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Academic Calendar 2025/26

Geography

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Geography Honours

The Geography Honours program allows students to further their degree with greater course expectations and additional research courses. An honours is meant to prepare students for admission to graduate school and/or professional work.

Entrance requirements

  1. Completion of 75 credits that apply to the Bachelor of Arts, including:
    • At least 24 credits of GEOG.
    • At least 6 credits of 300- or 400-level GEOG, ENV, or PLAN.
    • At least two of GEOG 252, GEOG 256, and GEOG 257/CMNS 257.
  2. A minimum GPA of 3.33 in all courses required for program completion.
  3. Approval of the Planning, Geography, and Environmental Studies (PGES) department.

Interested students are encouraged to seek out advice on the Geography Honours program from the PGES department head or an Academic Advisor early in their studies. Students should apply to the program at the earliest possible entry date.

How to apply

Interested students will need to complete and submit an application package, available from the PGES departmental coordinator.

Program outline

In addition to the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts and the Geography major, the Geography Honours requires the following:

  1. A minimum of 38 credits of GEOG.
  2. A minimum additional 20 credits in GEOG, ENV, or PLAN.
  3. One of GEOG 300F, ENV 310, PLAN 310, or PLAN 400.
  4. One of STAT 104, STAT 106, or PSYC 110.
  5. An original research project completed as part of GEOG 491 and GEOG 492, with a B+ in each course.
  6. Minimum CGPA of 3.33.

Lower-level requirements: 29–32 credits

Course Title Credits
GEOG 140 Human Geography (discontinued) 3
or GEOG 160 Settlements: Why We Live Where We Do
ENV 111 Environmental Issues and Strategies (formerly GEOG 111) 3
or GEOG 130 Geography of Canada
ENV 212 Environmental Field and Lab Techniques (see Notes) 4
or GEOG 103 The Physical Environment (see Note 1)
Two of: 6-8
ENV 212 Environmental Field and Lab Techniques  
GEOG 201 Climate and People
GEOG 202 Understanding Your Earth: Landforms and Processes
GEOG 219/ BIO 219 Biogeography
GEOG 240 World Regional Geography  
GEOG 241 Social Geography: The Urban Experience  
GEOG 242/ ECON 242 Economic Geography
GEOG 253 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems  
GEOG 260 Global Goals Studio: Sustainable Communities by Design  
One of: 3–4
STAT 104 Introductory Statistics  
STAT 106 Statistics I  
PSYC 110 Applied Statistical Analysis in Psychology  
Plus:  
GEOG 252 Explanation in Geography: Quantitative Methods 4
GEOG 256 Knowledge and Ethics in Geographic and Environmental Research 3
GEOG 257/ CMNS 257 Environment: Science and Communications 3

Note 1: GEOG 103 is recommended for students intending to apply to a Teacher Education program.

Note 2: A single course can be used to meet only one program requirement.

Upper-level requirements: 32–34 credits

Course Title Credits
GEOG 491 Honours Research Design and Data Collection 4
GEOG 492 Honours Research Project 4
One of: 3-4
ENV 310 Leadership in Environmental Professions  
GEOG 300F Maps, Territories, and Land Claims  
PLAN 310 Planning Law and Ethics  
PLAN 400 Theories in Regional and Community Planning  
One of: 3-4
GEOG 355 GIS for Built Environment  
GEOG 357/ BIO 357 Conservation GIS  
GEOG 358 Forensic Geographic Information Systems  
GEOG 359 GIS Applications for Business  
Plus: (see Note)  
Electives 9 credits of 300- or 400-level GEOG, not including GEOG 481 or GEOG 482 (both discontinued) 9
Electives 9 additional credits of 300- or 400-level GEOG, ENV, or PLAN 9

Note: No more than two of GEOG 355, GEOG 357, GEOG 358, or GEOG 359 may be used toward upper-level requirements.

Research project

Successful completion of a research project is required prior to graduation with the Geography Honours. This project is developed in consultation with a faculty supervisor and demonstrates students' advanced skills and knowledge in geography.

Students will complete this project in two courses. In the first course, students will design and collect data for their project. This will be completed as part of GEOG 491 (Honours Research Design and Data Collection). Students will then register in GEOG 492 (Honours Research Project) to complete the data analysis and project write-up.

Each honours student will disseminate their research findings in a presentation to an academic audience (e.g. professional conference or department seminar) as well as through an academic research poster or alternative. Following project completion and presentation, the honours supervisor in consultation with a second reader, will assign a grade for GEOG 492.

Residency

Please check the Bachelor of Arts residency section of the calendar for how many upper-level credits must be completed at Â鶹´«Ã½ in order to graduate with this program.

Graduation requirements

A minimum CGPA of 3.33 and a B+ in each of GEOG 491 and GEOG 492 must be attained in order for the Geography Honours to be awarded.

Course listings

For complete details on courses see the course descriptions section.


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