Environment Major - Food Production and Environment (B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)) or (B.Sc.) (63 credits)
Offered by: Bieler School of Environment
Degree: Bachelor of Science (Agricultural and Environmental Sciences)
Program credit weight: 63
Program Description
This domain (63 credits including core) is open only to students in the B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.) Major in Environment or B.Sc. Major in Environment programs.
The business of food production is an area of human activity with a large and intimate interaction with the environment. As the global population rises, demand for food and food production increases. This demand must be met through a combination of increased productivity of existing agricultural land and by bringing new arable land into production. This is a serious challenge for two main reasons. Firstly, there are environmental impacts of agricultural activities which can be significant and which can be difficult to assess and contain, as the effects range from loss of biodiversity due to increasing farm size, production of biofuels versus food, non-point source pollution of rivers and lakes, and a loss of arable land to urbanization. Secondly, a growing population needs support from a number of different land uses (e.g., urban growth, transportation, water resource use, timber resources, etc.), many of which conflict, and all of which compete with food production land requirements. As the available land resource decreases, land-use competition for what remains will grow more fierce, making the need for smart and informed decision-making related to food production increasingly critical.
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.
Program Prerequisites or Corequisites
All students in this program MUST take these pre- or corequisite courses, or their equivalents. These courses are taken as follows:
One of the following courses or CEGEP equivalent (e.g., CEGEP objective 00XU):
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 112 | Cell and Molecular Biology. | 3 |
Cell and Molecular Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The cell: ultrastructure, division, chemical constituents and reactions. Bioenergetics: photosynthesis and respiration. Principles of genetics, the molecular basis of inheritance and biotechnology. | ||
| LSCI 211 | Biochemistry 1. | 3 |
Biochemistry 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism. | ||
One of the following courses or CEGEP equivalent (e.g., CEGEP objective 00XV):
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 212 | Introductory Organic Chemistry 1. | 4 |
Introductory Organic Chemistry 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 A fundamental study of aliphatic compounds and saturated functional groups including modern concepts of bonding, reaction mechanisms, conformational analysis, spectroscopy, and stereochemistry. | ||
| FDSC 230 | Organic Chemistry. | 4 |
Organic Chemistry. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Atomic and molecular structure, modern concepts of bonding, overview of functional groups, conformational analysis, stereochemistry, mechanisms and reactions of aliphatic compounds. | ||
Suggested First Year (U1) Courses
For suggestions on courses to take in your first year (U1), you can consult the "Bieler School of Environment Student Handbook" available on the website (http://www.mcgill.ca/environment), or contact Kathy Roulet, the Program Adviser (kathy.roulet@mcgill.ca).
Program Requirements
Note: Students are required to take a maximum of 34 credits at the 200 level and a minimum of 15 credits at the 400 level or higher in this program. This includes core and required courses, but does not include the domain prerequisites or corequisites listed above.
Location Note: When planning their schedule and registering for courses, students should verify where each course is offered because courses for this program are taught at both McGill's Downtown campus and at the Macdonald campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.
