Assessing Geography’s Place in U.S. Higher Education: An Analysis of Undergraduate Geography Course Enrollment from 1948 to 2000

Abstract

The decline in geography programs in the United States since the 1980s and general questions about the utility of a geography degree is a long-running thread in the discipline’s shared identity. With recent closures of geography undergraduate programs and a projected “demographic cliff” of traditional college-aged students in the coming years, understanding how and why certain geography programs are under threat is crucial. Drawing on an underappreciated source for the study of geography course enrollments, this article examines enrollments in undergraduate geography courses between 1948 and 2000 to understand the discipline’s larger standing in the U.S. academic landscape. By examining historical undergraduate course enrollment, as opposed to the number of graduates, it is possible to better hypothesize and understand the ramifications for the decline of programs.