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Geography and Environmental Programs
The geography and environmental programs at TRU have strong teaching and research expertise in sustainable urban and rural landscapes, Japan, environmental geography, economic geography, hydrology, climatology, geomorphology and emerging geomatic technologies, including Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
Those interested in pursuing a career or further study in education, urban and regional planning, environmental consulting, policy development, environmental law, water resources research, mine reclamation, environmental assessment, and earth science, including hydrology, meteorology and geomorphology, should strongly consider completing a geography program.
Students must normally declare their geography and environmental studies major or geography minor before entering the third year of the BA program. To do so, simply email the Arts Advisors and tell them you would like to declare your major or minor.
All students must meet with a program adviser in geography and environmental studies to plan their course selection. The department regularly holds advising days in March; however, you can email [email protected] to make an appointment any time of the year.
Download Advising FormMajor in Geography and Environmental Studies
There are three program options associated with Geography and Environmental Studies:
- Geography and Environmental Studies Major
- Geography and Environmental Studies — Physical Geography Major
- Geography and Environmental Studies Honours Major
Specific course requirements for each of these programs are provided in the table below:
| Lower level — common to all three major program options | |
| GEOG 1010 | People, Places, and Landscapes: Introducing Human Geography |
| or GEOG 1110 | World Regional Geography |
| GEOG 1000 | Planet Earth: An Introduction to Earth System Science |
| GEOG 2020 | Weather, Climate and Global Environmental Change |
| or GEOG 2050 | Introduction to Hydrology |
| GEOG 2400 | Geographic Thought |
| GEOG 2700 | Introduction to Geographic Analysis |
| GEOG 2740 | Geodesy and the Visualization of Geographic Data |
| GEOG 1100 | Environmental Studies: Human Interaction with the Natural Environment |
| or GEOG 2110 | Geography of the Economic Landscape |
| or GEOG 2120 | Geography of Urban and Regional Planning |
| or GEOG 2220 | Regional Geography of Canada |
| or GEOG 2230 | Regional Geography of British Columbia and Yukon |
| or any of the following not used to meet requirements listed above | |
| GEOG 1010 | Introducing Human Geography: People, Places and Landscapes |
| GEOG 1110 | World Regional Geography |
| GEOG 2020 | Weather, Climate and Global Environmental Change |
| GEOG 2050 | Introduction to Hydrology |
| Upper level | |
Geography and Environmental Studies Major Program OptionThirty (30) 3000 or 4000 level GEOG credits are required with at least three (3) credits from the 4000 level. Of the thirty (30) credits at least three (3) distinct credits must be chosen from each of the four (4) course groups (Groups A,B,C, and D) listed in the Course Table below. The remaining eighteen (18) upper-level GEOG credits may be selected from any of the four (4) course groups (A,B,C or D) or combination thereof, or from GEOG 3990, GEOG 4990, or GEOG 4480. |
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Geography and Environmental Studies — Physical Geography Major Program OptionThirty (30) 3000 or 4000 level GEOG credits are required with at least three (3) credits from the 4000 level. Of the thirty (30) credits at least fifteen (15) credits must be chosen from Group C: Physical Geography and three (3) distinct credits from each of the other three (3) course groups (Groups A,B, and D) from the Table below. The six (6) upper-level elective (each of the four (4) course groups (Groups A,B,C, and D) listed in the Table below. The remaining eighteen (18) upper-level GEOG credits may be selected from any of the four (4) course groups (A,B,C or D) or from GEOG 3990, GEOG 4990, or GEOG 4480. |
