The Institute of Geography has played a major role in university and national scientific development to give rise to the Center for Research in Environmental Geography (CIGA), Campus Morelia, created in August 2007.

The Institute of Geography is the oldest and largest of its kind in central Mexico, currently its structure consists of three departments (Economic Geography, Physical Geography and Social Geography), a Laboratory Geospatial Analysis (LAGE), a Section Editorial (SE ) and two support units (Unit -UTI- Information Technology and Library which has more than 35,000 titles and houses the most comprehensive and important collection of the country in the field of geography, as well as one of the best map libraries, consisting of more than 20,000 documents).

They have been directors of the Institute Rita M. C. Llergo and Seoane Lopez (1943-1964), Dr. Consuelo Soto Mora (1964-1971), Dr. Maria Teresa Gutiérrez MacGregor (1971-1977), the .. Mr. Ruben Lopez Recendez (1977-1983), Dr. Maria Teresa Gutiérrez MacGregor-in his second period- (1983-1989), Dr. Román Álvarez Béjar (1989-1997, two four-year terms), the Dr. José Luis Palacio Prieto (1997-2003), Dr. Adrian Guillermo Aguilar Martínez (2004-2008), Dr. Irasema Alcantara Ayala (2008-2012) and currently Dr. José Omar Moncada Maya 2012 to date .

The mission of IgG National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is to carry out and disseminate, both basic and applied, scientific research geographical nature aimed at knowledge of the territory and its natural, social and economic resources, considering its current use and potential. Its main object of study is the geographical space and the different forms of organization of the constituent elements, both physical and socioeconomic.