The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies offers programs of study and research in human and physical geography leading to the degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy.

 

 

The Department views the greatest strength of geography, as a discipline, as its ability to integrate and apply knowledge across the interface of the Earth’s social and environmental systems. The structure of the Ph.D. program expresses this philosophy. Masters students may follow this approach or pursue studies in a thematic sub-field of the discipline.

Students are accepted into the graduate program based on the standard of previous academic work, research interests, letters of reference, and the availability of faculty to act as supervisors. Each student’s program of study, as far as possible, is based on the interests of the individual, although certain courses may be required. An advisory committee, consisting of the student’s research supervisor and at least one (Masters) or two (Ph.D.) other members of the faculty, is established to monitor progress and provide thesis research guidance.

Excellent research laboratory facilities exist for the study of near surface processes, and the physics, chemistry, and thermodynamics of earth materials, as well as for geomatics (remote sensing, GIS, and computer cartography). These facilities are supported by highly qualified full-time staff in laboratory instrumentation, cartography, and computing. The Maps, Data and Government Information Centre in the MacOdrum Library houses an extensive collection of geomatics resources, including imagery, topographic and other geo-spatial data. The university’s location in Canada’s capital city offers students access to important federal resources, such as the National Library, the Public Archives of Canada, the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Statistics Canada, and the specialist libraries of many government departments.

Systematic interests of Departmental members are applied to a variety of world regions, although emphasis is given to Canada (including northern studies) and the developing world. Individual faculty research interests are posted on our Web site here. The interacting and overlapping clusters of research specialization within the Department are the following:

Masters level

• Physical Geography
• Human Geography
• Land Resource Use, Management and Appraisal
• Geomatics

Doctoral level

• The Geography of Societal Change
• The Geography of Environmental Change