Department of Geography and Environmental Studies
(Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences)
B349 Loeb Bldg.
613-520-2561
http://carleton.ca/geography/environmental-studies
This section presents the requirements for programs in:
- Environmental Studies B.A. Honours
- Environmental Studies B.A. General
- Minor in Environmental Studies
Graduation Requirements
In addition to the requirements listed below, students must satisfy:
- the University regulations (see the Academic Regulations of the University section of this Calendar),
- the common regulations applying to all B.A. students (see Academic Regulations for the Bachelor of Arts Degree ). Environmental Studies students are exempt from the Breadth requirements.
Students should consult with the Department when planning their program and selecting courses. Suggested thematic groupings of approved electives are outlined on the departmental website. Some of the Environmental Studies Approved Electives have prerequisites, which are not explicitly included in the program. Students should plan to obtain all necessary prerequisites or waivers for courses selected for this program.
Program Requirements
Bachelor of Arts
Environmental Studies
B.A. Honours (20.0 credits)
A. Credits Included in the Major CGPA (12.0 credits) | ||
1. 1.0 credit from: | 1.0 | |
ISCI 1001 [0.5] | Introduction to the Environment | |
ENST 1020 [0.5] | People, Places and Environments | |
GEOG 1010 [0.5] | Global Environmental Systems | |
2. 1.0 credit from: | 1.0 | |
ENST 1001 [1.0] | Introduction to Environmental Studies | |
FYSM 1100 [1.0] | Sustainable Environments | |
3. 2.0 credits in: | 2.0 | |
ENST 2000 [0.5] | Nature, Environment and Society: Theoretical Perspectives | |
ENST 2001 [0.5] | Sustainable Futures: Environmental Challenges and Solutions | |
ISCI 2000 [0.5] | Natural Laws | |
ISCI 2002 [0.5] | Human Impacts on the Environment | |
4. 1.0 credit in: | 1.0 | |
ENST 2005 [0.5] | Introduction to Qualitative Research | |
ENST 2006 [0.5] | Introduction to Quantitative Research | |
5. 1.0 credit in: | 1.0 | |
ENST 3000 [0.5] | Environmental Studies Colloquium | |
ENST 3022 [0.5] | Environmental and Natural Resources | |
6. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
PHIL 2380 [0.5] | Introduction to Environmental Ethics | |
7. 1.0 credit from: | 1.0 | |
ECON 3804 [0.5] | Environmental Economics | |
GEOG 3206 [0.5] | Health, Environment, and Society | |
GEOG 3209 [0.5] | Sustainability and Environment in the South | |
GEOG 3501 [0.5] | Geographies of the Canadian North | |
HUMR 3503 [0.5] | Global Environmental Justice | |
LAWS 3800 [0.5] | Law of Environmental Quality | |
PHIL 3380 [0.5] | Environments, Technology and Values | |
PSCI 3801 [0.5] | Environmental Politics | |
RELI 3710 [0.5] | Religions and the Environment | |
TSES 3002 [0.5] | Energy and Sustainability | |
8. 0.5 credit from: | 0.5 | |
ENST 3900 [0.5] | Honours Field Course | |
GEOG 3030 [0.5] | Regional Field Excursion | |
9. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
ENST 4000 [0.5] | Environmental Studies Seminar | |
10. 0.5 credit from: | 0.5 | |
ENST 4006 [0.5] | Environmental Policy Analysis | |
GEOG 4022 [0.5] | Seminar in People, Resources and Environmental Change | |
GEOG 4023 [0.5] | Seminar in Special Topics on the City | |
GEOG 4004 [0.5] | Environmental Impact Assessment | |
GEOG 4050 [0.5] | Environmental and Geographic Education | |
11. 1.0 credit in: | 1.0 | |
a) Thesis stream | ||
1.0 credit from: | ||
ENST 4906 [1.0] | Honours Research Project | |
ENST 4907 [1.0] | Honours Research Essay | |
or | ||
b) Course stream | ||
1.0 credit in Approved Environmental Studies Electives at the 4000-level | ||
12. 0.5 credit from: | 0.5 | |
ENST 4001 [0.5] | Environmental Studies Practicum I | |
ENST 4002 [0.5] | Environmental Studies Practicum II | |
13. 1.0 credit in Approved Environmental Studies Electives at the 3000-level or above | 1.0 | |
14. 0.5 credits in Approved Environmental Studies Electives | 0.5 | |
B. Credits Not Included in the Major CGPA (8.0 credits) | ||
15. 8.0 credits in free electives | 8.0 | |
Total Credits | 20.0 |
Note: It may be necessary to use some of the free elective credits to fulfill prerequisite requirements for courses in the Major.
