3000 level courses
Third Year Courses are all Program courses, generally taken at third year and above. They use the same numbering convention as in Second Year Courses. The Program Courses are further numbered by sub-discipline, but the distinctions are not critical to program planning.
- 30xx : Field Courses
- 32xx : Technical courses (e.g. Statistics, Geographic Information Systems, Research Methods)
- 33xx : Physical/Environmental courses
- 34xx : Human/Urban Geography
- 39xx : Selected Topics Courses that are used for one-off offerings, or to allow immediate offering of a course going through review.
3000Y Field Methods and Practices
Departmental field trips to develop student skills in field-based observation, data collection and recording, and analysis and interpretation of human and physical landscapes.
Prerequisite(s): 3rd year status in any module in the Department of Geography except the minor; limited enrolment. Priority given to Specialization and Honors Specialization students.
Extra Information: Sessions and dates by arrangements. Students should be prepared to meet the necessary travel and living expenses. 0.5 course.
Specifics about this course
3001F Community-based Methods and Practices
This is an advanced community-based experiential course that combines in-class discussions with community based research. Students will train in methodologies and ethics of working with First Nations communities. Areas of research may include but not limited to ecological restoration, land claims, self-government, education, health and wellness and urban issues.
Antirequisite(s): Earth Sciences 3023F/G, Indigenous Studies 4023F/G.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the Department and 3rd or 4th year status in any Specialization or Honours Specialization module in the Department of Geography and Environment.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 0.5 course.
3210A Geocomputation
An introduction to multivariate statistics and data analysis using computational methods; reproducibility in data analysis, data presentation, exploratory data analysis, and data mining for Geography.
Antirequisite(s): All other senior level statistics courses numbered 2000 or above.
Prerequisite(s): Geography 2210A/B or Biology 2244A/B or Statistical Sciences 2244A/B and enrolment in a geography program or permission from the instructor.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
3211A Spatial Statistics
Topics include exploratory spatial data analysis, global and local spatial statistics, spatial autocorrelation and interpolation, spatial regression models, and geographically weighted regression. The emphasis will be on developing analytical skills with practical applications using statistical software and Geographic Information Systems.
Prerequisite(s): Third or fourth year status at the University including Geography 2210A/B or equivalent and Geography 2220A/B or permission of the instructor.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 lab hours, 0.5 course (main campus) Limited enrollment
3222B Geographic Information Science II
Methods and techniques in Geographic Information Science. Spatial data encoding from maps and geographic database implementation. Spatial interpolation and other modeling techniques. Integration of remote sensing, GIS and Visualization. Hands-on experience using ESRI, ArcGIS software.
Prerequisite(s): Geography 2210A/B or Biology 2244A/B or Statistical Sciences 2244A/B and Geography 2220A/B.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
3225B Transportation Geography and GIS
Provides a comprehensive introduction to concepts, theories, and models in the field of transportation geography. GIS and spatial analysis methods for solving transport issues and problems will be presented. Topics covered include accessibility, planning, public transit, active transport, smart mobility, impacts on land use, health, energy, environment, and social equity.
Prerequisite(s): Third or fourth year-status and Geography 2220A/B, or permission of the instructor.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
3226A Urban Data Science
Introduces a computational social science approach to process, analyze, and visualize urban data in a reproducible way. Modern data science toolkits to support better decision making in urban development and planning contexts will be presented. Topics covered include exploratory/statistical/agent-based urban models, network analysis, applied machine learning, and advanced data visualizations.
Prerequisite(s): Third or fourth year-status and Geography 2220A/B, or permission of the instructor.
Extra Information: 1 lecture hour, 3 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
3231A Advanced Topics in Remote Sensing
Themes to be considered may include: advanced computer analysis of digital satellite and airborne data (optical, infrared and radar), advanced image classification methods, texture analysis, change detection, automatic linear feature extraction, structural pattern recognition and remote sensing applications. Remote sensing software will be used in lab.
Prerequisite(s): Geography 2230A/B.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
3250B Social Science Research Methods in Geography
A survey of a range of social scientific methods for studying humans (e.g., interviews, questionnaires); with an emphasis on research designs involving human interaction. Topics include identifying research problems, questions and designs, sources of error, ethics and values in research, methods of data collection, data analysis and presentation of findings.
Antirequisite(s): Political Science 2325F/G.
Prerequisite(s): Two full courses in Geography and third or fourth year status at the University.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
3311A Micrometeorology
Principles of weather and climate at micro-, local, and meso-scales; processes associated with transfer of heat, mass, and momentum and resulting climates near the surface; local winds, fog, urban climates and air pollution.
Prerequisite(s): One of Geography 2310A/B, Geography 2320A/B or Geography 2330A/B, or at least 3rd year standing in an Environmental Science or Earth Sciences program. (A 1000-1099 level course in Applied Mathematics, Mathematics, or Physics is also recommended).
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
3350B Climate Change: Past and Future
Learn about the lessons Earth’s past climate holds for future climate change. Students are introduced to methods of paleoclimatology, past environmental changes and their impacts on early societies, and future climate change including models, international agreements, climate and graphical literacy in the media, and strategies for reaching climate goals.
Prerequisite(s): One of Geography 2310A/B, 2320A/B or 2330A/B, or 3rd year standing in an Environmental Science or Earth Sciences program.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
3353B Environmental Modelling
This course introduces students to broad concepts of environmental modelling. We will learn about the main components of land surface/terrestrial ecosystem models and their role in climate change projections. These components include vegetation, carbon, hydrology and energy cycles, and how agriculture, land use change and land management impact ecosystem processes.
