Geography Joint Honours Component (B.A.) (37 credits)
Offered by: Geography (Faculty of Science)
Degree: Bachelor of Arts; Bachelor of Arts and Science
Program credit weight: 37
Program Description
Students wishing to study at the Honours level in two disciplines can combine Joint Honours program components of Geography and another Arts discipline. As with the regular Honours program, the Geography component of Joint Honours focuses on the interactions among people, places, and the environment, and requires an Honours project, which entails independent, original research conducted over two semesters, normally in the final year of study, under the supervision of a department faculty member. The requirements for Honours programs vary considerably among units, so students interested in Joint Honours should consult an adviser in each department to discuss their course selection and research project(s).
In addition to the Faculty of Arts requirement that Joint Honours students maintain a CGPA of at least 3.00, students in a Joint Honours Component Geography program must maintain a program GPA of at least 3.30 to remain in the Honours program and receive an Honours degree. In addition to meeting these Geography requirements, students must meet the requirements set forth by the other unit.
Degree Requirements — B.A. students
To be eligible for a B.A. degree, a student must fulfil all Faculty and program requirements as indicated in Degree Requirements for the Faculty of Arts.
We recommend that students consult an Arts OASIS advisor for degree planning.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Courses (13 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 201 | Introductory Geo-Information Science. | 3 |
Introductory Geo-Information Science. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to Geographic Information Systems. The systematic management of spatial data. The use and construction of maps. The use of microcomputers and software for mapping and statistical work. Air photo and topographic map analyses. | ||
| GEOG 216 | Geography of the World Economy. | 3 |
Geography of the World Economy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course introduces the geography of the world economic system. It describes the spatial distribution of economic activities and examines the factors which influence their changing location. Case studies from both "developed" and "developing" countries will test the different geographical theories presented in lectures. | ||
| GEOG 290 | Local Geographical Excursion. | 1 |
Local Geographical Excursion. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to landscape interpretation and geographical site analysis in physical and human geography. A three-day fall excursion with preparatory and concluding seminars. | ||
| GEOG 351 | Quantitative Methods. | 3 |
Quantitative Methods. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Multiple regression and correlation, logit models, discrete choice models, gravity models, facility location algorithms, survey design, population projection. | ||
| GEOG 381 | Geographic Thought and Practice. | 3 |
Geographic Thought and Practice. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Critical perspectives of the history and practice of the discipline, considering different paradigms and theoretical approaches that have been influential in its development. Possible methods, ethical debates, and other processes involved in conducting geographical research. | ||
Complementary Courses (24 credits)
Introductory Physical Geography
3 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 203 | Environmental Systems. | 3 |
Environmental Systems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to system-level interactions among climate, hydrology, soils and vegetation at the scale of drainage basins, including the study of the global geographical variability in these land-surface systems. The knowledge acquired is used to study the impact on the environment of various human activities such as deforestation and urbanisation. | ||
| GEOG 272 | Earth's Changing Surface. | 3 |
Earth's Changing Surface. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the study of landforms as products of geomorphic and geologic systems acting at and near the Earth's surface. The process geomorphology approach will be used to demonstrate how landforms of different geomorphic settings represent a dynamic balance between forces acting in the environment and the physical properties of materials present. | ||
Statistics
3 credits from:
Note: Credit given for statistics courses is subject to certain restrictions. Students should consult the "Course Overlap" information in the "Course Requirements" section for the Faculty of Arts.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 373 | Biometry. | 3 |
Biometry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Elementary statistical methods in biology. Introduction to the analysis of biological data with emphasis on the assumptions behind statistical tests and models. Use of statistical techniques typically available on computer packages. | ||
| GEOG 202 | Statistics and Spatial Analysis. | 3 |
Statistics and Spatial Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploratory data analysis, univariate descriptive and inferential statistics, non-parametric statistics, correlation and simple regression. Problems associated with analysing spatial data such as the 'modifiable areal unit problem' and spatial autocorrelation. Statistics measuring spatial pattern in point, line and polygon data. | ||
| MATH 203 | Principles of Statistics 1. | 3 |
Principles of Statistics 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Examples of statistical data and the use of graphical means to summarize the data. Basic distributions arising in the natural and behavioural sciences. The logical meaning of a test of significance and a confidence interval. Tests of significance and confidence intervals in the one and two sample setting (means, variances and proportions). | ||
| PSYC 204 | Introduction to Psychological Statistics. | 3 |
Introduction to Psychological Statistics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The statistical analysis of research data; frequency distributions; graphic representation; measures of central tendency and variability; elementary sampling theory and tests of significance. | ||
| SOCI 350 | Statistics in Social Research. | 3 |
Statistics in Social Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This is an introductory course in descriptive and inferential statistics. The course is designed to help students develop a critical attitude toward statistical argument. It serves as a background for further statistics courses, helping to provide the intuition which can sometimes be lost amid the formulas. | ||
Research
3-6 credits of research courses. Where both departments require an Honours Thesis, the student has the option of submitting the thesis to either department. If the thesis is submitted to the other department, then the student must register for GEOG 492D1 Joint Honours Research./GEOG 492D2 Joint Honours Research.. In some cases, it is required that the thesis be jointly supervised by faculty of both departments.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 491D1 | Honours Research. | 3 |
Honours Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Supervised reading, research and preparation of an undergraduate thesis under the direction of a member of staff. | ||
| GEOG 491D2 | Honours Research. | 3 |
Honours Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See GEOG 491D1 for course description. | ||
| GEOG 492D1 | Joint Honours Research. | 1.5 |
Joint Honours Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Supervised reading, research and preparation of an undergraduate thesis under the direction of a member of staff. | ||
| GEOG 492D2 | Joint Honours Research. | 1.5 |
Joint Honours Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See GEOG 492D1 for course description. | ||
Geography
12-15 credits from a coherent set of Geography (GEOG) courses excluding GEOG 200 Geographical Perspectives: World Environmental Problems. and GEOG 205 Global Change: Past, Present and Future., approved by the Program Adviser. Including a field course is desirable. No more than 6 credits may be taken from 200-level courses.