Geography, Ph.D.
Environment and Geography
Head: Dr. Mark Hanson
Campus Address/General Office: 220 Sinnott Building
Telephone: 204-474-9667
Email Address: Riddell.Graduate@umanitoba.ca
Website: umanitoba.ca/environment-earth-resources/environment-and-geography
Academic Staff: Please refer to the website for Faculty information: umanitoba.ca/environment-earth-resources/faculty-staff#department-of-environment-and-geography
Environment & Geography Ph.D. Program Information
The Doctor of Philosophy includes research tracks in the fields of Geography (Human and Physical), Environmental Science, and Environmental Studies.
Admission Information
Admission to the Faculty of Graduate Studies
Application and Admission Procedures are found in the Academic Guide.
Admission requirements for doctoral students are found in the Doctor of Philosophy General Regulations section of the Guide.
Environment & Geography Ph.D. Admission Requirements
A 3.5 GPA (or equivalent) in their previous 60 credit hours (or two years of studies for international transcripts) of coursework is normally required. In addition, the prospective student should have or be completing a research driven thesis-based Masters degree in Geography, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies and/or related areas. Students must be accepted by an advisor prior to submitting an application to enter the program.
Application Information
Students should complete and submit their online application with supporting documentation by the date indicated on the Ph.D. Geography program of study page.
Degree Requirements
Students are also required to pass a candidacy exam, and complete and successfully defend a dissertation. The dissertation is to be a distinctive contribution to the field and must be of publishable quality.
Expected Time to Graduate: 4 years
Progression Chart
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| First Term | ||
| GRAD 7300 | Research Integrity Tutorial | 0 |
| GRAD 7500 | Academic Integrity Tutorial 1 | 0 |
| Other Requirements | ||
| 7XXX | Courses at the graduate level | 9 |
| GEOG 7620 | Graduate Seminar in E&G (PhD 1) | 1.5 |
| GEOG 7630 | Graduate Seminar in E&G (PhD 2) | 1.5 |
| GRAD 8010 | Doctoral Candidacy Examination | 0 |
| GRAD 8000 | Doctoral Thesis | 0 |
| Total Hours | 12 | |
| 1 | Unless completed previously in a Master’s program, without any intervening terms out of university. |
3 Year Ph.D. in Geography
(transfers from Master’s program or admitted without Master’s degree)
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| First Term | ||
| GRAD 7300 | Research Integrity Tutorial | 0 |
| GRAD 7500 | Academic Integrity Tutorial 1 | 0 |
| Other Requirements | ||
| Select 21 credit hours of the following: | 21 | |
3XXX or 4XXX | Courses at 3000 or 4000 level (6 max credit hours) | |
7XXX | Courses at the graduate level (15 min credit hours) | |
| GEOG 7620 | Graduate Seminar in E&G (PhD 1) | 1.5 |
| GEOG 7630 | Graduate Seminar in E&G (PhD 2) | 1.5 |
| GRAD 8010 | Doctoral Candidacy Examination | 0 |
| GRAD 8000 | Doctoral Thesis | 0 |
| Total Hours | 24 | |
| 1 | Unless completed previously in a Master’s program, without any intervening terms out of university. |
Registration Information
Students should familiarize themselves with the Faculty of Graduate Studies ‘GRAD’ courses applicable to their program. If you have questions about which GRAD course(s) to register in, please consult your home department/unit.
All students must meet with their program advisor/thesis supervisor to determine their course selections. Courses must be listed on the Departmental Registration Approval Form (available from the departmental office) and written approval from the advisor and department head or designate must be obtained. Students are also responsible for obtaining any instructor or special permission which may be required for certain courses.
All course additions and withdrawals (registration revisions) must be approved in the same manner.
Regulations
Students must meet the requirements as outlined in both Supplementary Regulation and BFAR documents as approved by Senate.
Supplementary Regulations
Individual units may require specific requirements above and beyond those of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, and students should consult unit supplementary regulations for these specific regulations.
Bona Fide Academic Requirements (BFAR)
Bona Fide Academic Requirements (BFAR) represent the core academic requirements a graduate student must acquire in order to gain, and demonstrate acquisition of, essential knowledge and skills.
All students must successfully complete:
- GRAD 7300 prior to applying to any ethics boards which are appropriate to the student’s research or within the student’s first year, whichever comes first; and
- GRAD 7500 within the first term of registration;
unless these courses have been completed previously, as per Mandatory Academic Integrity Course and Mandatory Research Integrity Online Course.
Students must also meet additional BFAR requirements that may be specified for their program.
General Regulations
All students must:
- maintain a minimum degree grade point average of 3.0 with no grade below C+,
- meet the minimum and not exceed the maximum course requirements, and
- meet the minimum and not exceed the maximum time requirements (in terms of time in program and lapse or expiration of credit of courses).
Courses
Geography
Advanced study of a selected topic from any one of the department's fields of specialization.
A seminar course reviewing theories of regional development which have planning applications. Further, it assesses government policy aimed at regional intervention and notes procedures of evaluation.
A discussion of analysis and model construction in the study of urban and rural systems; analysis of socioeconomic and demographic data, construction of measures, and testing of models.
The course first provides an understanding of social and economic concepts in agricultural geography, and then examines methods of data collection, sampling techniques, and analysis with relevance to specific research topics.
This course discusses the contemporary imbalance between population and resources. The consequences of resource exploitation upon the natural environment are also examined.