Antirequisite(s): Geography 3902A/B if taken in Winter 2023.
Prerequisite(s): At least 3rd year standing in a Geography and Environment, Biology, Environmental Science, or Earth Sciences program, or permission of the instructor.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
- Winter 2025 Course Outline
3354A Water and Cities
Explores how issues of water quantity and quality upstream, within, and downstream of urban centers are inextricably tied to the sustainability of cities. Students will learn basic water monitoring techniques and draw on systems thinking to better understand quantitative outcomes and identify interventions to support sustainable water management in cities.
Prerequisite(s): One of Geography 2210A/B, Geography 2310A/B, Geography 2320A/B or Geography 2330A/B, or at least third-year standing in an Environmental Science or Earth Sciences program, or permission of the instructor with a demonstration of some quantitative coursework.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
3413G Climate, Culture, and Indigenous Geographies
This course offers an introduction to the interrelated dynamics of climate crisis and colonialism. The influence of geographies of epistemology, culture, place and power on climate change impacts, strategies, and outcomes is explored. Adopting an anti-colonialist framework and emphasizing inclusive Indigenous Kinship approaches the course moves from theory to action.
Antirequisite(s): Indigenous Studies 3600F/G, Geography 3901A/B taught in Fall 2022.
Prerequisite(s): Two full courses or equivalent in Geography. Third or fourth year status at the University.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour, 0.5 course.
- Winter 2025 Course Outline
3414B Digital Technology, Society, and Environment
This course engages with digital technologies as social and spatial phenomena. Through an exploration of themes including the cloud, internet infrastructures, smart cities, digital platforms, and the gig/sharing economy, the course identifies the environmental and social implications of pervasive digitality while critically navigating through utopian versus dystopian discourses of technology.
Prerequisite(s): Registration in year 3 or 4 in any module.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour, 0.5 course.
3416F Urban Culture of Public Spaces
A geographic investigation of urban culture focusing on the design, use and identities of urban public spaces as evidenced through systematic observations of social life in urban public settings. Relevant concepts, theories, and field methods are applied to guide and critique the investigation.
Prerequisite(s): Two full courses in Geography and third or fourth year status at the University.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
3431B Geography of Health and Health Care
A critical examination of the major themes in the geography of health and health care. The focus will be on the importance of understanding place, space and environment as they relate to health. Geographical aspects of health inequalities, access and utilization will be explored.
Prerequisite(s): Geography 2430A/B or a related 2000-level course in Health Sciences, Sociology or Psychology, or permission of the instructor.
Extra Information: 3 lecture hours, 0.5 course.
3432B Environmental Hazards and Human Health
This is a survey course regarding the links between human health and environmental hazard exposure. Issues will include the health impacts of water pollution, air pollution, solid and hazardous waste, toxic substances, pesticides and radiation. The limitations of models and methods are discussed.
Prerequisite(s):
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour, 0.5 course.
3441G Conservation and Development
Examines struggles over conservation and development in a global context. A central aim is to consider the transformation of ecosystems, loss of biodiversity, and struggles for alternatives in relation to the vast and growing inequalities in wealth, power, and resource consumption that exist within and between countries.
Prerequisite(s): Third or fourth year status at the University.
Extra Information: 3 lecture hours, 0.5 course.
3443G Energy and Power
This course investigates the political ecology of energy. Issues of politics and power, social equity, and environmental impact are examined through Canadian and international case studies. The concept of 'energy justice' is used both to critically assess current patterns of energy production and use and to explore more sustainable possibilities.
Prerequisite(s): Third or fourth year status at the University.
Extra Information: 3 lecture hours, 0.5 course.
3446F Climate Change, Culture Change
Challenges students to examine, understand, and question the carbon footprint of their everyday geographies, and consider how modifying personal lifestyles—their own ways of doing and thinking—can mitigate environmental impacts. Everyday geographies are examined through exercises that focus on subjects including diet, clothing, transportation, and waste, and lower-carbon alternatives.
Prerequisite(s): Third or fourth year status at the University.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 2 tutorial hours, 0.5 course.
3461F Land Use and Development Issues
Critical examination of current land use and development projects; students are required actively to participate in the discussions.
Prerequisite(s): Third or fourth year status at the University.
Extra Information: 3 seminar hours, 0.5 course.
3462G Land Use Planning
Basic techniques for preparing, implementing, and applying land use plans and zoning controls.
Prerequisite(s): Third or fourth year status at the University.
Extra Information: 3 seminar hours, 0.5 course.
3463G Housing
This course explores the geography of housing in North American cities from an historical perspective, with a detailed investigation of the effects of land development, construction, financing, planning, public policy, demographics and lifestyle changes on the production and consumption of residential landscapes.
Prerequisite(s): Third or fourth year status at the University.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour, 0.5 course.
- Winter 2025 Course Outline
3464F Financial Feasibility of Urban Developments
The objective of the course is to provide students with practical commercial property valuation skills and the ability to conduct acquisition underwriting. This quantitative course will expose students to the three major valuation approaches, cash flow pro-forma modeling and the financial impact of leverage.
Antirequisite(s): Business Administration 4613A/B.
Prerequisite(s): Geography 2460F/G. Business Administration 2257 is strongly recommended.
Extra Information: 2 lecture hours, 1 laboratory hours, 0.5 course.