Core: Required Courses (18 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVR 200 | The Global Environment. | 3 |
The Global Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change. | ||
| ENVR 201 | Society, Environment and Sustainability. | 3 |
Society, Environment and Sustainability. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used. | ||
| ENVR 202 | The Evolving Earth. | 3 |
The Evolving Earth. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems. | ||
| ENVR 203 | Knowledge, Ethics and Environment. | 3 |
Knowledge, Ethics and Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies. | ||
| ENVR 301 | Environmental Research Design. | 3 |
Environmental Research Design. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise. | ||
| ENVR 400 | Environmental Thought. | 3 |
Environmental Thought. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars. | ||
Core: Complementary Course - Senior Research Project (3 credits)
Only 3 credits will be applied to the program; extra credits will count as electives.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEBI 427 | Barbados Interdisciplinary Project. | 6 |
Barbados Interdisciplinary Project. Terms offered: Summer 2025 The planning of projects and research activities related to tropical food, nutrition, or energy at the local, regional, or national scale in Barbados. Projects and activities designed in consultation with university instructors, government, NGO, or private partners, and prepared by teams of 2-3 students working cooperatively with these mentors. | ||
| ENVR 401 | Environmental Research. | 3 |
Environmental Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer. | ||
| ENVR 451 | Research in Panama. | 6 |
Research in Panama. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc. | ||
| FSCI 444 | Barbados Research Project. | 6 |
Barbados Research Project. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically. | ||
Domain: Required Courses (6 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEBI 210 | Organisms 1. | 3 |
Organisms 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The biology of plants and plant-based systems in managed and natural terrestrial environments. The interactions between autotrophs and soil organisms and selected groups of animals with close ecological and evolutionary connections with plants (e.g., herbivores and pollinators) will be explored in lecture and laboratory. | ||
| AGRI 340 | Principles of Ecological Agriculture. | 3 |
Principles of Ecological Agriculture. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Focus on low-input, sustainable, and organic agriculture: the farm as an ecosystem; complex system theory; practical examples of soil management, pest control, integrated crop and livestock production, and marketing systems. | ||
Domain: Complementary Courses (36 credits)
36 credits of complementary courses selected as follows:
18 credits - Fundamentals
12 credits - Applied Sciences
6 credits - Social Sciences/Humanities
The Applied and Social Sciences courses are grouped according to subtopics. Students can choose their courses from one subtopic, or a combination of subtopics.
Fundamentals (18 credits)
One of the following Statistics courses or equivalent:
Note: Credit given for Statistics courses is subject to certain restrictions. Students in Science should consult the "Course Overlap" information in the "Course Requirements" section for the Faculty of Science.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEMA 310 | Statistical Methods 1. | 3 |
Statistical Methods 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs. | ||
| 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). | ||
One of:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANSC 250 | Introduction to Livestock Management | 3 |
Introduction to Livestock Management Terms offered: Fall 2025 Introduction to the scientific principles underlying animal livestock production as it relates to the consumer food chain. The world- wide demand for animal products, various areas of management (reproduction, nutrition, breeding, health, and welfare) that are used to provide those products by examining both conventional means as well as new and evolving technologies. How these techniques relate to some of the major production systems (dairy, beef, pig, and broiler and egg production) – primarily in a Provincial/Canadian context. | ||
One of:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 202 | Basic Genetics. | 3 |
Basic Genetics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to basic principles, and to modern advances, problems and applications in the genetics of higher and lower organisms with examples representative of the biological sciences. | ||
| LSCI 204 | Genetics. | 3 |
Genetics. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The course integrates classical, molecular and population genetics of animals, plants, bacteria and viruses. The aim is to understand the flow of genetic information within a cell, within families and in populations. Emphasis will be placed on problem solving based learning. The laboratory exercises will emphasize the interpretation of genetic experimental data. | ||
One of:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVB 210 | The Biophysical Environment. | 3 |
The Biophysical Environment. Terms offered: Fall 2025 With reference to the ecosystems in the St Lawrence lowlands, the principles and processes governing climate-landform-water-soil-vegetation systems and their interactions will be examined in lecture and laboratory. Emphasis on the natural environment as an integrated system. | ||
| GEOG 305 | Soils and Environment. | 3 |
