Ph.D. (Geography)

Sr. No.

Subjects of Study

Unit I

1

Geomorphology: Fundamental concepts; Factors controlling landform development, Endogenetic and Exogenetic forces; Denudation process; weathering and erosion, Geosynclines, mountain building, continental drift and plate tectonics; Concept of Geomorphic Cycle, Landforms associated with fluvial, glacial, arid, coastal and karst cycles, Slope forms and processes; Environmental and Applied Geomorphology.

Unit II

1

Climatology: Composition and structure of the atmosphere; Insolation; Heat budget of the earth; Distribution of temperature, atmospheric pressure and general circulation of winds; Monsoons and jet streams; Stability and instability of the atmosphere; Air-masses; Fronts, temperate and tropical cyclones; Types and distribution of precipitation; Classification of world climates; Koppen's and Thornthwaite's schemes; Hydrological Cycle; Global warming.

Unit III

1

Oceanography: Origin of ocean basins; Bottom relief of Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; Ocean deposits; Coral reefs; Temperature and salinity of the Ocean; Density of seawater; tides and ocean currents; Sea-level changes.

2

Bio-Geography: Physical factors influencing world distribution of plants and animals; Forms and functions of ecosystem: Forest, grassland, marine and mountain ecosystem; Bio-diversity and its depletion through natural and man-induced causes; ecosystem; Bio-diversity and its depletion through natural and man-induced causes; Conservation and management of ecosystems; Environmental hazards and problems of pollution; Ozone depletion.

Unit IV

1

History of Geographic Thought: General character of Geographic knowledge during the ancient and medieval period, Foundations of Modern Geography: Contribution of German, French, British and American schools; Conceptual and methodological developments during the 20th century; Changing paradigms; Man and Environment, determinism and possibilism, areal differentiation and spatial organization; Quantitative revolution; Impact of positivism, humanism, radicalism and behaviorism in Geography

Unit V

1

Population Geography: Nature, scope, subject matter and recent trends; Patterns of world distribution, growth and density of population; Policy issues; Patterns and processes of migration; Demographic transition; Population-resource regions.

2

Settlement Geography: Site, situation, types, size, spacing and internal morphology of rural and urban settlements; Ecological processes of urban growth; Urban fringe; City-region; Settlement systems; Primate city; Rank-Size rule; Settlement hierarchy; Christaller's Central Place theory; August Losch's theory of market centers.

Unit VI

1

Economic Geography: Location of economic activities and spatial organization of economics; Classification of economics; Sectors of Economy; primary, secondary tertiary and quaternary; Natural resources; Renewable and non-renewable; Conservation of resources.

2

Agricultural Geography: Concept and techniques of delimitation of agricultural regions; Measurement of agricultural productivity and efficiency; Crop combinations and diversification; Von Thunen's Model; Agricultural systems of the world.

3

Industrial Geography: Classification of industries: Weber's and Losch's approaches; Resource-based and footloose industries.

4

Geography of Transport and Trade: Models of transportation and transport cost; Accessibility and connectivity: Inter-regional and Intra-regional: Comparative cost advantages.

Unit VII

1

Political Geography: Definition and scope of Political Geography: Geopolitics; Global strategic views (Heartland and Rimland theories); Concept of a nation; state and Nation-state; Boundaries and frontiers; Politics and world resources; Geography and Federalism.

2

Social Geography: Nature and scope of social geography; Social structure and social processes; Elements of social geography-ethnicity, tribe, dialect, language, caste and religion; Concept of social well-being.

3

Cultural Geography: Nature and scope of Cultural Geography; Environment and culture; Concept of culture areas and culture regions; Theories of tribal groups; Dwelling places as cultural expressions.

Unit VIII

1

Regional Planning: Regional concept in Geography; its application to planning; Concept of planning region; Regional hierarchy, Types of regions and methods of regional delineation; Conceptual and theoretical framework of regional planning; Regional planning in India: Concept of development; Indicators of development; Regional imbalances.

Unit IX

1

Geography of India: Physiographic divisions; Climate: its regional variations; Vegetation types and vegetation regions; Major soil types; Coastal and Marine resources; Water resources; Irrigation; Agriculture; Agroclimatic regions; Mineral and power resources; Major industries and industrial regions; Population distribution and growth; Settlement patterns; Regional disparities in social and economic development.

Unit X

1

Cartography: Map as a tool in Geographical studies; Types of maps; Techniques for the study of spatial patterns of distribution; Single purpose and composite maps; Choropleth, Isopleth and Chorochromatic maps and pie diagrams; Mapping of location-specific date; Accessibility and flow maps. Remote sensing and computer application in mapping; Digital mapping, Geographic Information System (GIS): Thematic maps.

2

Statistical Methods: Data sources and types of data; Statistical diagrams, a study of frequency distribution and cumulative frequency; Measures of central tendency; Selection of class intervals for mapping; Measures of dispersion (Simple index of dispersion). and concentration (Bernard's index of concentration; Kant's index of concentration); Standard deviation; Lorenz curve; Methods of measuring associations among different attributes; Simple and multiple correlations; Regression. Measurement of spatial patterns of distribution; Nearest-neighbour analysis; Scaling techniques, rank score, weighted score, Sampling techniques for geographical analysis. Quantification in major fields of geography: morph metric analysis, Land capability classification, Measurement of agricultural efficiency; Quantitative methods in economic regionalization.

Unit XI

1

Meaning and significance of research, types and objectives of the research, research process, research approaches, defining the research problems, problems of geographic research; formulation of research schemes; role and significance of research bodies and funding agencies to assist research work. Research design; hypothesis; theory and scientific law; preparing a research project; writing a research report.