Geography: Environment and Sustainability

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.|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.|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.