Soils and Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Discussion of the major properties of soils; soil formation, classification and mapping; land capability assessment; the role and response of soils in natural and disturbed environments (e.g. global change, ecosystem disturbance). | ||
One of:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 308 | Ecological Dynamics. | 3 |
Ecological Dynamics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics. | ||
| ENVB 305 | Population and Community Ecology. | 3 |
Population and Community Ecology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice. | ||
One of:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AGEC 200 | Principles of Microeconomics. | 3 |
Principles of Microeconomics. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The field of economics as it relates to the activities of individual consumers, firms and organizations. Emphasis is on the application of economic principles and concepts to everyday decision making and to the analysis of current economic issues. | ||
| ECON 208 | Microeconomic Analysis and Applications. | 3 |
Microeconomic Analysis and Applications. Terms offered: Summer 2025 A university-level introduction to demand and supply, consumer behaviour, production theory, market structures and income distribution theory. | ||
Applied Sciences (12 credits)
Food and Human Health
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AGRI 411 | Global Issues on Development, Food and Agriculture. | 3 |
Global Issues on Development, Food and Agriculture. Terms offered: Winter 2026 International development and world food security and challenges in developing countries. Soil and water management, climate change, demographic issues, plant and animal resources conservation, bio-products and biofuels, economic and environmental issues specially in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Globalization, sustainable development, technology transfer and human resources needs for rural development. | ||
| FDSC 200 | Introduction to Food Science. 1 | 3 |
Introduction to Food Science. Terms offered: Fall 2025 This course enables one to gain an appreciation of the scope of food science as a discipline. Topics include introductions to chemistry, processing, packaging, analysis, microbiology, product development, sensory evaluation and quality control as they relate to food science. | ||
| MICR 331 | Microbial Ecology. | 3 |
Microbial Ecology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology. | ||
| NUTR 207 | Nutrition and Health. 1 | 3 |
Nutrition and Health. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Provides students who have a basic biology/chemistry background with the fundamental information on how macronutrients, vitamins and minerals are metabolized in the body, followed by application to evaluate current issues of maximizing health and disease prevention at different stages of the lifecycle. | ||
| NUTR 501 | Nutrition in the Majority World. | 3 |
Nutrition in the Majority World. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Current nutrition-related issues in the Majority World, emphasizing young children and other vulnerable groups. The integration of a life science and social science perspective. The multiple causes, consequences, policies, and interventions related to current nutrition. | ||
| NUTR 505 | Public Health Nutrition. | 3 |
Public Health Nutrition. Terms offered: Fall 2025 This course focuses on the nutrition status of populations, communities and groups of people using a public health lens. It identifies and assesses human nutrition issues and problems, their causes, influencing factors and social conditions using a social determinants of health framework. Offers opportunities to design and conduct needs assessments, design and plan programs and plan for their evaluation. The purpose and role of participatory approaches with diverse populations and Indigenous populations in particular will be analyzed. Health systems, public health and political influence in Canada, as related to nutrition will be addressed. | ||
| PARA 410 | Environment and Infection. | 3 |
Environment and Infection. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Infectious pathogens of humans and animals and their impact on the global environment are considered. The central tenet is that infectious pathogens are environmental risk factors. The course considers their impact on the human condition and juxtaposes the impact of control and treatment measures and environmental change. | ||
| PHAR 303 | Principles of Toxicology. | 3 |
Principles of Toxicology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Fundamental mechanisms by which toxic compounds damage a biological system (organelle, cell, organ, organism, ecosystem). Detection and quantification of toxicity and risk/benefit analysis are considered. Selected agents of current risk to human health or the environment are evaluated in depth. | ||
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Note: Students take FDSC 200 Introduction to Food Science. or NUTR 207 Nutrition and Health., but not both.
Food Production
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEBI 421 | Tropical Horticultural Ecology. | 3 |
Tropical Horticultural Ecology. Terms offered: Summer 2025 A comprehensive survey of the major fruit, vegetable, turf, and ornamental crops grown in Barbados. Effect of cultural practices, environment, pests and pathogens, social and touristic activities, and importation of horticultural produce on local horticulture. | ||
| AEBI 425 | Tropical Energy and Food. | 3 |
Tropical Energy and Food. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Tropical biofuel crops, conversion processes and final products, particularly energy and greenhouse gas balances and bionutraceuticals. Topics include effects of process extraction during refining on biofuel economics, the food versus fuel debate and impact of biofuels and bioproducts on tropical agricultural economics. | ||
