Geography: Environment and Sustainability

University of British Columbia

Canada, Vancouver

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Home/Canada/Vancouver /University of British Columbia/Geography: Environment and Sustainability

University of British Columbia

Canada , Vancouver

Key Facts

Program Level

Bachelor

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Application Fee

CAD 125

Campuses

Vancouver

Okanagan

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake Deadlines15-May-2023

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 4 year(s)

Tuition Fee

CAD 44,942 / year

Next Intake 15-May-2023

Geography: Environment and Sustainability

About

You can study intense specialization in a single field.

Geography is about how things work together to make the world in which we live, and how we examine historical and contemporary events within cultural, physical, and social circumstances.

If you want a career in the environmental sphere, the Geography: Environment and Sustainability program will help you develop an understanding of global stewardship and establish a solid foundation of knowledge.

The Environment and Sustainability program is designed to be flexible and adaptable to suit your individual areas of curiosity and inquiry. Core courses in first, second, and third year, make it possible for you to join the program at your own pace. At every year level, and across each geographic sub-discipline, we encourage students to integrate methods, research, and learning from one course to another.

Campus features

The Department of Geography is housed in the Geography Building, a hub for researching, teaching, learning, and community. The Geography Building includes multiple study spaces, an undergraduate lounge, and two state-of-the art geomatics computer labs, for you to work on Geography laboratory assignments and projects. The Department also houses the Geographic Information Centre (GIC), which is a library, reading room, and research space. Holdings include maps specializing in BC and Canada, atlases, books, and journals with geographical content, videos, course reserves, and BC's largest aerial photo collection.

The Department of Geography also includes labs and research spaces in the Geography Building, around UBC, and beyond. The Geography building houses the Lab for Advanced Spatial Analytics, the Surfaces Processes Lab, and the Urban Studies Research Commons, to name a few. As an undergraduate student, you can experience these spaces through your Geography and Geographical Sciences coursework, or even through individual directed studies research projects with Geography faculty.

Experiential learning and research

As an undergraduate student, you are encouraged to engage in research, experiential learning, and other modes of involvement and engagement.

Some Geographical Sciences courses feature field trips, such as a week-long field research course held in May every year, or community development activities with various non-governmental organizations.

You can submit your work for publication in the journal Trail Six: an Undergraduate Journal of Geography, published by the Geography Students' Association. Trail Six is peer-reviewed by UBC Geography faculty, and is a unique opportunity for you to get formal experience being published.

Many of our faculty have extensive relationships with organizations and individuals in our local communities, which can be jumping-off points for your own interests, investigations, and community-based learning.

Gain an integrated understanding of physical, ecological, economic, socio-cultural, and political systems, as they shape the world in which we live and influence the future of life on planet earth. This program is suitable if you're interested in working in the environmental sphere and will give you a strong platform for the development of a sense of global stewardship.

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4

GEOG 121 - Geography, Environment and Globalization
Human geography of the modern world with particular attention to human-environment relationships, urbanization, and regional growth; trade and communications; environment and war; environmental governance and sustainability.
GEOG 122 - Geography, Modernity and Globalization
The human geography of the modern world since 1945: global interdependence in economic geography, geopolitics, and cultural geography; consequences of modernization, including demography, urbanization and environmental effects; regional case studies; reactions to modernization.
GEOB 102 - Our Changing Environment: Climate and Ecosystems
Energy and water in the Earth-Atmosphere system, global climates and climate change, ecosystem properties and processes, human impacts. Please consult the Faculty of Science Credit Exclusion Lists: www.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=12,215,410,414.
GEOB 103 - Our Changing Environment: Water and Landscapes
Physical processes acting at the Earth's surface; water cycle; landforms; human impacts. Please consult the Faculty of Science Credit Exclusion Lists: www.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=12,215,410,414.

GEOG 210 - Vancouver and Its Region
An integrated approach to the physical and human geography of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Field trips.
GEOG 211 - The State of the Earth
The demographic, economic, ecological, and technological factors that underlie current environmental challenges, considering their effects to date and their possible impact in the future.
GEOB 270 - Geographic Information Science
Computer-based graphical methods of data input and analysis. Emphasis on data visualization techniques such as cartographic modelling and exploratory data analysis. Preclusion: Not available to those who completed GEOG 370 before September 2005.
GEOB 200 - Atmospheric Environments
Physical principles underlying weather and climates. Thermal, moisture and wind climates at scales from valleys to the globe. Daily weather, air pollution, global change.
GEOB 207 - Introduction to Biogeography
Geographical ecology emphasizing plant distributions, abiotic-biotic interactions, effects of disturbance, succession, and human impacts across scales. Labs and field trips examine a local site.

