Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, College of Social and Applied Human Sciences

Students in Geography study human interactions with the environment at different scales, from community through to regional, national and global. Within the program of studies, students are able to pursue focused topics, lines of interest and professional trajectories. Some examples include: nature conservation, climate change, social-environmental justice, food security, geomorphology, environmental policy and decision-making, urban-rural change, watershed management and community resilience. Geography B.A. Honours Majors are eligible to take the B.Sc. Honours program Minor in Applied Geomatics. 

The Co-op program in Geography provides students with the opportunity to explore further and gain expertise through paid work terms in their field.

The 1000 level courses provide a foundation for the Geography programs and are prerequisites or are strongly recommended for many of the 2000 level courses. The 2000 level systematic courses are prerequisite to the corresponding advanced courses at the 3000 and 4000 level. 

All Geography students are encouraged to consult with a faculty advisor regarding course selection, especially those students contemplating graduate or professional programs of study following completion of the honours program.

The department also offers a B.A. Honours in Environmental Governance, a B.Sc. Honours in Environmental Geomatics, and a B.Sc.Env. Honours in Environment and Resource Management. 

Major Requirements (Honours)

This is a major within the degree: Bachelor of Arts.

A minimum of 9.00 credits in Geography is required, including:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
GEOG*1200	Society and Space	0.50
GEOG*1220	Explaining Environmental Change	0.50
GEOG*1300	Introduction to the Biophysical Environment	0.50
GEOG*2000	Geomorphology	0.50
GEOG*2030	Environment, Justice and Society	0.50
GEOG*2110	Climate and the Biophysical Environment	0.50
GEOG*2260	Applied Human Geography	0.50
GEOG*2460	Analysis in Geography	0.50
GEOG*2480	Mapping and GIS	0.50
GEOG*3020	Global Environmental Change	0.50
GEOG*3480	GIS and Spatial Analysis	0.50
GEOG*4880	Contemporary Geographic Thought	0.50
1.50 credits in Geography at the 3000 level or above		1.50
1.50 credits in Geography at the 4000 level		1.50

Co-op Requirements (Honours)

This is a major within the degree: Bachelor of Arts.

The Geography Co-op program is a five year program, including three required work terms. Students must complete a Fall, Winter, and Summer work term and must follow the academic work schedule as outlined below (also found on the Cooperative Education website https://www.recruitguelph.ca/cecs/). Prefer refer to the Co-operative Education program policy with respect to adjusting this schedule.

Academic and Co-op Work Term Schedule

Co-op Information

Year	Fall	Winter	Summer
1	Academic Semester 1	Academic Semester 2	Off
2	Academic Semester 3, COOP*1100	Academic Semester 4	COOP*1000 Work Term I
3	Academic Term 5	COOP*2000 Work Term II	Academic Semester 6
4	COOP*3000 Work Term III	COOP*4000 Work Term IV	Off
5	Academic Semester 7	Academic Semester 8	N/A

Please refer to the Co-operative Education program policy with respect to work term performance grading, work term report grading and program completion requirements.

For additional program information students should consult with their Co-op Co-ordinator and Co-op Faculty Advisor, listed on the Co-operative Education web site.

Credit Summary

(21.50 Total Credits)¹

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required Core Courses		9.00
Electives		11.00
Co-op Work Terms		1.50
Total Credits		21.5

¹

A fourth Co-op work term is optional and if completed, the total number of credits will equal 22.00. 

Note: The 9.00 require core courses include 6.00 required GEOG credits and 3.00 GEOG in electives, which must be from 3000 level or higher, and at least 1.50 credits of those from 4000 level.  A minimum of three Co-op work terms including a Summer, Fall, and Winter are necessary to complete the Co-op requirement.

Recommended Program Sequence

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Semester 1 - Fall
GEOG*1200	Society and Space	0.50
GEOG*1300	Introduction to the Biophysical Environment	0.50
1.50 electives		1.50
Semester 2 - Winter
GEOG*1220	Explaining Environmental Change	0.50
2.00 electives		2.00
Summer Semester
No academic semester or work term
Semester 3 - Fall
GEOG*2000	Geomorphology	0.50
GEOG*2030	Environment, Justice and Society	0.50
GEOG*2420	The Earth From Space	0.50
GEOG*2460	Analysis in Geography	0.50
COOP*1100	Introduction to Co-operative Education	0.00
0.50 electives		0.50
Semester 4 - Winter
GEOG*2110	Climate and the Biophysical Environment	0.50
GEOG*2480	Mapping and GIS	0.50
1.50 electives		1.50
Summer Semester
COOP*1000	Co-op Work Term I	0.50
Semester 5 - Fall
GEOG*3480	GIS and Spatial Analysis	0.50
GEOG*3020	Global Environmental Change	0.50
0.50 credits in GEOG at the 3000 or 4000 level		0.50
1.00 electives		1.00
Winter Semester
COOP*2000	Co-op Work Term II	0.50
Semester 6 - Summer
1.00 credits in GEOG at the 3000 or 4000 level		1.00
1.50 electives		1.50
Fall Semester
COOP*3000	Co-op Work Term III	0.50
Winter Semester
COOP*4000	Co-op Work Term IV	0.50
Summer Semester
No academic semester or work term
Semester 7 - Fall
1.00 credits in GEOG at the 3000 or 4000 level		1.00
1.50 electives		1.50
Semester 8 Winter
GEOG*4880	Contemporary Geographic Thought	0.50
0.50 credits in GEOG at the 3000 or 4000 level		0.50
1.50 electives		1.50

Minor Requirements (Honours)

This minor cannot be combined with a major in Geography.

A minimum of 5.00 credits in Geography is required, including:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Select 1.00 credits from the following:
GEOG*1200	Society and Space	0.50
GEOG*1220	Explaining Environmental Change	0.50
GEOG*1300	Introduction to the Biophysical Environment	0.50
Select 1.00 credits from the following:
GEOG*2000	Geomorphology	0.50
GEOG*2030	Environment, Justice and Society	0.50
GEOG*2110	Climate and the Biophysical Environment	0.50
Select 0.50 credits from the following:
GEOG*2260	Applied Human Geography	0.50
GEOG*2460	Analysis in Geography	0.50
GEOG*2480	Mapping and GIS	0.50
2.00 credits in Geography at the 3000 or 4000 level		2.00
0.50 credits in Geography at the 4000 level		0.50

Area of Concentration Requirements (General)

This is an area of concentration within the degree: Bachelor of Arts.

A minimum of 5.00 credits in Geography is required, including:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
GEOG*1200	Society and Space	0.50
GEOG*1220	Explaining Environmental Change	0.50
GEOG*1300	Introduction to the Biophysical Environment	0.50
GEOG*3020	Global Environmental Change	0.50
Select 1.00 credits from the following:
GEOG*2000	Geomorphology	0.50
GEOG*2030	Environment, Justice and Society	0.50
GEOG*2110	Climate and the Biophysical Environment	0.50
Select 0.50 credits from the following:
GEOG*2460	Analysis in Geography	0.50
GEOG*2480	Mapping and GIS	0.50
1.50 credits in Geography at the 3000 level or above		1.50