Please note:

To view the Spring 2025 Academic Calendar, go to www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2025/spring.

Department of Geography | Faculty of Environment Simon Fraser University Calendar | Summer 2025

Global Environmental Systems Honours

Bachelor of Environment

Admission Requirements

Entry to the BEnv global environmental systems honours program is competitive. Interested students must apply to the department one full term prior to the term in which they plan to enroll in GEOG 491- Honours Essay. Applicants must have completed a minimum of 60 upper division units, have a minimum upper division GPA of 3.67, and must have consulted with a potential honours essay supervisor prior to application.

For application instructions and deadlines, please consult the department. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee entry to the honours program.

Minimum Grade Requirements

To graduate with honours, students must have a grade point average of not less than 3.50.

Program Requirements

Students complete 120 units, as specified below. Additional upper division units will be required to total a minimum of 60 upper division units.

Lower Division Requirements

Students complete all of

GEOG 100 - Our World: Introducing Human Geography (3)
GEOG 111 - Earth Systems (3)
GEOG 214 - Weather and Climate (3)
GEOG 215 - The Biosphere (3)
GEOG 255 - Geographical Information Science I (3)
GEOG 266W - Geography in Practice (3)
REM 221 - Systems Thinking and the Environment (3)

and one of

EVSC 100 - Introduction to Environmental Science (3)
GEOG 104 - Climate Change, Water, and Society (3)
REM 100 - Global Change (3)

and one of

GEOG 251 - Quantitative Geography (3)
STAT 201 - Statistics for the Life Sciences (3)
STAT 203 - Introduction to Statistics for the Social Sciences (3)
STAT 205 - Introduction to Statistics (3)

and one of

ARCH 273 - Archaeology of the New World (3)
GEOG 267 - Introduction to Indigenous Land-Based Knowledge and Place-Based Relationships (3)
INDG 101 - Introduction to Indigenous Studies (3)
INDG 286 - Indigenous Peoples and British Columbia: An Introduction (3)
REM 207 - Indigenous Peoples and Resource Management (3)

and one of

GEOG 221 - Economic Worlds (3)
GEOG 241 - People, Place, Society (3)
GEOG 261 - Encountering the City (3)

Upper Division Requirements

Students complete all of

GEOG 314 - The Climate System (4)
GEOG 355 - Geographical Information Science II (4)
GEOG 389W - Nature and Society (4)

Biophysical Systems (choose two)

ARCH 388 - Geoarchaeology (4)
GEOG 213 - Introduction to Geomorphology (3)
GEOG 304 - Geography of Wine (4)
GEOG 311 - Hydrology (4)
GEOG 312 - Geography of Natural Hazards (4)
GEOG 313 - River Geomorphology (4)
GEOG 315 - World Ecosystems (4)
GEOG 316 - Global Biogeochemical and Water Cycles (4)
GEOG 317 - Soil Science (4)
GEOG 412W - Glacial Processes and Environments (4)
GEOG 414 - Climate Change (4)
GEOG 417W - Advanced Soil Science (4)
REM 370 - Global Resource Issues in Oceanography (4)
REM 375 - Ecology and Conservation of Coastal BC (3)

Socio-economic and Political Systems (choose one)

ARCH 389 - Ethnoecology (3)
GEOG 304 - Geography of Wine (4)
GEOG 321 - Geographies of Global Capitalism (4)
GEOG 325 - Geographies of Consumption (4)
GEOG 327 - Geography of Tourism (4)
GEOG 333 - Climate Crisis: Understanding a World on Fire (4)
GEOG 340 - Queer Geographies (4)
GEOG 362W - Gentrification and Urban Change (4)
GEOG 363 - Urban Planning and Policy (4)
GEOG 365 - Race, Resistance and Urban Space (4)
GEOG 377 - Environmental History (4)
GEOG 381W - Territory, Power, State (4)
GEOG 382 - World on the Move (4)
GEOG 386 - Health Geography (4)
GEOG 387 - Geography and Gender (4)
GEOG 421 - Geographical Political Economy (4)
GEOG 423 - Capitalist Natures (4)
GEOG 429 - Racial Capitalism and Beyond (4)
GEOG 432 - Problems in Environmental History (4)
GEOG 461 - Urban Change Studio (6)
GSWS 314 - Race, Class and Gender (4)
REM 319 - Environmental and Planning Law (3)
REM 321 - Ecological Economics (4)
REM 350 - Energy Management for a Sustainable Climate and Society (4)
REM 356W - Environmental Policy (3)
REM 454 - Water Security (4)