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Geography and Environmental Studies Honours Major Program OptionForty-two (42) 3000 or 4000 level GEOG courses from which at least three (3) distinct credits must be chosen from each of the four (4) course groups (Groups A, B, C, and D) listed in the Course Table below. At least nine (9) of the forty-two (42) credits must be chosen from any of the 4000 level GEOG course listed in the Course Table (any course group) or GEOG 4990 or GEOG 4480. The remaining twenty-one (21) upper-level GEOG courses may be selected from any of the four (4) course groups (A, B, C, or D) or combination thereof, or from GEOG 3990. Students must obtain a Grade Point Average of 3.00 in the forty-two (42) upper-level credits and must not obtain a grade below B- (2.67) in any three (3) of the forty-two (42) credits. Students will be permitted to re-take a course once in order to meet the grade requirement. Admission into the Honours program requires completions of the lower level requirements with a minimum Grade Point Average (G.P.A.) of 3.00. |
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| Upper level courses | |
| Group A — Environmental Studies | |
| ENVS 3991 | Environmental Studies: Sustainability |
| GEOG 3100 | Environment and Resources |
| GEOG 3650 | Geography of Consumption |
| GEOG 3991 | Global Climate Change and Regional Impacts |
| GEOG 4100 | Sustainable Rural Systems |
| GEOG 4230 | Attitudes Towards the Environment |
| GEOG 4800 | Environmental Issues and Policies |
| Group B – Human Geography | |
| GEOG 3200 | Introduction to Cultural Geography |
| GEOG 3210 | Historical Geography of Urbanization |
| GEOG 3230 | Geographies of Gender |
| GEOG 3270 | Historical Geography of Canada I: Canada before 1850 |
| GEOG 3280 | Historical Geography of Canada II: Canada after 1850 |
| GEOG 3500 | Introduction to Urban Geography |
| GEOG 3510 | Rural Geography |
| GEOG 3550 | Geography of the Urban-Rural Fringe |
| GEOG 3570 | Introduction to Social and Behaviour Geography |
| GEOG 3610 | Themes in Economic Geography |
| GEOG 3900 | Geography of a Selected Region |
| GEOG 4240 | Geography of Tourism |
| GEOG 4500 | Urban Analysis |
| GEOG 4800 | Environmental Issues and Policies |
| GEOG 4810 | Geography of Small Cities |
| GEOG 4840 | Postcolonial Geographies |
| GEOG 4850 | Geography of First Nations Issues in British Columbia |
| Group C – Physical Geography | |
| GEOG 3040 | Environment Climatology and Meteorology |
| GEOG 3050 | Physical Hydrology |
| GEOG 3060 | Groundwater Hydrology |
| GEOG 3070 | Biogeography |
| GEOG 3080 | Geomorphology |
| GEOG 3129 | Geography of Natural Hazards |
| GEOG 4050 | Fluvial Geomorphology |
| GEOG 4060 | Advances in Hydrology |
| GEOG 4820 | Urban Biophysical Environments |
| Group D – Geographical Methods | |
| GEOG 3700 | Field Methods in Geography |
| GEOG 3750 | Applications of Geographical Information Systems |
| GEOG 3770 | GIS for Water Resources Systems Analysis |
| GEOG 4740 | Spatiotemporal Analysis |
| GEOG 4750 | Advances in Geomatics |
Minor Program in Geography (Revised for September 2014)
Important Note: Students commencing their studies at TRU in September 2014 onwards and who wish to complete a minor in geography must meet the requirements for the minor described on this page. Only students who enrolled at TRU prior to September 2014 will be permitted to choose either the revised program or the older program.
The requirements for a minor in geography are the completion of 30 credits as follows:
- Three (3) credits from 1000 level Human Geography from:
- GEOG 1010 People, Places and Environments: Introducing Human Geography
- GEOG 1110 World Regional Geography
- Three (3) credits from 1000 level Physical Geography:
- GEOG 1000 (L) Planet Earth: An Introduction to Earth System Science
- Six (6) additional credits from 1000 or 2000 level GEOG courses.
- Eighteen (18) 3000 or 4000 level GEOG credits.
Masters Program in Environmental Science
Students graduating from the BA in geography program may pursue a MSc in Environmental Sciences with faculty members in the department of Geography & Environmental Studies.
