Department of Geography
Department webpage: https://geography.ujep.cz/
Contacts
Mgr. Vladan Hruška, Ph.D.
Head of the Department (KGEO)
Room: CPTO 5.52
Phone: +420 475 28 6762
Jana Jandáková
Administrative Officer (KGEO)
Room: CPTO 5.55
Phone:+420 475 28 6776
The Department of Geography is the second largest and also the second oldest geographical institution in Bohemia and one of the largest in Czechia. It cooperates with specialists and top research teams from Czechia, Germany, the United Kingdom and other countries. We are convinced that a balanced development of regions, society, and the environment for and by future generations is only possible if knowledges about natural and social phenomena and processes in space and time are integrated. Our goal is to educate and raise specialists in our field for public and private sectors. Our department also train teachers, developing their skills to integrate, present and interpret this knowledge with the use of modern technologies and diverse communication approaches.
The department offers bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes within various fields. Bachelor’s programmes include Geography (single-subject, major or minor), which goes beyond pure geography to spatial development and project coordination in the context of the European integration, and Geography for Education (major or minor) in combination with other subject from either the Faculty of Science (e.g. Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics), the Faculty of Philosophy (e.g. German language and literature, History, Social Studies) or the Faculty of Education (e.g. Physical Education). The latter programme is a prerequisite for continuing in the teachers training for secondary schools. Since 2020 we also offer bachelor’s study in Applied Geoinformatics, being a joint programme with the Faculty of Environmental Studies UJEP. All the above-mentioned studies are followed by master’s studies in Geography, or (for those pursuing a teacher’s career) major/minor in Teaching Geography for Secondary Schools. Research-focused graduates may choose to continue at UJEP in the doctoral programme Geographies of Transformation, or in other related doctoral programmes, namely Applied Economics and Administration (the Faculty of Social and Economic Studies) and Didactics of Primary Science Education (the Faculty of Education).
Department research revolves around several topics, explored in international and national teams with an effort to co-create the knowledge with local professionals and communities. These topics are: diversity of cultures – the study of spatial context of cultural interactions in the contemporary world, environmental risks – natural and social aspects of risk processes, their impact on society and risk reduction strategies, agents of development – the possibilities of identification and acceleration of local/regional development by local actors and innovations, virtual worlds – possibilities of visualization of spatial processes and changes in landscape and society using geoinformation technologies, world in school – the evaluation of the role of geography in understanding the contemporary world. Education and research are interconnected at the department and are provided with facilities including a laboratory of geoinformation technologies, a laboratory of environmental geography, a meteorological station, a geological collection, a reference library and university services (scientific library), and above all by a team of enthusiastic teachers and researchers.