| AGRI 215 | Agro-Ecosystems Field Course. | 3 |
Agro-Ecosystems Field Course. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Through case studies and field trips, students will examine the problems and constraints within the Canadian agro-ecosystem, including the interrelationships among food production, the environment, agricultural policy and social issues. Research in this field of study will also be introduced. | ||
| AGRI 325 | Sustainable Agriculture Field Course | 3 |
Sustainable Agriculture Field Course Terms offered: Summer 2025 Exposure to a foreign rural and agricultural context, to observe a variety of types of farm operations, cropping systems and techniques. The sustainability of these is discussed within their local social, environmental and economic landscapes. | ||
| AGRI 550 | Sustained Tropical Agriculture. | 3 |
Sustained Tropical Agriculture. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Contrast theory and practice in defining agricultural environmental "challenges" in the Neotropics. Indigenous and appropriate technological means of mitigation. Soil management and erosion, water scarcity, water over-abundance, and water quality. Explore agro-ecosystem protection via field trips and project designs. Institutional context of conservation strategies, NGO links, and public participation. | ||
| BIOL 385 | Plant Growth and Development. | 3 |
Plant Growth and Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Physiological, biochemical and molecular processes involved in growth and development of the plant body; formation of new tissues and organs; photomorphogenesis, fruit growth and ripening; programmed cell death and senescence; growth and development in extreme environments. | ||
| ENTO 352 | Biocontrol of Pest Insects. | 3 |
Biocontrol of Pest Insects. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Modern concepts of integrated control techniques and principles of insect pest management, with emphasis on biological control (use of predators, parasites and pathogens against pest insects), population monitoring, and manipulation of environmental, behavioral and physiological factors in the pest's way of life. Physical, cultural, and genetic controls and an introduction to the use of non-toxic biochemical controls (attractants, repellents, pheromones, antimetabolites). | ||
| PLNT 302 | Forage Crops and Pastures. | 3 |
Forage Crops and Pastures. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Ecology, management, and physiology of forage crops with emphasis on establishment, growth, maintenance, harvesting, and preservation; value as livestock feed in terms of nutritional composition and role in environmental conservation. | ||
| PLNT 307 | Agroecology of Vegetables and Fruits. | 3 |
Agroecology of Vegetables and Fruits. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of selected vegetable and fruit agroecosystems. Includes selection of varieties and management from seedling to harvest to storage. | ||
| PLNT 353 | Plant Structure and Function. | 3 |
Plant Structure and Function. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The general anatomy and physiology of vascular plants with emphasis on how physiological processes influence function. | ||
| PLNT 430 | Pesticides in Agriculture. | 3 |
Pesticides in Agriculture. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Pesticide science concentrating on pesticide discovery, pesticide chemistries, pesticide development, pesticide technologies, mitigation of risks due to pesticides use, national and international pesticide regulations, registrations, and compliances. | ||
| PLNT 434 | Weed Biology and Control. | 3 |
Weed Biology and Control. Terms offered: Winter 2026 A study of the biology of undesirable vegetation as related to the principles of prevention and physical, biological, managerial and chemical control. Emphasis on the environmental impact of the different methods of weed control. | ||
| SOIL 315 | Soil Nutrient Management. | 3 |
Soil Nutrient Management. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Plant nutrients in the soil, influence of soil properties on nutrient absorption and plant growth, use of organic and inorganic fertilizers. | ||
Natural Resources and Natural Resource Impacts
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 343 | Biodiversity in the Caribean. | 3 |
Biodiversity in the Caribean. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Biodiversity loss and the measure of ecological integrity of ecosystems, patterns of diversification and evolution of terrestrial and oceanic biotas in the Caribbean. | ||
| BIOL 465 | Conservation Biology. 1 | 3 |
Conservation Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Discussion of relevant theoretical and applied issues in conservation biology. Topics: biodiversity, population viability analysis, community dynamics, biology of rarity, extinction, habitat fragmentation, social issues. | ||
| BIOL 553 | Neotropical Environments. | 3 |
Neotropical Environments. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ecology revisited in view of tropical conditions. Exploring species richness. Sampling and measuring biodiversity. Conservation status of ecosystems, communities and species. Indigenous knowledge. | ||
| BREE 217 | Hydrology and Water Resources. 2 | 3 |
Hydrology and Water Resources. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Introduction to water resources and hydrologic cycle. Precipitation and hydrologic frequency analysis. Soil water processes, infiltration theory and modeling. Evapotranspiration estimation methods and crop water requirements. Surface runoff estimation as a function of land use modifications. Estimation of peak runoff rates. Unit hydrograph. Design of open channels and vegetated waterways. | ||