Environmental Studies
B.A. General (15.0 credits)
A. Credits Included in the Major CGPA (8.0 credits) | ||
1. 1.0 credits from: | 1.0 | |
ISCI 1001 [0.5] | Introduction to the Environment | |
GEOG 1010 [0.5] | Global Environmental Systems | |
GEOG 1020 [0.5] | People, Places and Environments | |
2. 1.0 credit from: | 1.0 | |
ENST 1001 [1.0] | Introduction to Environmental Studies | |
FYSM 1100 [1.0] | Sustainable Environments | |
3. 2.0 credit in: | 2.0 | |
ENST 2000 [0.5] | Nature, Environment and Society: Theoretical Perspectives | |
ENST 2001 [0.5] | Sustainable Futures: Environmental Challenges and Solutions | |
ISCI 2000 [0.5] | Natural Laws | |
ISCI 2002 [0.5] | Human Impacts on the Environment | |
4. 1.0 credit from: | 1.0 | |
ENST 2005 [0.5] | Introduction to Qualitative Research | |
ENST 2006 [0.5] | Introduction to Quantitative Research | |
GEOM 1004 [0.5] | Maps, Satellites and the Geospatial Revolution | |
5. 0.5 credit in: | 0.5 | |
PHIL 2380 [0.5] | Introduction to Environmental Ethics | |
6. 1.0 credit in: | 1.0 | |
ENST 3000 [0.5] | Environmental Studies Colloquium | |
ENST 3022 [0.5] | Environmental and Natural Resources | |
7. 0.5 credit in Approved Environmental Studies Electives | 0.5 | |
8. 1.0 credit in Approved Environmental Studies Electives at the 3000-level or above | 1.0 | |
B. Credits Not Included in the Major CGPA (7.0 credits) | ||
9. 7.0 credits in free electives. | 7.0 | |
Total Credits | 15.0 |
Minor in Environmental Studies
Open to all undergraduate students not in Environmental Studies programs.
Minor in Environmental Studies (4.0 credits) | ||
1. 1.0 credit from: | 1.0 | |
ENST 1001 [1.0] | Introduction to Environmental Studies | |
or ENST 1020 [0.5] | People, Places and Environments | |
and | ||
GEOG 1010 [0.5] | Global Environmental Systems | |
or GEOM 1004 [0.5] | Maps, Satellites and the Geospatial Revolution | |
or FYSM 1100 [1.0] | Sustainable Environments | |
or FYSM 1101 [1.0] | Location is Everything | |
or FYSM 1107 [1.0] | Social Justice and the City | |
2. 1.0 credit from: | 1.0 | |
ENST 2000 [0.5] | Nature, Environment and Society: Theoretical Perspectives | |
ENST 2001 [0.5] | Sustainable Futures: Environmental Challenges and Solutions | |
ENST 2500 [0.5] | Climate Change: Social Science Perspectives | |
3. 1.0 credit from: | 1.0 | |
ENST 3000 [0.5] | Environmental Studies Colloquium | |
ENST 3022 [0.5] | Environmental and Natural Resources | |
GEOG 3501 [0.5] | Geographies of the Canadian North | |
4. 1.0 credit from: | 1.0 | |
ENST 4006 [0.5] | Environmental Policy Analysis | |
GEOG 3206 [0.5] | Health, Environment, and Society | |
GEOG 3209 [0.5] | Sustainability and Environment in the South | |
GEOG 4004 [0.5] | Environmental Impact Assessment | |
GEOG 4022 [0.5] | Seminar in People, Resources and Environmental Change | |
GEOG 4050 [0.5] | Environmental and Geographic Education | |
Total Credits | 4.0 |
APPROVED ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES ELECTIVES | ||
Please note that the Approved Electives below may have prerequisite requirements or could be cross-listed. | ||
Architecture | ||
ARCU 3902 [0.5] | Urban Studies (Section A) | |
ARCC 3004 [0.5] | Workshop: Energy and Form | |
ARCC 4103 [0.5] | Energy and Form | |
ARCH 4105 [0.5] | Theories of Landscape Design | |
Biology | ||
BIOL 1010 [0.5] | Biotechnology and Society | |
BIOL 1902 [0.5] | Natural History | |
BIOL 2600 [0.5] | Introduction to Ecology | |
BIOL 2903 [0.5] | Natural History and Ecology of Ontario | |
BIOL 3601 [0.5] | Ecosystems and Environmental Change | |
BIOL 3602 [0.5] | Conservation Biology | |
Business | ||
BUSI 3119 [0.5] | Sustainability and the Role of Business | |
Earth Sciences | ||
ERTH 2402 [0.5] | Climate Change: An Earth Sciences Perspective | |
