The university, to be established in Szeged, was offered the building of the Hungarian Railway Central Settlement Office (completed in 1912), which came into the university's possession in 1925 following the office's dissolution. The Institute of Geography was initially located on the ground floor, moving to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors in 1930.

In the autumn of 1944, the university was ordered to relocate to Sopron. However, in November 1944, immediately after Soviet troops entered Szeged, education resumed here. On August 4, 1945, Gyula Prinz was appointed as the head of the institute.

In 1952, the Institute of Geography was split into two: Geography Institute No. I was established under the leadership of Gyula Prinz, while Richárd Wagner became the head of Geography Institute No. II.

Department of Climatology

In Geography Institute No. II (renamed the Department of Climatology in 1954), macro- and micro-climate research commenced, leading to the completion of the university meteorological station on the 5th floor. In 1959, the first volume of Acta Climatologica was published; it remains the department’s internationally recognized journal today.

Following the death of Richárd Wagner in 1972, György Péczely succeeded him, publishing two fundamental climatological textbooks. Under his leadership, the primary focus of departmental research shifted toward synoptic climatology, and the Szeged urban climate station network was established, operating for three years. After his untimely death in 1984, the department was led by János Juhász, and later by László Jakucs as acting head.

From the summer of 1986 until his retirement in 1995, György Koppány led the department. Under his leadership, new research directions emerged, including historical climatology, the study of stratospheric ozone, and drought forecasting investigations, alongside the start of comprehensive urban climatology research.

Between 1995 and 2006, Ilona Keveiné Bárány headed the Department of Climatology, renamed in 1997 to the Department of Climatology and Landscape Geography. She was the first Hungarian female geographer to earn a DSc from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2003). Under her leadership, the department's research and teaching expanded to include landscape geography studies and subjects.

In 2007, János Unger took over the management of the department. Under his leadership, urban climatology research gained further emphasis, supported by several national and international (EU) grants. As part of these projects, a multi-element monitoring system was built in Szeged. In addition to processing the resulting extensive database, research based on local-scale models targeting the future interactions between global climate change and urban climate came to the fore. Other research directions cover human bioclimatology, tourism climatology, landscape ecology, and ecosystem services. In 2016, the Meteorology specialization was launched within the Earth Sciences BSc program.

In 2022, Tamás Gál became the new head of the department. Thanks to the work of previous decades, the department boasted outstanding infrastructure to host the further development of Hungarian urban climate research. However, in the autumn of 2022, the department was forced to vacate its premises on the third floor, which had served its internationally renowned scientific activities for exactly 70 years.

In the years leading up to 2024, the department provided several foundational courses for BSc programs in Geography, Earth Sciences, Environmental Science, and Environmental Engineering. Meteorology-climatology, cartography, and landscape ecology form the basis of the department's teaching work. Simultaneously, it contributes to Master's programs (Geography, Earth Sciences, and Environmental Science) with applied courses. The department's research is closely linked to education, with its diverse current profile consisting of: urban climatology, human bioclimatology, tourism climatology, landscape ecology, and ecosystem services.

Geoinformatics

Department of Atmospheric and Geospatial Data Sciences

On October 1, 2024, following a significant reorganization of the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, the Department of Atmospheric and Geospatial Data Sciences was established. This new department was formed from parts of the Department of Geology and Paleontology, parts of the Department of Climatology and Landscape Geography, and the Department of Geoinformatics, Physical and Environmental Geography. From an educational perspective, it covers the fields of geoinformatics, meteorology, climatology, cartography, geostatistics, and geomathematics.