Department of Geography & Environmental Studies · University of Rajshahi
RUGESAA — Rajshahi University Geography & Environmental Studies Alumni Association

People who read landscapes, keeping in touch.

The Rajshahi University Geography & Environmental Studies Alumni Association (RUGESAA) connects everyone who has studied in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies at the University of Rajshahi — and puts that network to work for its students.

Our mission

Keep the cohort together long after the final field report.

Since 1955 the department has trained geographers who now work in research, government, planning and development, in Bangladesh and abroad. The association keeps them connected to each other and to the department — and puts that network to work for the roughly 400 students studying here today.

01

Connect

A searchable directory of every batch, kept current by members.

02

Mentor

Senior alumni guide students into careers in research, planning and policy.

03

Gather

Reunions, webinars and field days that bring batches back together.

04

Give back

Scholarships, field research grants and support for department labs.

History

A department, a discipline and the people it shaped

The department began work in 1955 as the Department of Geography, with a few teachers and students and a two-year postgraduate course. It is now one of the oldest and largest departments at the University of Rajshahi, and it has grown almost continuously since — faster still after the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

  1. 1955

    Department of Geography opens

    The first batch is admitted to a two-year postgraduate course.

  2. 1962

    Honours course begins

    A three-year honours programme is introduced.

  3. 1971

    Growth after liberation

    The department grows faster after Bangladesh's independence.

  4. 1991–92

    Integrated honours

    The integrated honours course starts this session.

  5. 1997–98

    Four-year honours

    A four-year honours course is introduced.

  6. Today

    Faculty of Geoscience

    Geography & Environmental Studies, with 24 teachers and around 400 students.

A modern campus building with people walking on the lawn
Today · The department building
The department today

Physical and human geography, under one roof

Undergraduate courses balance the physical and human branches of geography; postgraduate courses build specialized knowledge. The department sits in the Faculty of Geoscience and publishes an annual journal, The Journal of Geo-Environment (ISSN 1682-1998).

Founded as the Department of Geography
1955
Teachers, 13 of them professors
24
Students across all programmes
~400
Laboratories and research units
6

Research areas

  • GIS & Remote Sensing
  • Physical Geography
  • Agricultural Geography
  • Environment & Disaster Management
  • Coastal Ecosystems
  • Land Use Change
  • Climate Change

Laboratories

GIS & Remote Sensing Laboratory High-speed networked PCs, wide-screen monitors, a large-format digitizer and colour plotter, linked to the campus fibre-optic LAN.
Survey Laboratory Plane table and prismatic compass kits, theodolite, dumpy level, GPS, barometric altimeters and an echo-depth finder.
Physical Geography Laboratory Landform models, rock and mineral testing, particle measurement, and arsenic, pollution, pH and water testing.
Climatology Laboratory An automatic weather station that records 13 types of weather data every hour.
Cartography Laboratory Large-scale topographic maps of all Bangladesh from two periods, weather maps, 1978–79 satellite image hardcopies, maps and atlases.
Geo-informatics Research Unit Multi-date satellite data for the whole country, major GIS and remote sensing software, and vector data for Bangladesh's administrative units.

Partners abroad

  • University of Education, Freiburg
  • University of Cologne
  • University of Münster
  • IDRISI Lab, Clark University
  • Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Partners in Bangladesh

  • SPARRSO
  • Bangladesh Meteorological Department
  • Center for Environment and GIS
  • Soil Resource Development Institute
  • Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council

Department office

Dr. Md. Latifur Rahman Sarker
Professor & Chairman Ground Floor, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose Academic Building, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205 [email protected] Phone & fax: +88-02588864123 24.3715° N, 88.6364° E · Open map