GEOG 310 - Environment and Sustainability
Concepts of environment, resources and sustainability; the roles of physical and human geography in understanding the interaction of humans and the environment; introduction to management of environment-resource systems.
GEOG 313 - Environmental Justice and Social Change
Economic, social, political and cultural structures and institutions that shape contemporary socioecological challenges.
GEOG 314 - Analysing Environmental Problems
Concepts and techniques employed in environmental research; challenges in the areas of climate change, water use, knowledge translation and natural hazards.
GEOB 308 - Quaternary and Applied Geomorphology
Quaternary landscape development emphasizing the history of glaciation with special reference to western North America; applications of geomorphology in resource development and land management; interpretation of quaternary materials. Weekend field trips required.
GEOG 321 - Historical Geography of Urbanization: Cities, Space, and Power
From the origins of urbanism to the modern era.

GEOG 497 - The Arctic
Physical and biological characteristics of the circumpolar Arctic, emphasizing terrestrial environments and the impacts on and by humans, including: glacial history; climatology; biogeography/ecology of arctic tundra; human-environment interactions, settlement and exploration; and current environmental, social and economic problems.
GEOG 424 - Feminist Geographies
An introductory survey of contemporary feminist approaches to human geography.
GEOB 403 - Catchment Hydrology
Hydrometeorology; runoff processes; streamwater chemistry in relation to runoff processes; effects of climate variations and land cover change on streamflow regimes; models of catchment hydrology.
GEOB 472 - Research in Cartography
Use of cartography in primary research applications. Discussion of contemporary topics in cognitive, social, and technical cartography and data visualization.

Disciplines

Faculty of Arts

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Graduation from a university-preparatory program at a senior secondary school: General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihi). Certificates must be official. Photocopies are acceptable if certified by school principal, head, or counsellor. Notarized copies are not acceptable.

Career

The world needs smart, engaged new graduates to tackle complex environmental questions. Sustainability is an increasingly crucial concern in government, private practice, industry, higher education, community agencies, and beyond. The diverse, robust, and adaptable skills, knowledge, and training in the Environment and Sustainability program prepares you to investigate these questions across multiple contexts.

Program graduates

Fisheries technologist, Pacificus Biological Services Ltd.
Company development manager, Carterms Donuterie
GIS analyst, Partnership for Water Sustainability
Coastal naturalist, BC Ferries & Parks Canada
QA engineer, Safe Software
Business development manager, Changeworks Recycling Ltd.
Visitor services, Brooklyn Historical Society

UBC stories

Find out how coursework and Go Global experiences prepared Daniel for his first career job " an environmental specialist with Barrick Gold Corporation in Toronto.
Daniel Mundeva, Geography: Environment and Sustainability Read the full story

Related programs

- - Name
  - Campus
  - Length
- - Earth and Environmental Sciences
    - Okanagan
    4 years
  - Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology
    - Okanagan
    4 years
  - Environmental Design
    - Vancouver
    2 years
  - Environmental Engineering (joint UNBC/UBC)
    - Vancouver
    4.5 years
  - Geographical Sciences
    - Vancouver
    4 years

Fee Information

Tuition Fee

CAD 44,942

Application Fee

CAD 125

How to Apply

As you complete the online application, keep the following tips in mind:

Start early and take your time. Once you begin the application, you will be able to save it and return to it later – but only up until the deadline. Once you have submitted your application to UBC, you will not be able to edit it. Since the online application can sometimes time out if left open for too long, we recommend working on your personal profile questions outside of the application (where you can run them through a spell-checker) then copy and paste them into your application.
Let the online application guide you. You’ll be asked to provide only the information we need based on your degree choice(s), your previous education, and other factors.
Tell us your full academic history. It’s important to include all of the high schools, colleges, and/or universities you have attended. Don’t leave anything out!
Be accurate. UBC has a number of methods in place to authenticate information provided in the application. These methods include, but are not limited to, contacting references, verifying academic records, and requesting additional documentation to verify your personal profile. If an application is found to contain untrue or incomplete information, UBC may, at its discretion: withdraw an offer of admission; require you to withdraw from UBC; subject you to academic discipline; or share the information provided with other post-secondary institutions, law enforcement agencies, or other third parties.
Use an email address you check frequently. Once you have submitted your application, UBC will communicate with you primarily by email.
Note your UBC student number. Write down your UBC student number somewhere safe. You’ll need it in future correspondence with UBC.