The Department of Geography is at the top of the scale as far as funded research support is concerned. Over the past 6 years, the Geography faculty has been awarded a total of $47,304,356 or just over $342,785 per each full time faculty member per year—in other words, each UCSB Geography faculty member raises $939 a day in research funding, one of the highest amounts of research funding of any Department of Geography in the United States.
Geography majors are among the most marketable of all majors, according to placement counselors. As the Association of American Geographers Career Guide points out, Geography’s theories and methods provide analytical techniques applicable to a wide range of questions asked over a broad spectrum of occupations. For students planning to end their formal education with the bachelor’s degree, a major in Geography provides marketable skills and the broad perspectives on environment and society that enable graduates to move beyond entry-level positions. Geography also provides a sound foundation for students who plan to enter graduate work in a variety of fields, from geography and the physical sciences to business, land use planning, law, and medicine. Geography majors find work as public sector transportation planners; environmental impact analysts; airline route specialists; import / export and shipping logistics planners; geodemographic analysts and marketers; strategic planners in banking, insurance, and real estate; software developers; web designers and programmers; urban and regional planners; computer cartographers using Geographic Information Systems; international trade consultants; teachers at all levels; and much, much more.