ERTH 2415 [0.5] | Natural Disasters | |
ERTH 2403 [0.5] | Introduction to Oceanography | |
ERTH 4303 [0.5] | Resources of the Earth | |
Economics | ||
ECON 3803 [0.5] | The Economics of Natural Resources | |
ECON 3804 [0.5] | Environmental Economics | |
Environmental Science | ||
ENSC 2001 [0.5] | Earth Resources and Natural Hazards: Environmental Impacts | |
Environmental Studies | ||
ENST 1020 [0.5] | People, Places and Environments | |
ENST 2001 [0.5] | Sustainable Futures: Environmental Challenges and Solutions | |
ENST 2005 [0.5] | Introduction to Qualitative Research | |
ENST 2006 [0.5] | Introduction to Quantitative Research | |
ENST 2500 [0.5] | Climate Change: Social Science Perspectives | |
ENST 3900 [0.5] | Honours Field Course | |
ENST 4001 [0.5] | Environmental Studies Practicum I | |
ENST 4002 [0.5] | Environmental Studies Practicum II | |
ENST 4005 [0.5] | Directed Studies in Environmental Studies | |
ENST 4006 [0.5] | Environmental Policy Analysis | |
ENST 4400 [0.5] | Field Studies | |
European and Eurasian Studies | ||
EURR 4005 [0.5] | Environmental Problems and Politics in East/Central Europe and Eurasia | |
First Year Seminars | ||
FYSM 1610 [1.0] | Understanding Environmental Discourse | |
Geomatics | ||
GEOM 1004 [0.5] | Maps, Satellites and the Geospatial Revolution | |
GEOM 2007 [0.5] | Geographic Information Systems | |
GEOM 3002 [0.5] | Air Photo Interpretation and Remote Sensing | |
GEOM 3005 [0.5] | Geospatial Analysis | |
GEOM 4003 [0.5] | Remote Sensing of the Environment | |
GEOM 4009 [0.5] | Applications in Geographic Information Systems | |
Geography | ||
GEOG 1010 [0.5] | Global Environmental Systems | |
GEOG 1020 [0.5] | People, Places and Environments | |
GEOG 2013 [0.5] | Weather and Water | |
GEOG 2014 [0.5] | The Earth's Surface | |
GEOG 2020 [0.5] | Physical Environments of Canada | |
GEOG 2200 [0.5] | Global Connections | |
GEOG 2300 [0.5] | Space, Place and Culture | |
GEOG 2400 [0.5] | Cities and Urbanization | |
GEOG 2500 [0.5] | Climate Change: Social Science Perspectives | |
GEOG 2600 [0.5] | Geography Behind the Headlines | |
GEOG 3001 [0.5] | Doing Qualitative Research | |
GEOG 3003 [0.5] | Quantitative Geography | |
GEOG 3010 [0.5] | Field Methods in Physical Geography | |
GEOG 3021 [0.5] | Geographies of Culture and Identity | |
GEOG 3022 [0.5] | Environmental and Natural Resources | |
GEOG 3023 [0.5] | Cities in a Global World | |
GEOG 3024 [0.5] | Understanding Globalization | |
GEOG 3030 [0.5] | Regional Field Excursion | |
GEOG 3103 [0.5] | Watershed Hydrology | |
GEOG 3104 [0.5] | Principles of Biogeography | |
GEOG 3105 [0.5] | Climate and Atmospheric Change | |
GEOG 3108 [0.5] | Soil Properties | |
GEOG 3206 [0.5] | Health, Environment, and Society | |
GEOG 3209 [0.5] | Sustainability and Environment in the South | |
GEOG 3404 [0.5] | Geographies of Economic Development | |
GEOG 3501 [0.5] | Geographies of the Canadian North | |
GEOG 3700 [0.5] | Population Geography | |
GEOG 4004 [0.5] | Environmental Impact Assessment | |
GEOG 4022 [0.5] | Seminar in People, Resources and Environmental Change | |
GEOG 4023 [0.5] | Seminar in Special Topics on the City | |
GEOG 4050 [0.5] | Environmental and Geographic Education | |
GEOG 4303 [0.5] | Urban Planning | |
History | ||
HIST 2310 [0.5] | Canadian Environmental History to 1920 | |
HIST 2311 [0.5] | Canadian Environmental History from 1890 | |
HIST 3209 [0.5] | Canadian Urban History | |
HIST 3310 [0.5] | Animals in History | |
Human Rights | ||
HUMR 3503 [0.5] | Global Environmental Justice | |
Interdisciplinary Science | ||
ISCI 1001 [0.5] | Introduction to the Environment | |
Law | ||
LAWS 3005 [0.5] | Law and Regulation | |
LAWS 3800 [0.5] | Law of Environmental Quality | |
