Department of Geography & Environmental Management

Legend:

‡ ENGL 109 or ENGL 129R must be completed with a grade of 65% or higher. Please see the English Language Proficiency Requirement section for the Faculty of Environment if you fail to meet this requirement.

Year One

One of:
ENGL 109‡ Introduction to Academic Writing
ENGL 129R‡ Written Academic English

Four Electives (2.0 units)

Year Two

One of:
GEOG 293 Professional and Scholarly Practice in Geography
GEOG 294 Approaches to Research in Physical Geography (Co-op students may take in either 2B or 3A term)

Students must take at least one course from each of the three following specializations:

1. Earth Systems Science: one of GEOG 201, GEOG 209
2. Geomatics: one of GEOG 271, GEOG 281
3. Development and Environment: one of GEOG 202, GEOG 203 

Five Electives (2.5 units)

Year Three

GEOG 391 Field Research (not required for Co-op)
Nine Electives (4.5 units) or Ten Electives (5.0 units) for Co-op

Students should take specialization courses in one of Earth Systems Science, Geomatics, Development and Environment, or Climate Change.

Year Four

GEOG 490A/B Honours Thesis (1.5 units) and one other Fourth Year Geography course (0.5 unit)
or 2.0 units in Fourth Year Geography courses
Six Electives (3.0 units) to fulfill degree requirements (see notes below)

Note: Co-op students, see Note 7 below 

Notes

1. Minimum Required Units
   Total: 20.0 units. Geography: 10.0 units. All courses for which 1.0 unit is awarded will count as the equivalent of two courses. Outside of the Faculty of Environment: 4.0 units. Only 2.0 units designated Environmental Studies (ENVS) may be counted as Geography units but all units designated ENVS are included in the cumulative major average (see note 3).
2. Course Load
   No more than 2.5 units may be taken in a term without the approval of the Associate Chair (Undergraduate Studies). Normally, approval for a sixth 0.5 unit will be considered only if the cumulative Geography and Environmental Management average is 78% or higher.
3. Average Requirements
   Students in the Honours Academic Plans must maintain an overall cumulative average of 65% and a Major cumulative average of 70%. All required courses must be passed.
4. Materials and Costs
   For some courses, extra fees may be required to cover field expenses/travel costs, e.g., GEOG 391 Field Research. Statements on extra costs, where required, will be found with the course descriptions.
5. Independent Study
   Up to three independent study GEOG 475 courses may be taken.
6. Honours Co-operative Academic Plan
   Honours Geography and Environmental Management Co-op is a five work term Academic Plan in which four work-term reports have to be satisfactorily written.
   Co-op students in the Faculty of Environment are required to complete a minimum of four Professional Development (PD) courses. PD1 and PD2 are mandatory. PD1 must be taken prior to the first work term and PD2 during the first work term.
   Professional Development 2 (PD2) requires the submission of a written report. Successful completion of PD2 will be considered one of the four required work-term reports.
   Other than PD1, PD courses are normally taken during co-op work terms. Students are encouraged to take a Professional Development course each work term until the requirement is met.
   The first work term occurs in the winter term of the second year. 
7. Enrolment in Honours Geography and Environmental Management Co-op
   Students are admitted to the Co-op Academic Plan in first year based on secondary school grades. Interested students enrolled in first year Regular Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo may be considered for admission to any remaining co-op positions at the end of first year based on university academic performance, an interview, and work experience related to Geography.
   The Honours Geography and Environmental Management Co-op Plan has the same academic requirements as the Honours Regular Plan with the exception that GEOG 391 need not be taken by co-op students.
8. Transfer Courses
   Transfer students enrolled will be required to complete a minimum of 50% of their course work and half their geography units in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo.
9. Restriction on number of First-Year Courses
   For a Four-Year Honours degree a student must have at least 13.5 units at or above the 200-level.
10. Double Counting
    A course can be used to satisfy requirements for a maximum of two credentials. Double counting of courses applies as follows: once for the plan and once for a joint honours or concurrent degree, option, minor, diploma, or specialization. There is no limit on the number of courses that may be double counted unless otherwise stated.
11. Fourth Year Geography Course Restrictions
    Fourth year courses are normally restricted to third and fourth year honours students.