Current
Academic Calendar
2023/24
Academic Calendar 2023/24
Geography
ufv.ca/planning-geography-environmental-studiesGeography Honours (for BA students)
Entrance requirements
Students can apply to the Geography Honours program when they have met the following criteria:
- Completion of 90 credits that apply to the Bachelor of Arts, including at least 26 credits in geography.
- A minimum GPA of 3.33 in all courses required for program completion.
Interested students are encouraged to seek out advice on the Geography Honours program from Geography faculty or an Advisor as early as possible in their coursework, and to apply to the program at the earliest possible entry date.
How to apply
To apply, students will need to provide the following:
- An honours program application package (available from the department assistant).
- A portfolio that includes coursework (laboratory assignments, written papers, etc.) from select completed geography courses. The portfolio is a tool to be used by students, the Geography Honours Advisory Committee, and potential faculty project advisor to identify areas of improvement and potential project topics, as well as writing and research strengths and weaknesses. Portfolio guidelines are available from the department.
Students should submit application materials to the department assistant. The Geography Honours Advisory Committee will then arrange for a project supervisor. Interested students are encouraged to approach a departmental faculty member appropriate to their research interests who may serve as their honours supervisor.
Fees and additional costs
See the Fees and Other Costs section. Additional fees for course field trips and miscellaneous lab materials will apply to all students enrolled in Geography programs.
Program outline
This section specifies the honours requirements only. Please refer to the Bachelor of Arts for program requirements.
Lower-level requirements: 29–30 credits
| Course | Title | Credits |
| One of: | 4 | |
| GEOG 103 | The Physical Environment | |
| GEOG 116 | Earth Rocks | |
| One of: | 3 | |
| GDS 100/ GEOG 109 | A World of Development | |
| GEOG 111 | Environmental Issues and Strategies | |
| GEOG 140 | Human Geography | |
| Two of: | 8 | |
| GEOG 201 | Climate and People | |
| GEOG 202 | Understanding Your Earth: Landforms and Processes | |
| GEOG 219/BIO 219 | Biogeography | |
| Plus: | ||
| GEOG 241 | Social Geography: The Urban Experience | 3 |
| or GEOG 242/ECON 242 | Economic Geography | |
| GEOG 252 | Explanation in Geography: Quantitative Methods | 4 |
| GEOG 253 | Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
| One of: | 3–4 | |
| STAT 104 | Introductory Statistics | |
| STAT 106 | Statistics I | |
| PSYC 110 | Applied Statistical Analysis in Psychology | |
Upper-level requirements: 32–42 credits
| Course | Title | Credits |
| GEOG 354 | Approaches in Human Geography | 4 |
| GEOG 433 | Advanced Geography of Selected Regions | 4 |
| GEOG 491 | Honours Research Design and Data Collection | 4 |
| GEOG 492 | Honours Research Project | 4 |
| One of (physical geography): | 4 | |
| GEOG 302 | River Geomorphology | |
| GEOG 303 | Environmental Hydrology | |
| GEOG 304 | Coasts and Climate Change | |
| GEOG 307 | Climates of Cities | |
| GEOG 308 | Climate Change and Variability | |
| GEOG 315 | Soilscapes | |
| GEOG 319/BIO 319 | Swamps and Bogs | |
| GEOG 335/ BIO 335 | Freshwater Ecology | |
| GEOG 353 | GIS Applications | |
| GEOG 402 | Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology | |
| GEOG 410/BIO 410 | Plant Ecology | |
| GEOG 419/BIO 419 | Paleoecology | |
| GEOG 453 | Remote Sensing of the Environment | |
| GEOG 454 | Geospatial Data Analysis Modeling | |
| GEOG 458 | GIS Project | |
| One of (human geography): | 4–5 | |
| GEOG 304 | Coasts and Climate Change | |
| GEOG 311 | Global Resources and the Environment | |
| GEOG 312 | Nature, Power, and Place | |
| GEOG 314 | Geography of Food | |
| GEOG 316 | Geography of Food II: Fermentation | |
| GEOG 318 | Water Resources Management | |
| GEOG 331 | Environmental Assessment and Management | |
| GEOG 340/ GDS 340 | Geographies of Development: Landscapes of Inequality | |
| GEOG 344 | Geography of Urban Development | |
| GEOG 346 | Geography of Religion and Peacebuilding | |
| GEOG 360 | Introduction to Regional and Community Planning | |
| GEOG 361 | Environmental Economics | |
| GEOG 362 | Geography of Tourism and Recreation | |
| GEOG 364 | International Planning and Development Policy: Adapting to Climate Change | |
| GEOG 440 | Advanced Research Topics in Urban Geography | |
| GEOG 447 | Aboriginal Geography | |
| GEOG 464/ GD 464 | Community Planning and Development: Local Applied Studio | |
| GEOG 466/GD 466 | Community Planning and Development: International Studio | |
| One of (professional competency in geography): | 0–6 | |
| GEOG 396/GDS 310/SOC 396 | Canada Internship | |
| GEOG 398/GDS 311/SOC 398 | International Internship | |
| GEOG 412 | Environmental Geography Practicum | |
| GEOG 460 | Practicum in Planning | |
| GEOG 470 | Field Studies in Geography | |
| COOP 120 | Co-op Work Term Performance and Report II | |
| At least 60 volunteer or work experience hours in a related geography field (see Note 3) | ||
| Plus: | ||
| Electives | Two or three upper-level GEOG courses | 8–12 |
Note 1: No more than eight credits of Directed Studies/Directed Readings (GEOG 480, GEOG 481, GEOG 482, GEOG 483, GEOG 484) will count toward the Geography Honours.
Note 2: No more than 11 credits of GEOG 396/GDS 310/SOC 396, GEOG 398/GDS 311/SOC 398, GEOG 412, GEOG 460, and GEOG 470 can be used towards meeting the Geography Honours requirements.
Note 3: Students planning to complete this option should contact the program coordinator for information and the process for demonstrating their learning.
Concentrations
Students can choose to complete an honours designation in Geography with a selected concentration. Students seeking an honours designation will need to apply to the honours program and complete the requirements of the honours program in addition to those required for the selected concentration.
Program requirements
In addition to the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts and for the Geography major, Geography Honours students will need to complete the following:
- 120 credits, including:
- A minimum of 64 credits of Geography, including GEOG 354.
- An original research project, completed as part of:
- One of the following courses: GEOG 396, 398, 400G, 400J, 402, 410, 440, 458, or 491; and
- GEOG 492: Honours research project.
- Minimum CGPA of 3.33.
Research project
Successful completion of a research project is required prior to graduation. This project is developed in consultation with a faculty supervisor and demonstrates students' advanced skills and knowledge in a given area of geography.
Students will complete this project in two courses. In the first course, students will design and collect data for their project. This will be completed as part of GEOG 491 (Honours Research Design and Data Collection), or an equivalent third-year internship or fourth-year research-intensive course approved by the department. Students will then register in GEOG 492 (Honours Research Project) to complete the data analysis and project write-up.
Each honours student will disseminate their research findings in a presentation to an academic audience (e.g. professional conference or department seminar) as well as through an academic research poster or alternative. Following project completion and presentation, the honours supervisor in consultation with a second reader, will assign a grade for GEOG 492.
Residency
Please check the Bachelor of Arts residency section of the calendar for how many upper-level credits must be completed at UFV in order to graduate with this program.
Graduation requirements
A minimum CGPA of 3.33, including the mark awarded for the final research project, must be attained in order for an honours designation to be awarded.
Course listings
For complete details on courses see the course descriptions section.