LAWS 4800 [0.5] | Environment and Social Justice | |
Philosophy | ||
PHIL 3350 [0.5] | Philosophy, Ethics, and Public Affairs | |
PHIL 3380 [0.5] | Environments, Technology and Values | |
Political Science | ||
PSCI 2003 [0.5] | Canadian Political Institutions | |
PSCI 2602 [0.5] | International Relations: Global Political Economy | |
PSCI 3801 [0.5] | Environmental Politics | |
PSCI 4808 [0.5] | Global Environmental Politics | |
PSCI 4818 [0.5] | The Environmental State | |
Religion | ||
RELI 3710 [0.5] | Religions and the Environment | |
Sociology and Anthropology | ||
SOCI 2035 [0.5] | Technology, Culture and Society | |
SOCI 2040 [0.5] | Food, Culture and Society | |
ANTH 2850 [0.5] | Development and Underdevelopment | |
SOCI 3038 [0.5] | Studies in Urban Sociology | |
ANTH 3355 [0.5] | Anthropology and the Environment | |
SOCI 3805 [0.5] | Studies in Population | |
ANTH 4036 [0.5] | Science and Technology Studies: Selected Topics | |
or SOCI 4036 [0.5] | Science and Technology Studies: Selected Topics | |
Technology, Society, Environment | ||
TSES 2006 [0.5] | Ecology and Culture | |
TSES 3001 [0.5] | Technology-Society Interactions | |
TSES 3002 [0.5] | Energy and Sustainability | |
TSES 4001 [0.5] | Technology and Society: Risk | |
TSES 4002 [0.5] | Technology and Society: Forecasting | |
TSES 4003 [0.5] | Technology and Society: Innovation | |
TSES 4007 [0.5] | Product Life Cycle Analysis | |
TSES 4008 [0.5] | Environmentally Harmonious Lifestyles |
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Introduction to Environmental Studies
Sustainability requires broadened perspectives on the Earth's natural systems. Geographic and geomatics perspectives help us examine physical and biological environments as the basis of human societies. Includes: landscape interpretation, resources, hazards, inferring meaning from data, and predicting potential impacts of/on human actions.
Lecture two hours and workshops/tutorials two hours weekly.
People, Places and Environments
Introduction to human geography. Examination of relationships between people, communities, society and the natural environment at local to global scales. Population change, cultural patterns, and historical, economic, political and environmental forces that shape human activity and experiences from place to place.
Nature, Environment and Society: Theoretical Perspectives
Examination of the shifting understandings of nature, the environment, and nature-society relations. Topics include nature as a concept, people’s relationships to the environment across the globe, environmental movements and institutions, narratives of environmental change, and political ecology approaches to understanding and combating environmental degradation.
Lectures three hours a week.
Sustainable Futures: Environmental Challenges and Solutions
Individual and collective responses to pressing environmental problems. Innovative ways in which the environment can be protected and restored, taking into consideration socioeconomic, political and cultural factors. Topics include environmental lifestyles, sustainable communities, food systems, environmental design, and political activism.
Lectures, seminars and field work three hours a week.
Introduction to Qualitative Research
Introduction to the research process, from generating questions through to reporting results. Topics include intensive and extensive research approaches; the use of surveys, interviews and other data collection methods; the analysis of qualitative information; and the ethical dimensions of doing research with people and communities.
Prerequisite(s): 1.0 credit in GEOG or ENST at the 1000-level and second-year standing, or permission of the Department.
