Course information

The biophysical stream offers a wide range of programs and interests designed to provide students with exposure to processes operating, currently and historically, to shape our physical environment.

Our main strengths lie in the areas of:

• Biogeography (holocene and quaternary landscape ecology, marine biogeography)
• Coastal processes
• Geomorphology
• Hydrology
• Climatology

In addition, we provide strong linkages to geomatics (remote sensing and GI sciences), resources management, tourism, and climate change, which complement many biophysical interests.

The Environment and Sustainability stream offers students an opportunity to specialize in natural resource management, environmental science and policy, and sustainable development.

Students are exposed to basic principles of natural resource management, biophysical processes, and socio-economic systems and from there are able to focus on coastal processes, global environmental change, or specific resource sectors (water, energy, protected areas, or aquaculture).

There is a close link between the Environment and Sustainability stream and the other specialties in the department. Many of the faculty teaching in this area are involved in international work, with projects in Brazil, Mozambique, Thailand, Cambodia, Tanzania, Ghana, and Iraq. These experiences provide an international context for teaching Environment and Sustainability, and students can become involved as research assistants on these projects.

Class work might focus on community initiatives, Canadian resource issues, or global processes, and students in this stream – as in all of Geography – are very involved in community sustainability initiatives and green initiatives on campus, in Victoria, and throughout Canada.

Geomatics is one of the world's fastest growing information technology sectors. This exciting field brings together many related disciplines, including geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing (satellite imaging), surveying (including global positioning systems – GPS), cartography, and spatial analysis.

Geomatics is the discipline of gathering, storing, processing, and delivering geographic information. This broad term applies both to science and technology and integrates the following more specific disciplines and technologies:

• Geodesy
• Surveying
• Mapping
• Positioning
• Navigation
• Cartography
• Remote sensing
• Photogrammetry
• Geographic information systems
• Global positioning systems

UVic offers two Geomatics program options:

• Major in Geography (BA and BSc) (Geomatics concentration)
• Combined Program in Geography and Computer Science (Geomatics)

The Human stream in Geography can provide significant contributions to addressing pressing crosscutting socio-cultural and economic topics of the increasingly complex world. This stream is situated between the humanities and social sciences.

The research and teaching in Human Geography is highly variable and focuses on topics ranging from urban development and planning to community-based livelihood studies, co-management and solidarity economy, or the gendering of spaces.

The department offers courses and specialization in health, urban, social and development geography, tourism, resource management, and regional studies, among others. The research conducted out of the department happens locally, but also in different regions and continents.

The wide range of methodological possibilities attests the trans-disciplinary character of human geography, engaging in qualitative and quantitative multi-methods.

We teach research tools such as community mapping, participatory surveys, focus groups, interviewing, video documenting, photo voice, and secondary data analysis. Our courses often include laboratory sessions to provide the opportunity for direct learning experiences.