Geography Major (B.Sc.) (58 credits)
Offered by: Geography (Faculty of Science)
Degree: Bachelor of Science
Program credit weight: 58
Program Description
The BSc Major in Geography provides students with strong training in the theory and tools of physical geography. Students will explore the science of how physical, chemical, and biological processes interact at various spatial and temporal scales to produce distinct environments over the planet, and study different suites of ecosystem services while investigating sustainability challenges for human communities that depend on them. The program includes core training in systematic areas of physical geography (geomorphology, hydrology, soil biogeochemistry, biogeography and climatology), field courses providing hands on exposure to environmental data collection, and courses in quantitative techniques and in GIS and Remote Sensing.
Degree Requirements — B.Sc.
This program is offered as part of a Bachelor of Science (B.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 (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 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. | ||
| 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. | ||
Complementary Courses (45 credits)
3 credits of statistics:
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | ||
9 credits of systematic physical geography:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 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). | ||
| GEOG 321 | Climatic Environments. | 3 |
Climatic Environments. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The earth-atmosphere system, radiation and energy balances. Surface-atmosphere exchange of energy, mass and momentum and related atmospheric processes on a local and regional scale. Introduction to measurement theory and practice in micrometeorology. | ||
| GEOG 322 | Environmental Hydrology. | 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. | ||
| GEOG 372 | Running Water Environments. | 3 |
Running Water Environments. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course focuses on the physical habitat conditions found in streams, rivers, estuaries and deltas. Based on the laws governing flow of water and sediment transport, it emphasizes differences among these environments, in terms of channel form, flow patterns, substrate composition and mode of evolution. Flooding, damming, channelisation, forestry impacts. | ||
| GEOG 373 | Arctic Geomorphology. | 3 |
Arctic Geomorphology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to the principles of periglacial and permafrost science and its field context in the Canadian North. Objectives focus on the geomorphic significance of freezing and frozen ground and training in field methods of permafrost mapping, measurement and interpretation. | ||
| GEOG 470 | Wetlands. | 3 |
Wetlands. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the structure, function and utility of wetlands. Topics include the fluxes of energy and water, wetland biogeochemistry, plant ecology in freshwater and coastal wetlands and wetlands use, conservation and restoration. Field trip(s) are envisaged to illustrate issues covered in class. | ||
| GEOG 471 | Arctic System Science | 3 |
Arctic System Science Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The complex Arctic system and its interrelated elements as a coupled system. Topics include: the physical, biological, and social processes that shape the Arctic, including the Arctic atmosphere and ocean, sea ice, permafrost, and terrestrial ecosystems. Unique challenges and opportunities in this fragile and rapidly changing environment, including current research in Arctic science. | ||
3 credits of field courses:
(Field course availability is determined each year in February.)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | ||
Students must take a total of 15 credits from the next 2 blocks; they will choose 9 credits from one block and 6 credits from the other block, depending on their training focus.
6 or 9 credits of environmental analysis/techniques
| 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 384 | Principles of Geospatial Web. | 3 |
Principles of Geospatial Web. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theory and practice of geospatial web, including examining spatial data accuracy and uncertainty of user generated content; Understanding motivations of contributors of volunteered geographic information for purposes like citizen science and crisis mapping; Critically evaluating political, societal, economic and legal issues in online mapping applications; Developing geospatial applications and identifying basic problem solving requirements for geospatial apps. For proposed solutions, evaluating and justifying various existing and emergent geospatial technologies and enabling software stacks; Exploring underlying methods of digital earth architectures; Understanding implications to geospatial analysis and visualization of real time streaming data and mobile sensors | ||
| 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 428 | Earth System Geographic Information Science. | 3 |
Earth System Geographic Information Science. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Foundational concepts, methods and techniques in Geographic Information Science (GIS) to manage, process, interpret, understand, and analyze digital geospatial land surface data for a variety of Earth system applications, with a special focus on global hydrology. Emphasis will be placed on recognizing issues of resolution, scale, data accuracy and uncertainties. | ||
6 or 9 credits in (Environment, Earth System and Sustainability sciences)
| 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. | ||
| ESYS 200 | Earth-System Interactions. | 3 |
Earth-System Interactions. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics related to climate change, biogeochemical cycles and natural resources are evaluated from an Earth System perspective. Exploration of the scientific literature in targeted areas of Earth system science with a focus on human-Earth interactions. Emphasis is on complex global issues that cross traditional disciplines, and interpreting and communicating academic knowledge derived from Earth system research. | ||
| ESYS 300 | Earth Data Analysis. | 3 |
Earth Data Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An applied introduction to programming and statistical image processing tools used in Earth system science, typically covering linear regression, statistical significance, Fourier analysis, empirical orthogonal function analysis. Use of global remote-sensing and in-situ observations. | ||
| 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 360 | Analyzing Sustainability. | 3 |
Analyzing Sustainability. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examines challenges to sustainability through a series of case studies to illustrate the analytical approaches used to understand the linkages between scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional, ethical, and human behavioural aspect of systems. Includes cases that are thematic and place-based, national and international, spanning from the local to global scales. | ||
