Welcome – A word from the department’s chair

Geography is the science which inquires the way the environment is shaped by natural processes and how the human being leaves a positive or negative imprint on it. It also studies how cultures and societies take shape and are influenced by the environment where they grow. Geography covers a broad scientific field which intersects with a number of various fields, as geomorphology, climatology, cartography, GIS Geographical Information Systems science, remote sensing, urban and regional development, demography, as well as political, economic, social, historical and cultural geography.

This very cross-disciplinary character of geography as scientific field, the range of knowledge and skills the geographer acquires alongside the ability of associating ideas he shall develop, make Geography a highly attractive field of study. Nowadays, at the first cycle of study (undergraduate level), priority tends to be given to wide ranging knowledge and knowledge facilitating multifaceted and general approach of scientific topics, while specialization is being acquired later in academic life, at a post-graduate level of study.

Having completed his studies, the graduate from the Harokopio University Department of Geography is provided with knowledge and skills so that he can address topics in various ways. While he is able to understand some of the most important issues the mankind has to face, should they appertain to human or to physical geography, as in the following specific topics:

Human – environment interaction, natural and human induced hazards, climate change, demography and population fluctuations, migration, spatial planning, country management and design, remote sensing. Furthermore, through fieldwork and laboratory practice, our Graduates have acquired the technical skills needed for sampling surveys and research, data statistical analysis, visualization and mapping.

Professor Petros Katsafados
Head of the Geography Department