Geography Major Concentration (B.A.) (37 credits)
Offered by: Geography (Faculty of Arts; Faculty of Science)
Degree: Bachelor of Arts; Bachelor of Arts and Science
Program credit weight: 37
Program Description
The B.A.; Major Concentration in Geography focuses on the interactions among people, places, and the environment. It includes coursework in human and physical Geography, methodological techniques, and field.
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.
Degree Requirements — B.A. & Sc. students
This program is offered as part of a Bachelor of Arts & Science (B.A. & Sc.) degree.
To graduate, students must satisfy both their program requirements and their degree requirements.
- The program requirements (i.e., the specific courses that make up this program) are listed under the Course Tab (above).
- The degree requirements—including the mandatory Foundation program, appropriate degree structure, and any additional components—are outlined on the Degree Requirements page.
Students are responsible for ensuring that this program fits within the overall structure of their degree and that all degree requirements are met. Consult the Degree Planning Guide on the SOUSA website for additional guidance.
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 (7 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. | ||
Complementary Courses (30 credits)
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. | ||
Field Courses
3 credits from:
Note: Field course offerings are determined each year in February.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 425 | Southeast Asia Urban Field Studies. | 3 |
Southeast Asia Urban Field Studies. Terms offered: Summer 2025 This course allows students to experience some of the urban changes taking place in Southeast Asian cities, a dynamic region, while providing the opportunity to connect recent scholarship with field observations. We will explore various current themes in urban studies and urban geography including globalization, the transnational circulation of urban policies, interpretations of culture and heritage / new built heritage, gentrification, migrant labour, public housing, creative clusters, and new cities as national economic strategies. | ||
| GEOG 494 | Urban Field Studies. | 3 |
Urban Field Studies. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Geographical research in urban public and semi-public spaces. Demonstration of techniques of mapping, sampling, measurement, photography, interviewing. Attention to research design. | ||
| GEOG 495 | Field Studies - Physical Geography. | 3 |
Field Studies - Physical Geography. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Field research projects in physical geography. Held locally in Monteregian or Eastern Township regions. The course is organised around field projects designed to formulate and test scientific hypotheses in a physical geography discipline. May Summer session. | ||
| GEOG 496 | Geographical Excursion. | 3 |
Geographical Excursion. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Lecture course on the geography of a region and excursion through the selected country or region including landscape interpretation and field study projects. | ||
| GEOG 499 | Subarctic Field Studies. | 3 |
Subarctic Field Studies. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to the geography of the subarctic with emphasis on the application of field methods in physical and/or human geography. | ||
Analysis and Methodology
3 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 308 | Remote Sensing for Earth Observation. | 3 |
Remote Sensing for Earth Observation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A conceptual view of remote sensing and the underlying physical principles. Covers ground-based, aerial, satellite systems, and the electromagnetic spectrum, from visible to microwave. Emphasis on application of remotely sensed data in geography including land cover change and ecological processes. | ||
| GEOG 314 | Geospatial Analysis. | 3 |
Geospatial Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Overview of both the theoretical and applied aspects of geographic information science and systems. Topics will include spatial analysis techniques, geographic models as abstractions of the real world, spatial data manipulation and management, and conceptual issues related to geographic data and technology. Introduction to a number of leading commercial software including ESRI’s ArcGIS Pro. | ||
| GEOG 333 | Introduction to Programming for Spatial Sciences. | 3 |
Introduction to Programming for Spatial Sciences. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to conceptual and practical aspects of programming for the spatial sciences, focusing on programming concepts and techniques irrespective of the specific programming language, framework, or software. Topics include spatial data structures, flow control, classes and objects, and basics of geospatial data modeling and analysis. | ||
| 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 414 | Advanced Geospatial Analysis. | 3 |
Advanced Geospatial Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced techniques in geospatial analysis. Geospatial methods and using geospatial information systems. Topics: geodatabases, interpolation techniques, spatial classification methods, data mining and machine learning, including working with a number of leading commercial software including ESRI’s ArcGIS Desktop/Pro. | ||
| GEOG 506 | Advanced Geographic Information Science. | 3 |
Advanced Geographic Information Science. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Critically analyse major themes in geographic information science and draw out the practical ramifications for spatial technologies and research. Topics such as spatial interoperability, data quality, scale, visualization, location based services and ontologies are covered. | ||
| GEOG 512 | Advanced Quantitative Methods in Social Field Research. | 3 |
Advanced Quantitative Methods in Social Field Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. How does one collect data to quantitatively assess research questions in human geography or other social sciences, and what methods are available to analyze those data? This course introduces students to advanced statistical techniques commonly confronted in field-based social science studies. The course is divided into four major topics: research design, evaluating impacts of policies or programs, time-series data, and spatial interactions. For the techniques investigated, the course will highlight major technical assumptions, field considerations for data collection, and how each does or does not account for geographic factors that may influence outcomes of interest. | ||
Geography
The remaining 18 credits are to be selected from Geography (GEOG) courses excluding GEOG 200 Geographical Perspectives: World Environmental Problems. and GEOG 205 Global Change: Past, Present and Future.. Of these 18 credits, at least 3 credits must be at the 400 level or above.