Welcome to McGill Geography
Geography is the study of physical environments and human habitats. It deals with people and places. It covers issues such as global warming and climate change, food and water resources, management of ecosystems, human health, regional economic disparities, urban infrastructure, native land claims and permafrost problems. Both a physical and a social science, it provides a unique opportunity to obtain a broad exposure to modes of analyzing the many environmental and situational problems of contemporary society. Our department is based in the Faculty of Science and offers degrees at the Bachelors (B.A., B.Sc, & B.A.Sc.), Masters (M.A. & M.Sc), and Ph.D. levels.
News and Announcements
Welcome Week & Orientation: Events for new undergraduate students interested in Geography programs
Faculty of Arts: Departmental Advising Fair (virtual)
Curious about program options for BA students under the Department of Geography? Join the Geography Undergraduate Advisor on Zoom Tuesday August 23rd from 2pm to 3pm to learn more about our undergraduate programs and courses. Students from BSc and BA&Sc degrees are welcome to join as well.
Department of Geography Undergraduate Student Orientation (in-person)
This event is for newly admitted and returning U1 students who have declared a Geography, Urban studies or Sustainabilty, Science and Society program. At this event, students will be greeted by the Department Advisor and Undergraduate Coordinator, as well as the Department Chair and the Geography, Urban studies and SSS Program Directors. Important advising announcements will be shared, followed by short presentations from the Geography Liaison librarian and GIC staff regarding services and resources for students in the Department. The McGill Undergraduate Geography Society (MUGS) student representatives will be in attendance to introduce themselves and are excited to welcome you all to campus for the new academic year!
Join us Tuesday August 30th from 10:00 am to 11:00 am in Burnside Hall room 306.
Light refreshments will be served.
Updated August 11, 2022
Barbados field course in Winter 2023: How to apply
Students interested in applying for the Barbados field course held over reading week in winter 2023 GEOG 496: Geographical Excursion are invited to email an application to the Instructor as outlined below. Selection is based on four main factors: program, GPA, application statement, and date the application is received.
The application should be a Word attachment. Please use BARBADOS 496 2023 – your name as both the SUBJECT LINE for the email and the FILE NAME of the attachment. Email to tom.meredith [at] mcgill.ca.
The attachment should include, in this order,
- your name, email contact, program and year,
- CGPA or GPA from last two terms (and add a note of explanation if you believe your GPA is not an accurate reflection of your actual academic ability).
- whether or not your program requires a field course,
- a short application statement (150 word max) addressing
- how the field course would contribute to your academic program,
- what you would hope to get from the field course, and
- what you think you could contribute to the field study group.
Don't wait, apply now!
Posted June 6, 2022
Prof. Sengupta leads a pilot projects aimed at cooling off Montreal with small green spaces
Prof. Raja Sengupta and graduate student Alexander Lam are conducting a project using portable sensors to measure the impact of green spaces on the city's temperature. Read the CBC article here.
Posted August 17, 2022
Where do McGill Geography PhD alumni work?
PhD graduates from McGill's Department of Geography go on to pursue a variety of roles across employment sectors. This recent report from the Faculty of Science provides an overview.
Posted June 8, 2022
Prof. Lehner's work in the latest issue of Eos
Prof. Bernhard Lehner’s latest endeavors in mapping global rivers and catchments have just been selected as one of three feature articles in the current issue of Eos.
Posted May 27, 2022
Geography doctoral student wins Jack Layton Essay Prize for a Better Canada
Congratulations to Geography doctoral student Chris Erl, who won first place in the the Max Bell School’s inaugural Jack Layton Essay Prize for a Better Canada competition for his paper on housing and homelessness in Canada.
Posted May 5, 2022
Pulse: The McGill Urban Studies Journal - Inaugural Issue
The new McGill Urban Studies Journal, "Pulse," just released their first issue. Congratulations to everyone involved. Give it a read.
Posted April 11, 2022
Global environmental risks from treated wastewater
In a recently published paper, PhD student Heloisa Ehalt Macedo, and colleagues team identified 1.2 million km of rivers that receive treated wastewater discharge from treatment plants. Read more here.
Posted March 30, 2022
Prof. Pollard and colleagues improve ground ice distribution prediction in new paper
In a new paper, recently published in Natural Communications, Professor Wayne Pollard and colleagues present improved predictions of the vertical distribution of ground ice in Arctic-Antarctic permafrost sediments.
Posted February 17, 2022
Mr. Roger Warren receives honorary degree from McGill University
During Fall convocation, McGill will confer honorary degrees to three highly talented and engaged individuals including Roger Warren. Mr. Warren established the Rathlyn Foundation as a small, private family foundation, from which students in the McGill Geography department have received generous support.
Posted November 24, 2021
Prof. MacDonald one of McGill's most cited researchers
Data scientists at the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate recently released their list of the 6,600 most cited researchers in their respective fields. A total of 14 McGill researchers made the list including Geography Professor Graham MacDonald. Congratulations Graham.
Posted November 17, 2021
Black Lives Matter
The Department of Geography, McGill University firmly denounces all racism and racial violence and stands in solidarity with members of the Black community. We are deeply concerned with the violence and recent events in Canada and the US. We recognize that these events are not isolated and in Canada are situated in our country’s long history of violence against Visible Minorities and Indigenous Communities. Read our full statement here.
Posted June 4, 2020