, however, remain its central 
task, constitute its core, and ensure its unique contribution of 
knowledge.

The broad aims of the Geography of the BA(Hons) Course include:

1)   knowledge of the spatial order and of the interdependence which 
     exists among different parts of the world;

2)   an appreciation from a geographical perspective of environmental 
     and socio-economic development problems, particularly in Third 
     World countries;

3)   a thorough understanding of the geography of China and 
     neighbouring regions;

4)   the ability to use basic geographical tools needed for carrying 
     out research, including sources of geographical data, 
     cartographic skills, quantitative techniques, use of computer 
     facilities, and the preparation and successful completion of a 
     research project;

5)   to assist students in preparing for careers in planning, in the 
     commercial world, in the civil service, in education, and in a 
     wide range of endeavours;

6)   to prepare students for graduate studies in geography as well as 
     in related fields.


Geography And Your Future
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Graduates from the B.A. programme have found employment in a wide 
range of fields.  While a fifth of graduates continue to enter 
secondary school teaching, others are working in various areas of the 
civil service, including Transport, Immigration, Correctional 
Services, Housing, the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, the New 
Territories Land Office, Agriculture and Fisheries and other 
government departments.  As the Baptist Department of Geography 
places considerable emphasis on the applied aspects of geography, an 
increasing number of graduates are entering employment in which they 
are able and required to use their geographical skills.  Because of 
the holistic and synthesizing nature of geography as an academic 
discipline, and its concern for contemporary issues at various 
geographical scales, graduates have also secured a wide variety of 
jobs in the private sector including in planning of various types, 
with private consultancy companies, insurance, finance, tourism, 
merchandising and the commodities markets.  A few top graduates have 
found their way into international employment, including the Asian 
Development Bank.

An increasing number of Baptist graduates continue into postgraduate 
work, especially in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom 
and, to a lesser extent, Australia.  While some are continuing their 
geography studies, others are pursuing programmes as varied as 
economic and urban planning, aspects of civil engineering, 
environmental management and tourism development.  All have found 
that the high calibre of Baptist's geography programmes has 
strengthened their candidacy and gained them entry to top-ranking 
universities.


Major Curriculum
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Emphasis is placed on the ways in which geographers may assist in 
finding solutions to both domestic and Third World problems.  
Students are offered considerable freedom to take a broad spectrum of 
subjects, particularly in their senior years.  They can also choose 
to concentrate on aspects of either physical or human geography.  The 
following subjects are currently offered:-

Core Subjects:

1)   Philosophical and Methodological Foundation: Basic Concepts in 
     Geography, Quantitative Methods I, Cartography, Field Camp.

2)   Elements of Physical Geography: Climatology, Geomorphology, Soil 
     and Plant Geography.

3)   Elements of Human Geography: Urban Geography, Industrial 
     Geography, Environmental Conservation, Population Geography, 
     Energy Problems and the Environment, Cultural Geography.

4)   Regional Geography: Regional Geography of China, Geography of 
     South-East Asia.

5)   Honours Project


Elective Subjects:

1)   Methodology:
     Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation, Quantitative Methods II, 
     Computer Cartography and Geographic Information Systems.

2)   Physical Geography:
     Advanced Climatology; Applied Geomorphology; Problems in the 
     Physical Geography of China; Geography of Environmental Hazards; 
     Seminar in Environmental Planning and Management; Coastal 
     Environments and Processes.

3)   Human Geography:
     Geography of Economic Development; Political Geography; Geography 
     of Transportation; Urban Planning; Geography of Agriculture and 
     Rural Development; Rural and Agricultural Development in China; 
     Urban Development in China; Seminar in Energy Problems;  Seminar 
     in Urban Geography; Seminar in Social Geography;  Population 
     Geography of China; Energy and Transportation Development in 
     China; Resource Management in China.

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