| BREE 322 | Organic Waste Management. | 3 |
Organic Waste Management. Terms offered: Fall 2025 An introduction to engineering aspects of handling, storage and treatment of all biological and food industry wastes. Design criteria will be elaborated and related to characteristics of wastes. Physical, chemical and biological treatment systems. | ||
| BREE 518 | Ecological Engineering. | 3 |
Ecological Engineering. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Concepts and practice of ecological engineering: the planned creation or management of a community of organisms, their nonliving surroundings, and technological components to provide services. Survey of applications such as constructed wetlands, aquatic production systems, green infrastructure for urban storm water management, environmental restoration. Taught cooperatively with a parallel course at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Online collaboration with an interdisciplinary, international team is an important component of the course. | ||
| ENVB 500 | Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology. | 3 |
Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Exploring the impact of environmental chemicals on biological organisms in an ecological context. Basic topics in ecotoxicology, such as source and fate, routes of exposure, bioavailability, dose-response, biomarkers, and risk assessment will be covered from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The processes by which pollutants are tested, regulated, and monitored will be critically examined. | ||
| GEOG 322 | Environmental Hydrology. 2 | 3 |
Environmental Hydrology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems. | ||
| NRSC 333 | Pollution and Bioremediation. | 3 |
Pollution and Bioremediation. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The environmental contaminants which cause pollution; sources, amounts and transport of pollutants in water, air and soil; waste management. | ||
| WILD 401 | Fisheries and Wildlife Management. | 3 |
Fisheries and Wildlife Management. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Principles of fisheries and wildlife management are considered and current practices of research and management are discussed. | ||
| WILD 421 | Wildlife Conservation. 1 | 3 |
Wildlife Conservation. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Study of current controversial issues focusing on wildlife conservation. Topics include: animal rights, exotic species, ecotourism, urban wildlife, multi-use of national parks, harvesting of wildlife, biological controls, and endangered species. | ||
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Note: Students take BIOL 465 Conservation Biology. or WILD 421 Wildlife Conservation., but not both.
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Note: Students take BREE 217 Hydrology and Water Resources. or GEOG 322 Environmental Hydrology., but not both.
Social Science (6 credits)
Economic and Resource Policy
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AGEC 320 | Intermediate Microeconomic Theory. | 3 |
Intermediate Microeconomic Theory. Terms offered: Winter 2026 An intermediate theory course in agricultural economics, dealing with economic concepts as applied to agricultural production and cost functions. Includes theory and application of linear programming as related to production decisions. | ||
| AGEC 333 | Resource Economics. 1 | 3 |
Resource Economics. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The role of resources in the environment, use of resources, and management of economic resources within the firm or organization. Problem-solving, case studies involving private and public decision-making in organizations are utilized. | ||
| AGEC 430 | Agriculture, Food and Resource Policy. | 3 |
Agriculture, Food and Resource Policy. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Examination of North American and international agriculture, food and resource policies, policy instruments, programs and their implications. Economic analysis applied to the principles, procedures and objectives of various policy actions affecting agriculture, and the environment. | ||
| AGEC 442 | Economics of International Agricultural Development. | 3 |
Economics of International Agricultural Development. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The course deals with economic aspects of international development with emphasis on the role of food, agriculture and the resource sector in the economy of developing countries. Topics will include world food analysis, development project analysis and policies for sustainable development. Development case studies will be used. | ||
| ECON 225 | Economics of the Environment. | 3 |
Economics of the Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the application of economic theory to questions of environmental policy. Particular attention will be given to the measurement and regulation of pollution, congestion and waste and other environmental aspects of specific economies. | ||
| ECON 405 | Natural Resource Economics. 1 | 3 |
Natural Resource Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics include: Malthusian and Ricardian Scarcity; optimal depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources; exploration, risk and industry structure, and current resources, rent and taxation. Current public policies applied to the resource industries, particularly those of a regulatory nature. | ||
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Note: Students take AGEC 333 Resource Economics. or ECON 405 Natural Resource Economics., but not both.