| GEOG 460 | Research in Sustainability. | 3 |
Research in Sustainability. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Through engaging in real-world sustainability challenges through hands-on research, learn to critically analyze problems that arise at the interface of multiple disciplines including the scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional, ethical, and human behavioural. Develop an understanding of the leverages and road blocks in achieving a sustainability transition. | ||
9 credits on human-environment linkages
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 210 | Global Places and Peoples. | 3 |
Global Places and Peoples. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to key themes in human geography. Maps and the making, interpretation and contestation of landscapes, 'place', and territory. Investigation of globalization and the spatial organization of human geo-politics, and urban and rural environments. | ||
| 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 217 | Cities in the Modern World. | 3 |
Cities in the Modern World. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to urban geography. Uses a spatial/geographic perspective to understand cities and their social and cultural processes. Addresses two major areas. The development and social dynamics in North American and European cities. The urban transformations in Asian, African, and Latin American societies that were recently predominantly rural and agrarian. | ||
| GEOG 221 | Environment and Health. | 3 |
Environment and Health. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course introduced physical and social environments as factors in human health, with emphasis on the physical properties of the atmospheric environment as they interact with diverse human populations in urban settings. | ||
| GEOG 303 | Health Geography. | 3 |
Health Geography. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Discussion of the research questions and methods of health geography. Particular emphasis on health inequalities at multiple geographic scales and the theoretical links between characteristics of places and the health of people. | ||
| GEOG 310 | Development and Livelihoods. | 3 |
Development and Livelihoods. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Geographical dimensions of rural/urban livelihoods in the face of socioeconomic and environmental change in developing regions. Emphasis on household natural resource use, survival strategies and vulnerability, decision-making, formal and informal institutions, migration, and development experience in contrasting global environments. | ||
| GEOG 311 | Economic Geography. | 3 |
Economic Geography. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Different theories and approaches to understanding the spatial organization of economic activities. Regional case studies drawn from North America, Europe and Asia used to reinforce concepts. Emphasis also on city-regions and their interaction with the global economy. | ||
| GEOG 315 | Urban Transportation Geography. | 3 |
Urban Transportation Geography. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Discusses the history and development of urban transportation systems, as well as problems and potential solutions from a geographic perspective. Specific topics include analysis of the social, economic, and environmental impacts; interaction of land use and transportation systems; the analysis of urban travel behaviour; and the implications of various policy alternatives. | ||
6 credits of approved advanced courses in Geography, or elsewhere in the Faculty of Science that have been approved by the Program Adviser, including any geography courses from the above complementary lists.
Admission to 500-level courses in Geography requires the instructor's permission. It is not advisable to take more than one 500-level course in a term.
Geography Approved Course List - Major, Honours and Liberal Programs
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 401 | Socio-Environmental Systems: Theory and Simulation. | 3 |
Socio-Environmental Systems: Theory and Simulation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Conceptual and simulation models of key case studies for developing system thinking, including system stability, threshold dynamics in regime shifts, resilience, and adaptive environmental management. | ||
| 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 505 | Global Biogeochemistry. | 3 |
Global Biogeochemistry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the storage, transfers and cycling of major elements and substances, with an emphasis on the global scale and the linkages between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere. | ||
| 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 523 | Global Ecosystems and Climate. | 3 |
Global Ecosystems and Climate. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Linkages and feedbacks among climate, ecosystems, and human land use at global scales. How global-scale ecological processes (primary production, carbon cycle, etc.) are driven by variations in climate and land use practices such as agriculture and deforestation. How natural and human-modified ecosystems exchange carbon and water with the atmosphere. | ||
| 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. | ||
| GEOG 535 | Remote Sensing and Interpretation. | 3 |
Remote Sensing and Interpretation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Basic photogrammetry and interpretation procedures for aircraft and space craft photography and imagery. | ||
| GEOG 536 | Geocryology. | 3 |
Geocryology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study of the unique geomorphic aspects of periglacial and permafrost environments. The focus will be on processes in cold climates, the impact of human activity on permafrost landscapes and potential impacts of climatic change. | ||
| GEOG 537 | Advanced Fluvial Geomorphology. | 3 |
Advanced Fluvial Geomorphology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of current advances in fluvial geomorphology: sediment entrainment and transport, alluviation and river channel evolution. | ||
| GEOG 550 | Historical Ecology Techniques. | 3 |
Historical Ecology Techniques. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Principles and methods of Quaternary paleoecology and vegetation reconstruction. Examination of ecosystem response to human disturbance and environmental change. | ||
| GEOG 555 | Ecological Restoration. | 3 |
Ecological Restoration. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A broad overview of ecological restoration. Considers causes of environmental degradation, why and what we restore, how restoration goals are set, and standards in restoration practice, as well as critiques and philosophies of ecological restoration, such as "ecocultural" restoration. | ||