Physical Geography
A. Geomorphology
- Factors controlling landform development
- endogenetic and exogenetic forces
- Origin and evolution of the earth’s crust
- Fundamentals of geomagnetism
- Physical conditions of the earth’s interior
- Geosynclines
- Continental drift
- Isostasy
- Plate tectonics
- Recent views on mountain building
- Vulcanicity
- Earthquakes and Tsunamis
- Concepts of geomorphic cycles and Landscape development
- Denudation chronology
- Channel morphology
- Erosion surfaces
- Slope development
- Applied Geomorphology : Geohydrology, economic geology and environment.
B.Climatology
- Temperature and pressure belts of the world
- Heat budget of the earth
- Atmospheric circulation
- atmospheric stability and instability
- Planetary and local winds
- Monsoons and jet streams
- Air masses and fronto genesis
- Temperate and tropical cyclones
- Types and distribution of precipitation
- Weather and Climate
- Koppen’s, Thornthwaite’s and Trewartha’s classification of world climates
- Hydrological cycle
- Global climatic change and role and response of man in climatic changes, Applied climatology and Urban climate.
C. Oceanography:
- Bottom topography of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans
- Temperature and salinity of the oceans
- Heat and salt budgets
- Ocean deposits
- Waves, currents and tides
- Marine resources: biotic, mineral and energy resources
- Coral reefs, coral bleaching
- sea-level changes
- law of the sea
- marine pollution
D. Biogeography:
- Genesis of soils
- Classification and distribution of soils
- Soil profile
- Soil erosion, Degradation and conservation
- Factors influencing world distribution of plants and animals
- Problems of deforestation and conservation measures
- Social forestry
- agroforestry
- Wild life
- Major gene pool centres.
E. Environmental Geography:
- Principle of ecology
- Human ecological adaptations
- Influence of man on ecology and environment
- Global and regional ecological changes and imbalances
- Ecosystem their management and conservation
- Environmental degradation, management and conservation
- Biodiversity and sustainable development
- Environmental policy
- Environmental hazards and remedial measures
- Environmental education and legislation.
Human Geography
F.Perspectives in Human Geography:
- Areal differentiation
- regional synthesis
- Dichotomy and dualism
- Environmentalism
- Quantitative revolution and locational analysis
- radical, behavioural, human and welfare approaches
- Languages, religions and secularisation
- Cultural regions of the world
- Human development index.
G. Economic Geography:
- World economic development: measurement and problems
- World resources and their distribution
- Energy crisis; the limits to growth
- World agriculture: typology of agricultural regions
- agricultural inputs and productivity
- Food and nutrition problems
- Food security
- famine: causes, effects and remedies
- World industries: locational patterns and problems
- patterns of world trade.
H. Population and Settlement Geography:
- Growth and distribution of world population
- demographic attributes
- Causes and consequences of migration
- concepts of over-under-and optimum population
- Population theories, world population problems and policies, Social well-being and quality of life
- Population as social capital.
- Types and patterns of rural settlements
- Environmental issues in rural settlements
- Hierarchy of urban settlements
- Urban morphology: Concepts of primate city and rank-size rule
- Functional classification of towns
- Sphere of urban influence
- Rural - urban fringe
- Satellite towns
- Problems and remedies of urbanization
- Sustainable development of cities.
I.Regional Planning:
- Concept of a region
- Types of regions and methods of regionalisation
- Growth centres and growth poles
- Regional imbalances
- regional development strategies
- environmental issues in regional planning
- Planning for sustainable development.
J.Models, Theories and Laws in Human Geography:
- Systems analysis in Human geography
- Malthusian, Marxian and demographic transition models
- Central Place theories of Christaller and Losch
- Perroux and Boudeville
- Von Thunen’s model of agricultural location
- Weber’s model of industrial location
- Ostov’s model of stages of growth
- Heartland and Rimland theories
- Laws of international boundaries and frontiers.