The Geographical Sciences Committee (GSC) provides high-quality scientific, technical, and policy advice and recommendations to society and to government at all levels using the methods of spatial analysis and representation. The geographical sciences focus on understanding responses to the impacts of changing biophysical and human environments. Place-based responses in domains ranging from health to urbanization, hazards to migration, can be characterized in terms of vulnerability, resiliency, adaptation, and sustainability. The GSC addresses the geographic dimensions of human-environment interactions, spatial location and concentration, and place-based research and policy at all spatial scales.

The GSC fosters international cooperation by serving as a liaison to other national geographical organizations and initiates collaborative research programs among those organizations. It provides advice to The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on all matters pertaining to geographical science, especially to the NAS Foreign Secretary on matters concerning international organizations, programs, and research. It serves as the official U.S. liaison to the International Geographical Union (IGU) and promotes and facilitates participation of U.S. geographers in the IGU.