Social Change and Human Impacts
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVR 421 | Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability. | 3 |
Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability. Terms offered: Summer 2025 This course will focus on the role of place and history in the cities in which we live and in our understanding of sustainability. Each year, students will work to develop a historical reconstruction of the natural environment of Montreal and of its links to the cultural landscape, building on the work of previous cohorts of students. | ||
| GEOG 340 | Sustainability in the Caribbean. | 3 |
Sustainability in the Caribbean. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region. | ||
| GEOG 406 | Human Dimensions of Climate Change. | 3 |
Human Dimensions of Climate Change. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course will examine the human dimensions of climate change focusing on the vulnerability of human systems, climate change adaptation and mitigation, key policy debates, and current and future challenges. Case studies will be utilized to provide context and help investigate and understand key concepts, trends, and challenges. | ||
| GEOG 410 | Geography of Underdevelopment: Current Problems. | 3 |
Geography of Underdevelopment: Current Problems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the cultural, political, and economic mechanisms and manifestations of contemporary underdevelopment and the response to it from different regional and national peripheral societies within the dominant world economic system. | ||
| GEOG 498 | Humans in Tropical Environments. | 3 |
Humans in Tropical Environments. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Focus on understanding of inter-relations between humans and neotropical environments represented in Panama. Study of contemporary rural landscapes, their origins, development and change. Impacts of economic growth and inequality, social organization, and politics on natural resource use and environmental degradation. Site visits and field exercises in peasant/colonist, Amerindian, and plantation communities. | ||
| GEOG 510 | Humid Tropical Environments. | 3 |
Humid Tropical Environments. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Focus on the environmental and human spatial relationships in tropical rain forest and savanna landscapes. Human adaptation to variations within these landscapes through time and space. Biophysical constraints upon "development" in the modern era. | ||
| HIST 510 | Environmental History of Latin America (Field). | 3 |
Environmental History of Latin America (Field). Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Human-nature interactions over different scales of time in Latin America (with an emphasis on neo-tropical environments) and the application of the historical perspective to contemporary environmental issues, including historiography and methodology; cultures of environmental knowledge. | ||
| SOCI 254 | Development and Underdevelopment. | 3 |
Development and Underdevelopment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Competing theories about the causes of underdevelopment in the poor countries. Topics include the impact of geography, the population explosion, culture and national character, economic and sexual inequalities, democracy and dictatorship. Western imperialism and multi-national corporations, reliance on the market, and development through local participation, cooperation, and appropriate technology. | ||
Environment Management
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEBI 423 | Sustainable Land Use. | 3 |
Sustainable Land Use. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Management, preservation, and utilization of forage crops in sustainable tropical environments; examination of their value as livestock feed in terms of nutritional composition and impact on animal performance; land use issues as it pertains to forage and animal production in insular environments. | ||
| ANTH 418 | Environment and Development. | 3 |
Environment and Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced study of the environmental crisis in developing and advanced industrial nations, with emphasis on the social and cultural dimensions of natural resource management and environmental change. Each year, the seminar will focus on a particular set of issues, delineated by type of resource, geographic region, or analytical problem. | ||
| BREE 529 | GIS for Natural Resource Management. 1 | 3 |
GIS for Natural Resource Management. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems. | ||
| ENVB 437 | Assessing Environmental Impact. | 3 |
Assessing Environmental Impact. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations. | ||
| ENVB 529 | GIS for Natural Resource Management. 1 | 3 |
GIS for Natural Resource Management. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems. | ||
| GEOG 201 | Introductory Geo-Information Science. 1 | 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. | ||
| ENVR 422 | Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis. | 3 |
Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation. | ||
| GEOG 302 | Environmental Management 1. | 3 |
Environmental Management 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes. | ||
| GEOG 404 | Environmental Management 2. | 3 |
Environmental Management 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama). | ||
| GEOG 530 | Global Land and Water Resources. | 3 |
Global Land and Water Resources. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Linkage of physical processes (hydrology and ecosystems) with issues of societal and socio-economic relevance (land, food, and water use appropriation for human well-being). Application of a holistic perspective on land, food and water issues in an international setting, highlighting linkages, feedbacks and trade-offs in an Earth system context. | ||
| MGPO 440 | Strategies for Sustainability. | 3 |
Strategies for Sustainability. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course explores the relationship between economic activity, management, and the natural environment. Using readings, discussions and cases, the course will explore the challenges that the goal of sustainable development poses for our existing notions of economic goals, production and consumption practices and the management of organizations. | ||