Environmental Justice (choose one)

GEOG 328 - Labour Geographies (4)
GEOG 385 - Food and the City (4)
GEOG 449 - City and Environment (4)
GEOG 465 - Geographies of Conquest and Liberation (4)
INDG 433 - Indigenous Environmental Justice and Activism (4)
REM 320W - Ethics and the Environment (3)
REM 407 - Indigenous Governance and Resource Relationships (4)

Data Acquisition, Analysis and Modeling (choose two)

EVSC 305 - Methods in Environmental Science (4)
GEOG 253 - Introduction to Remote Sensing (3)
GEOG 310 - Physical Geography Field Course (4)
GEOG 352 - Spatial Analysis (4)
GEOG 353 - Advanced Remote Sensing (4)
GEOG 414 - Climate Change (4)
GEOG 451 - Spatial Modeling (4)
GEOG 453 - Theoretical and Applied Remote Sensing (4)
GEOG 455W - Theoretical and Applied GIS (4)
GEOG 457 - Geovisualization Interfaces (4)
REM 311 - Applied Population Ecology (3)
REM 412 - Environmental Modeling (4)

Communication (choose one)

CMNS 311 - Topics in Communication and Social Justice (4) *
GEOG 351 - Multimedia Cartography (4)
GEOG 356 - 3D GIScience (4)
SA 315 - New Information Technology and Society (SA) (4)

*When topic is offered as environmental communication.

Capstone Experience (choose one)

GEOG 412W - Glacial Processes and Environments (4)
GEOG 414 - Climate Change (4)
GEOG 417W - Advanced Soil Science (4)
GEOG 418 - Ecohydrology (4)
GEOG 421 - Geographical Political Economy (4)
GEOG 423 - Capitalist Natures (4)
GEOG 429 - Racial Capitalism and Beyond (4)
GEOG 432 - Problems in Environmental History (4)
GEOG 440 - Property, Land, Society (4)
GEOG 441 - Cities, Space, and Politics (4)
GEOG 442 - A World of Cities (4)
GEOG 449 - City and Environment (4)
GEOG 451 - Spatial Modeling (4)
GEOG 453 - Theoretical and Applied Remote Sensing (4)
GEOG 455W - Theoretical and Applied GIS (4)
GEOG 457 - Geovisualization Interfaces (4)
GEOG 461 - Urban Change Studio (6)
GEOG 465 - Geographies of Conquest and Liberation (4)
GEOG 497 - International Field Study (5)

and

GEOG 491 - Honours Essay (4)

Two lower division courses (GEOG 213 and GEOG 253) can be used to satisfy specific upper division requirements of this honours program. These courses do not count toward the 60 upper division units required to graduate. WQB requirements may necessitate additional classes for some students, although the global environmental systems program includes several courses that meet Quantitative requirements.

Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements

Students admitted to Simon Fraser University beginning in the fall 2006 term must meet writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of any degree program they may undertake. See Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements for university-wide information.

WQB Graduation Requirements

A grade of C- or better is required to earn W, Q or B credit

Requirement

Units

Notes
W - Writing

6

Must include at least one upper division course, taken at Simon Fraser University within the student's major subject; two courses (minimum three units each)

Q - Quantitative

6

Q courses may be lower or upper division; two courses (total six units or more)
B - Breadth

18

Designated Breadth

Must be outside the student's major subject, and may be lower or upper division:

Two courses (total six units or more) Social Sciences: B-Soc
Two courses (total six units or more) Humanities: B-Hum
Two courses (total six units or more) Sciences: B-Sci

6

Additional Breadth

Two courses (total six units or more) outside the student's major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements).

Students choosing to complete a joint major, joint honours, double major, two extended minors, an extended minor and a minor, or two minors may satisfy the breadth requirements (designated or not designated) with courses completed in either one or both program areas.

Elective Courses

In addition to the courses listed above, students should consult an academic advisor to plan the remaining required elective courses.