Overview
Spatial Studies Academic Advisor: GEOG staff
The Minor in Spatial Studies recognizes the many disciplinary origins of innovations in spatial reasoning, representation, and analysis. Students can tap into a creative mix of ideas and tools to enhance their majors and career orientations with spatial perspectives. For the Minor in Spatial Studies, a student selects a mix of courses in spatial cognition and reasoning associated with problem solving and representation, and applications of both elementary and complex reasoning processes in different domains of human activity and knowledge development. Courses listed also include analysis and visualization of information, featuring courses that build methodological and technological competencies for documenting space-time patterns and processes about phenomena in the physical world as well as about behavior and its consequences. The minor also includes courses that apply spatial reasoning and visualization in the humanities. Geography W12 (Maps and Spatial Reasoning), is the only required course for the minor, treats the fundamental science of mapping, including the underlying mathematics for spatial transformations and projections, exposure to computerized graphics and mapping systems, and the use of maps as research tools to document and communicate information as well as to solve problems.
How to Become a Minor in Spatial Studies
Students interested in the interdisciplinary Minor in Spatial Studies may seek consultation in the Department of Geography by email: spatial_adv@geog.ucsb.edu).
Once a student has completed the required courses, the student should contact the minor's academic advisor to confirm completion of the minor. Once approved, a Clearance Form for the Minor in Spatial Studies will be delivered to the registrar.
The following conditions must be met for official recognition of the minor:
- Students must consult the General Catalog for prerequisites to all listed courses.
- All courses to be applied to the minor must be completed on a letter-grade basis. This includes all courses that are applied to the minor, offered by the Department of Geography as well as those offered by other departments.
- No more than 3 upper-division courses can be taken from a single department
- At least 20 upper-division quarter units are completed for the minor. Waivers cannot reduce the requirement below this number.
- Substitutions and waivers are subject to approval by the advisor for the Spatial Studies Minor.
- The UC grade-point average in ALL applicable upper-division courses, including those in excess of minimum requirements, is 2.0 or higher.
- No more than 5 upper-division units overlap between the Spatial Studies Minor and the upper-division portion of a student’s major(s) or other minor(s). If the overlap with a student’s major(s) exceeds 5 upper-division units, then completion of the Spatial Studies Minor will not be formally recognized; if the overlap with other minor(s) exceeds 5 upper-division units, then only the first minor reported will be noted on the student’s transcript.
- Students must have completed at least 12 of the upper-division requirements for the minor while registered as a UCSB student.
- The Geography Department reports completion of the minor prior to the posting of the degree.