Lectures two hours a week, workshop two hours a week.
Introduction to Quantitative Research
Introduction to solving problems using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Graphical and numerical tools to describe distributions. Probability, sampling and estimates, and hypothesis testing. Fundamentals of spatial statistics and analysis.
Precludes additional credit for BIT 2000, BIT 2100 (no longer offered), BIT 2300 (no longer offered), NEUR 2002, PSYC 2002, PSCI 2702, STAT 2507, STAT 2606.
Lectures two hours a week, laboratory two hours a week.
Climate Change: Social Science Perspectives
An introduction to climate change, with an emphasis on human dimensions. Topics include anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, regional variations in climate change and their consequences, human vulnerability and adaptation to environmental change, and climate change politics and policies at a variety of geographic scales.
Prerequisite(s): ENST 1020 or GEOG 1020, or second-year standing.
Lectures three hours a week.
Environmental Studies Colloquium
Interactions among complex natural systems, social values and attitudes and economic, political and legal concerns are explored through invited speakers from various disciplines and agencies addressing specific environmental issues.
Lecture and discussion three hours a week.
Environmental and Natural Resources
Exploration of complexity, dynamics, uncertainty and equity issues underpinning environmental and resource issues; review and appraisal of selected contemporary methods to assess and manage environmental and natural resources.
Prerequisite(s): third-year standing in Geography or Environmental Studies or permission of the Department.
Lecture three hours a week.
Honours Field Course
Field research, with a focus on data collection methods, analysis and presentation of findings. Design and conduct research that links the human and biophysical environment. Topics may change from year to year.
Precludes additional credit for ENST 2900 (no longer offered).
Prerequisite(s): GEOG 2005/ ENST 2005 and GEOG 2006/ ENST 2006, third-year Honours standing in Environmental Studies, Geomatics, or Geography, or permission of the Department.
Normally consists of a multi-day field excursion in the Ottawa region. A supplementary charge may apply. Consult the department regarding course details.
Co-operative Work Term
Environmental Studies Seminar
How societal institutions respond to environmental concerns, how various stakeholders understand the environment and how environmental priorities may be implemented in social, political and economic decision-making. Interdisciplinary case studies are used.
Seminar three hours per week.
Environmental Studies Practicum I
External agency setting provides the basis for translating academic training into practical involvement with environmental issues. Observation and involvement in issues and research methods used by professional environmental practitioners.
Environmental Studies Practicum II
External agency setting provides the basis for translating academic training into practical involvement with environmental issues. Observation and involvement in issues and research methods used by environmental practitioners.
Directed Studies in Environmental Studies
Students pursue their interest in a selected theme in environmental studies on a tutorial basis with a faculty member.
Hours to be arranged.
Environmental Policy Analysis
Critical examination of the creation, implementation and effectiveness of government policies related to environmental issues. Emphasis on perspectives, actors, institutions and social and economic relationships affecting policy responses to these issues, and on tools for analyzing the implications of specific policy choices.
Seminar three hours per week.
Field Studies
Field observation and methodology in a selected region, special topic or contemporary problem; on an individual or group basis.
Prerequisite(s): third-year Honours standing and permission of the Department.
Hours to be arranged.
Honours Research Project
An independent investigation into a select aspect of environmental studies, supervised by a faculty member. Possible outcomes might include: workshops, audio-visual productions, lay publications, and field projects accompanied by an essay demonstrating the student's capacity to critically reflect on the research project.
Prerequisite(s): fourth-year Honours standing in Environmental Studies, a minimum CGPA of 9.00 in the major or permission of the Department, and an approved research topic and adviser.
Hours to be arranged with faculty adviser.
Honours Research Essay
Interdisciplinary research essay on an environmental issue, carried out in consultation with a faculty supervisor. The student must consult with the undergraduate student advisor in selecting a project and a supervisor.
Prerequisite(s): fourth-year Honours standing in Environmental Studies, a minimum CGPA of 9.00 in the major or permission of the Department, and an approved research topic and adviser.
Hours to be arranged with faculty adviser.
Summer session: some of the courses listed in this Calendar are offered during the summer. Hours and scheduling for summer session courses will differ significantly from those reported in the fall/winter Calendar. To determine the scheduling and hours for summer session classes, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca
Not all courses listed are offered in a given year. For an up-to-date statement of course offerings for the current session and to determine the term of offering, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca