Geography

Socio-economic geo-analysis, a specialisation at geography major (3 years, 6 semesters) offers unique geo-analytical skills related to socio-economic phenomena. Implemented in cooperation with the Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, the specialisation responds to the challenges of dynamically changing Poland’s economy, including the reindustrialisation programme, an innovative knowledge-based economy, and others. It also addresses requests from local government and consulting firms who seek employees with analytical skills combined with the use of technology, and to the latest trends in global science and economic development.

As part of their curriculum, students participate in field classes on socio-economic geography and regional field classes, and also professional training in public administration units (e.g. communes, poviats), design studios, or research units. Moreover, they can participate in internship programmes or activities to improve their qualifications and skills.

The curriculum of this specialisation puts great emphasis on active application of modern methods and tools for collecting, processing and showing data (e.g. data presentation methods, organisation and methods of public research, sociology), cartographic and visual presentation of socio-economic phenomena (e.g. socio-economic cartography, geo-visualisation of socio-economic phenomena), local administration (e.g. administration geography, e-administration, territorial marketing, management and spatial planning, social conflicts in public space and urban landscape), among others.

The major, which leads to a Bachelor’s degree, offers graduates knowledge and skills allowing them to serve as analysts of socio-economic phenomena in a spatial dimension. They may seek employment as geo-analysts in:

  • local government units (e.g. commune offices, voivodeship offices),
  • consulting firms dealing with advising economic entities on, e.g., company strategy development,
  • firms developing planning projects (e.g. the assessment of an environmental impact of the investment planned, landscape audits, studies of determinants and trends in the spatial development of a commune),
  • firms dealing with geo-marketing (e.g. spatial analyses of consumers’ localisation,
  • location studies of shopping centres, analyses of regional market potential),
  • opinion polling agencies,
  • companies making digital maps.