Program Requirements
The B.A.; Honours Geography program focuses on the interactions among people, places, and the environment. Along with additional course work, the program is distinguished by the Honours project, which entails independent, original research conducted over two semesters, normally in the final year of study, under the supervision of a department faculty member.
In addition to the Faculty of Arts requirement that Honours students maintain a minimum CGPA of 3.00, students in the Geography Honours program must maintain a program GPA of at least 3.30 to remain in the program and receive an Honours degree.
Required Courses (19 credits)
-
GEOG 201 Introductory Geo-Information Science (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
3 hours and lab
-
GEOG 216 Geography of the World Economy (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
3 hours
-
GEOG 290 Local Geographical Excursion (1 credit)
Overview
Geography : Introduction to landscape interpretation and geographical site analysis in physical and human geography. A three-day fall excursion with preparatory and concluding seminars.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
1 credit
Restrictions: Open to first-year Geography Major and Honours students only.
A fee of $425.38 is charged to all students registered in GEOG 290. This course is held at Mont Sutton, in the Eastern Townships during a week-end in mid-September. The fee is used to support the cost of transportation, accommodations, local fees and all meals
-
GEOG 351 Quantitative Methods (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Multiple regression and correlation, logit models, discrete choice models, gravity models, facility location algorithms, survey design, population projection.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Winter
3 hours
Prerequisite: GEOG 202 or equivalent or permission of instructor
You may not be able to get credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar.
-
GEOG 381 Geographic Thought and Practice (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : An overview of the philosophy of geography and its emergence as a discipline nationally and internationally with emphasis on current concepts and their application to geographical studies in local field work analyzing the impact of human environmental interactions.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Winter
3 hours
-
GEOG 491D1 Honours Research (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Supervised reading, research and preparation of an undergraduate thesis under the direction of a member of staff.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
Prerequisite: GEOG 381
Restriction: For U3 B.A. and B.Sc. Honours and Joint Honours Geography students
Students must register for both GEOG 491D1 and GEOG 491D2.
No credit will be given for this course unless both GEOG 491D1 and GEOG 491D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
-
GEOG 491D2 Honours Research (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : See GEOG 491D1 for course description.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Winter
Prerequisite(s): GEOG 381 and GEOG 491D1
No credit will be given for this course unless both GEOG 491D1 and GEOG 491D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms
Complementary Courses (42 credits)
Introductory Physical Geography
3 credits from:
-
GEOG 203 Environmental Systems (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
3 hours
Restriction: Because of quantitative science content of course, not recommended for B.A. and B.Ed. students in their U0 year.
-
GEOG 272 Earth's Changing Surface (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
3 hours
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.
-
BIOL 373 Biometry (3 credits)
Overview
Biology (Sci) : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
2 hours lecture and 2 hours laboratory
Prerequisite: MATH 112 or equivalent
You may not be able to receive credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar.
-
GEOG 202 Statistics and Spatial Analysis (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
3 hours and lab
You may not be able to receive credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar.
-
MATH 203 Principles of Statistics 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci) : 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).
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
No calculus prerequisites
Restriction: This course is intended for students in all disciplines. For extensive course restrictions covering statistics courses see Section 3.6.1 of the Arts and of the Science sections of the calendar regarding course overlaps.
You may not be able to receive credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar. Students should consult http://www.mcgill.ca/students/transfercredit for information regarding transfer credits for this course.
-
PSYC 204 Introduction to Psychological Statistics (3 credits)
Overview
Psychology : The statistical analysis of research data; frequency distributions; graphic representation; measures of central tendency and variability; elementary sampling theory and tests of significance.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall and Winter
Restriction: Not open to students who have passed a CEGEP statistics course(s) with a minimum grade of 75%: Mathematics 201-307 or 201-337 or equivalent or the combination of Quantitative Methods 300 with Mathematics 300
This course is a prerequisite for PSYC 305, PSYC 406, PSYC 310, PSYC 336
You may not be able to receive credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar.
-
SOCI 350 Statistics in Social Research (3 credits)
Overview
Sociology (Arts) : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Prerequisite: SOCI 211
Restriction: Not open to students who have taken PSYC 204, PSYC 305 or ECON 227
You may not be able to receive credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar.
Field Courses
3 credits from:
Note: Field course offerings are determined each year in February.
-
GEOG 425 Southeast Asia Urban Field Studies (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Restriction(s): Preference will be given to Urban Studies Majors and Minors
A fee of $1508.63 covers the cost of a 2 week urban field studies course in Singapore and Malaysia, including accommodation, ground transportation and entrance fees. Students are responsible for arranging their own airfares to Singapore.
**Web withdrawal is not applicable.
**The Instructor’s approval is required.
-
GEOG 494 Urban Field Studies (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Geographical research in urban public and semi-public spaces. Demonstration of techniques of mapping, sampling, measurement, photography, interviewing. Attention to research design.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
-
GEOG 495 Field Studies - Physical Geography (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : 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.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
2-week field school
Prerequisites: 6 credits from the following list of Systematic Physical Geography courses: GEOG 305, GEOG 321, GEOG 322, GEOG 350, GEOG 372
Additional Dept. fee $579.99 will be charged to student fee account to cover the cost of transportation, accommodations, local fees and all meals for approximately 12 nights, as the course is held at the Gault Estate at Mont St.-Hilaire during May.
**This is a field course, so students won't be taking the holiday.
**Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the second lecture day and withdrawal is the fourth lecture day.
-
GEOG 496 Geographical Excursion (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : Lecture course on the geography of a region and excursion through the selected country or region including landscape interpretation and field study projects.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Winter
Prerequisites: GEOG 290 and permission of instructor
Instructor's approval required.
A fee of $2729.76 in Winter is charged to all students registered in GEOG 496 Geographical Excursion. The course is held in Barbados, West Indies and is given during the last week of February (Study Break). The fee is used to support the cost of transportation, accommodations, local fees and some meals for ten days. Note that the trip to Barbados is compulsory if you enroll for GEOG 496
-
GEOG 499 Subarctic Field Studies (3 credits)
Overview
Geography : An introduction to the geography of the subarctic with emphasis on the application of field methods in physical and/or human geography.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
Instructor's approval required.
A fee of $2,329.11 is charged to all students registered in GEOG 499 Subarctic Field Studies. This course is held at Schefferville, Quebec in late August through early September. The fee is used to support the cost of transportation, accommodations, local fees and all meals. The department subsidizes a portion of the cost of this compulsory activity for each student registered in a Geography Major or Honours program.
Geography
24 credits of Geography (GEOG) courses excluding GEOG 200 and GEOG 205, selected in consultation with the Program Adviser. No more than 6 credits may be taken from 200-level courses.
Outside Geography
9 credits at the 300 or 400 level or above of courses taught by units other than Geography selected from the humanities, social and physical sciences or engineering that have been approved by the Program Adviser as related to the student's focus within Geography.
