The Department of Geography was formed at the Institute of Teacher Education in 1951. From 1961 to 2001 it was divided into two areas, namely economic and social geography and physical geography. The learning and teaching profile of the department aligns with the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes on geography teacher training. The main disciplines on physical geography include geology, general geography, cartography and topography, physical geography of the continents and geoecology. Under economic and social geography, the following disciplines are offered: general economic and social geography, population geography, economic and social geography of the Russian Federation and foreign countries, local history, ethnogeography and geography of religion. A special focus is given to the methods of teaching geography.

In addition to the core curriculum, the teaching staff deliver special courses on the most important topics, namely  urban ecology, general geographical patterns of the earth, geography of extreme environmental factors, population geography,  modern problems of the world economy and global problems of mankind. These courses correlate with the research interests of the staff and students. Since 2005, the department annually holds the All-Russian research-to-practice conference “Regional Aspects of Geographical Research and Education”, which includes three sessions (“Physical geography, geoecology and landscape science”, “Economic geography” and “Social geography”). The participants from among the students, teaching and research staff regularly become the delegates to the congresses of the Russian Geographical Society.

Much attention is paid to organising comprehensive field practice in economic, social and physical geography. Traditionally, field practice is outreach so that the students under the supervision of the teaching staff go to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which differ from the Penza Region in terms of natural features and economic profile. The department has interesting routes to the Chelyabinsk Region, the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Perm Territory, the Republic of Karelia and the Murmansk Region, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, the Republic of Altai, the Republic of Khakassia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Irkutsk Region.

Every year the teaching staff of the department are engaged in career guidance and awareness raising among the schoolchildren. Thus, they arrange the city and regional oympiads for the schoolchildren in geography and local history, as well as scientific events, such as the conference “Start in Science”. They also contribute to training the students and schoolchildren for the All-Russian Olympiads in geography.

The Geological Museum created by the students and staff of the Department of Geography is a scientific and methodological facility for conducting classes, training future geography teachers and enhancing knowledge among the students and schoolchildren. The museum designed in the form of a karst cave houses a rich collection of more than 150 varieties of rocks and minerals.

DEGREE PROGRAMMES

Bachelor

     Teacher Training: Geography. Life Safety

Master

     Teacher Training: Geography

RESEARCH

Research topics

•    Geoecological studies of cultural landscapes
•    Social and economic geography
•    Patterns and factors of spatial differentiation of the economy
•    Economic and geographical aspects of the industrial and social infrastructure
•    Optimizing the use of labour resource potential
•    Labour resource security
•    Ethnic geography of regions
•    Cultural landscapes in the traditions of peoples
•    Forming and developing professional skill of geography teachers

Collaboration

Penza Branch of the Russian Geographical Society
Ministry of Education in the Penza Region
Penza Institute for Region Development
Faculty of Geography, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
Faculty of Geography, Moscow Pedagogical State University
Department of Physical, Social and Economic Geography, N.P. Ogarev Mordovia State University
Penza State University for Architecture and Construction
School no. 12
Finance and Economy Lyceum no. 29

CONTACTS

Dr. Natalia Simakova
Candidate of Geographical Sciences, Associate Professor
Head of the Department of Geography

37 Lermontova Street, building 15, floor 3, office 351
Tel: +7 (8412) 64-39-10
E-mail: penzgeo@rambler.ru
Web-page of the Department of Geography (in Russian)