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Department of Geography, Environment & Society

The Department of Geography, Environment and Society is dedicated to the creation and dissemination of geographical knowledge that shapes the discipline and grounds our teaching.

Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour Lecture Series

GEO students in the field

Real-World Experience

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Funding

Recent News

Emily Fairfax, a white woman wearing sunglasses, sits on a beaver pool floatie in an outdoors body of water

Could beavers be the secret to winning the fight against wildfires?

Geography professor Emily Fairfax is featured in National Geographic article.

MAGE

A High School Student Mentored by Professor Di Zhu Wins Top Honors at Minnesota Student Digital Mapping Competition with Urban Heat Mitigation Plan

Mentored by Professor Di Zhu, De-An Chen’s project combines geospatial analysis and community-driven solutions to combat rising temperatures in Minneapolis

Fairfax

Fairfax awarded McKnight Land-Grant Professorship

Congratulations to Dr. Fairfax, GES Assistant Professor, for receiving the McKnight award!

Lindeke

Lindeke awarded Provost's Award for Excellence

Congrats to Dr. Lindeke, who is the recipient of the Provost's 2025 Award for Excellence in Academic Service Unit.

Zhongfu Ma Wins Second Place in the GISS-SG Student Honors Paper Competition at AAG 2025

Zhongfu Ma, our PhD student, received second place in the 2025 Geographic Information Science & Systems Specialty Group Student Honors Paper Competition, awarded at AAG.