Advanced study of specific issues and problems in selected world regions.
A survey of origins, methods and applications of energy analysis, a new technique of system energetics designed to provide information for a more efficient use of scarce natural resources.
A discussion of the meaning of explanation in human geography, the status of geography as a science and the construction of theory.
This course will primarily focus on numerical modelling applications and techniques of the Earth's atmosphere with an emphasis on weather prediction. This includes understanding basic modelling terminology, numerical schemes, structure of models, types of models, what is required to run a model, and an introduction to data assimilation and ensemble techniques to weather prediction.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
An intensive examination of research relating to various issues in the environment, this course will challenge students to consider crosscutting themes found in the literature and from their own learning experiences, and apply them to environmental problems.
Ecotoxicology characterizes how organisms interact with anthropogenic and natural stressors in an ecological context. This course is an examination of the fundamental science, approaches and issues being addressed in the field. Students should have a four-year science-based undergraduate degree and be registered in a graduate program.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Field and practical experience in selected topics of multidisciplinary research in Arctic System Science from science theory to field sampling, to modeling and remote measurements. Focuses on the ocean-sea ice-atmosphere interface and its relationship with the biological and geochemical processes operating in the cryosphere.
The course covers applied aspects of meteorology in terms of weather analysis and forecasting techniques for synoptic-scales and meso-scales using various meteorological tools. An introduction to severe weather forecasting techniques will also be described. Familiarity with computers is essential.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
The course will provide an overview of General Circulation Models (GCMs) and how these models are used to study various aspects of global climate change. More specifically the course will deal with the coupling between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere from the perspective of Earth System Science.
A seminar-based course devoted to the study of advanced topics in microclimatology and micrometeorology.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
This course overviews the theoretical basis that underpins the measurement and application of climate elements in micrometeorological and microclimatological research.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
This course provides instruction in the current theory and application of remote sensing technology to Earth System Science. Emphasis will be placed on the processing and interpretation of remote sensing imagery and the integration of remote sensing data with other spatial data.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: GEOG 3200 (C), or permission of instructor .
The course will emphasize principles and approaches to understanding biogeography on a worldwide scale with specific examples from Canadian and Manitoban research. Topics discussed include the physical environment and biological interactions, effects of disturbance and climate change, the geography of biological diversity, evolution and extinction.
From criticalsocial science theoretical positions, this course asks student to examine what we can learn about how humans live on the earth if we see them as gendered. Just as we may also understand humans and their interactions in and with spaces, places and environments through the lenses of race, ethnicity, class,age and /or combinations of these categories with gender. Cannot be held for credit with GEOG 4280.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
Equiv To: GEOG 4280
The course allowed students to develop research and communication skills and provides a greater understanding of research within geography, environmental science and environmental studies; it is organized around presentations given by the students on their area of expertise; course graded pass/fail.
The course allowed students to develop research and communication skills and provides a greater understanding of research within geography, environmental science and environmental studies; it is organized around presentations given by the students on their area of expertise; course graded pass/fail.
The course allowed students to develop research and communication skills and provides a greater understanding of research within geography, environmental science and environmental studies; it is organized around presentations given by the students on their area of expertise; course graded pass/fail.
This course will provide students with an advanced understanding of the relationships between nature and society by examining the rise of environmentalism through the past 50 years. Special attention will be paid to recent developments within the field of environmentalism and to theoretical work in the field of political ecology.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Pre-requisite: Permission of Instructor.
This course focuses on a range of storms, and mesoscale phenomena in the summer and winter. These include thunderstorms, tornadoes, squall lines, lightening, low level jets, gust fronts, blizzards, freezing rain, orographic storm, and polar lows. The emphasis in on the physical mechanisms leading to these events and it also examines how they may change in our warming climate. This course cannot be held for credit with GEOG 4780.
Equiv To: GEOG 4780
This course explores the causes, impacts, and responses to climate change. It identifies key concepts and analytic approaches to understand the social-ecological processes that drive climate change and influence responses. It engages with inequalities and the role of diverse relationships, values, identities, and knowledge systems.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Pre-requisite: Permission of Instructor.
This course focuses on advanced theory and application of geomatic methods and technologies in spatial problem solving. Laboratories provide practical experience in the application of spatial multivariate methods.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
The course will deal with the coupling between the ocean-sea ice-atmosphere (OSA) interface and examine the role of these processes in physical-biological coupling. Seminars will be presented on both scientific and methodological principles required to understand how climate change affects the Arctic system.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: Permission of Department Head.
This course deals with the sources, distribution, and transformation of chemical constituents of the oceans, and the processes that control them. The emphasis will be given to biologically or climatically significant elements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron and mercury in the Arctic Ocean. Not to be held with GEOG 4930.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: Permission of the Department Head.
Equiv To: GEOG 4930
This course will provide a general background on the importance and current knowledge of sea ice with a focus on the Arctic marine system. The material will be provided in a highly disciplinary manner, touching on fields of geophysics, physical geography, biology and chemistry. Not to be held with GEOG 4940.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor.
Equiv To: GEOG 4940
This course will examine the oceanographic-biological coupling occuring in the Arctic region, focusing on environmental conditions related to higher trophic levels and impacts of climate change. The aim of this course will extend the learning of the 3000-level course that examines the biological oceanography, which focus on the environmental factors that control primary production and lower tropic levels in the world's oceans. Not to be held with GEOG 4960.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: Permission of Department head.
Equiv To: GEOG 4960