The Surprising 'Terrain' of University-Level Geography in Ethiopia

This study surveys the development of geography as an academic discipline in Ethiopia, its current landscape, and future challenges. We trace Ethiopian geography from its advent in 1950 to present. Our analysis is divided among three periods. Key developments in the first era included the founding of geography at Ethiopia's national university as well as the establishment of the Ethiopian Geographical Journal and the Mapping and Geography Institute. During the second era, geography, like other departments, suffered from a large outmigration of scholars, who left to escape the brutality of the Derg regime. The most recent era has been marked by unprecedented growth. Geography has mushroomed with the massive expansion of higher education in the country. Undergraduate geography programs now exist in twenty-one universities. Eight universities offer Masters' degrees and Addis Ababa University has launched a PhD program. Geography's future clearly lies in vigorously pursuing new developments in the field like GIS, organizing the geography community more effectively, reviving academic media such as the Ethiopian Geographical Journal, and capitalizing on its expertise to contribute to the nation's present economic momentum.