Last updated: March 10, 2022 @ 11:09AM
Geography
Master of Arts in Geography
Dean
Ingrid Makus
Faculty of Social Sciences
Associate Dean
Dawn Zinga
Faculty of Social Sciences
Graduate Faculty
Core Faculty
Professors
David Butz (Geography and Tourism Studies), David A. Fennell (Geography and Tourism Studies), Christopher Fullerton (Geography and Tourism Studies), Phillip Gordon Mackintosh (Geography and Tourism Studies), Michael Pisaric (Geography and Tourism Studies), Michael Ripmeester (Geography and Tourism Studies), Dragos Simandan (Geography and Tourism Studies), David J. Telfer (Geography and Tourism Studies)
Associate Professors
Julia Baird (Geography and Tourism Studies/Environmental Sustainability Research Centre), Jeff Boggs (Geography and Tourism Studies), David Brown (Geography and Tourism Studies), Danuta de Grobois (Geography and Tourism Studies), Atsuko Hashimoto (Geography and Tourism Studies), Kevin Turner (Geography and Tourism Studies), Ebru Ustundag (Geography and Tourism Studies)
Professors Emeriti
Hugh Gayler (Geography and Tourism Studies), Catherine Jean Nash (Geography and Tourism Studies), Anthony B. Shaw (Geography and Tourism Studies),
Graduate Program Director
Jeff Boggs
jboggs@brocku.ca
Administrative Coordinator
Teresa Shanley
905-688-5550, extension 3484
MC C322
mageography@brocku.ca
brocku.ca/social-sciences/geography/
Program Description
The MA Program in Geography is designed to train students broadly in geographical approaches to understanding social and human-environment relations, with emphasis on how contemporary processes affect spatial relations across the range of scales from the local to the global. Course work and faculty expertise will expose students to a range of approaches to geographical analysis, including planning perspectives, a variety of critical and applied approaches in human geography, and geospatial data analysis. Students will be encouraged to develop a sophisticated and rigorous understanding of geographical processes through an examination of various current theoretical perspectives and research methodologies and through exposure to diverse empirical material. The training offered by the program will prepare students who wish to pursue careers in areas where the ability to examine and analyze the spatiality of social and human/environment relations is an asset, or continue to the PhD level in Geography, Planning or a related discipline.
Admission Requirements
Successful completion of four year Bachelor's degree or equivalent, in Geography or a closely-related discipline, with a minimum average of 75% B.
The Graduate Admissions Committee will review all applications and recommend admission for a limited number of suitable candidates.
Degree Requirements
Students will consult with the Director or designated faculty liaison person when planning their programs of study. Graduate students follow either Scheme A or Scheme B.
Scheme A: Course Work and Thesis
Candidates in this scheme must successfully complete five half-credit courses, plus a thesis that demonstrates the capacity for sustained independent work and original research or thought. The thesis topic will be developed in consultation with the Supervisory Committee. A formal thesis proposal must be approved before research commences on the thesis. Students are required to complete the following half-credit courses: GEOG 5P01, one of GEOG 5P02 or GEOG 5P03, and three half-credit elective courses.
Scheme A is designed to normally be completed in five terms.
Those lacking sufficient background preparation may be required to complete additional credits.
In normal circumstances full-time students will satisfy the core course requirements by the end of the second term, and the elective course requirements will be met by the end of the fourth term. Students will prepare their thesis proposal in the first term, and commence work on the thesis after the proposal has been approved, normally during the second term.
Elective courses may be selected from: electives offered by the GEOG program, graduate courses in other programs, or a maximum of one half-credit GEOG directed studies course.
Scheme B: Course Work and Major Research Paper
Candidates in this scheme must successfully complete seven half-credit courses plus a major research paper that demonstrates capacity for sustained independent work. The research topic will be developed in consultation with the Supervisor. A formal proposal must be approved before research commences on the major research paper. Students are required to complete the following half-credit courses: GEOG 5P01, one of GEOG 5P02 or GEOG 5P03, and five half-credit elective courses.
Scheme B is designed to normally be completed in four terms.
Those lacking sufficient background preparation may be required to complete additional credits.
In normal circumstances full-time students will satisfy the core course requirements by the end of the second term, and the elective course requirements will be met by the end of the fourth term. Students will prepare their major research paper proposal in the second term, and commence work on the major research paper after the proposal has been approved, normally during the third term.
Elective courses may be selected from: electives offered by the GEOG program, graduate courses in other programs, or a maximum of one half-credit GEOG directed studies course.
Part-Time Study
Individuals interested in part-time study should consult with the Graduate Program Director. Part-time students must take GEOG 5P01, GEOG 5P02 or 5P03 in the first two terms, and successfully complete at least one half-credit course per year thereafter.
Facilities
The department has a graduate student office equipped with computers and internet access, physical geography and GIS labs, and remote sensing equipment. The department is adjacent to the University Map Library, which contains the largest and most comprehensive map and air photo collection in the Niagara Region, as well as up-to-date electronic, digital data and on-line resources. Brock University's location in Niagara, close to wineries and tourist attractions, to Niagara Falls, to the Niagara Escarpment, to the US border, and to many sites of historical interest, as well as its proximity to major cities such as Toronto and Buffalo, provide numerous opportunities for geographical field research and analysis.
Course Descriptions
Note that not all courses are offered in every session. Refer to the applicable timetable for details.
Students must ensure that prerequisites are met. Students may be deregistered, at the request of the instructor, from any course for which prerequisites and/or restrictions have not been met.
GEOG 5F90
MA Thesis
An in-depth research project involving the preparation and defense of a thesis that demonstrates capacity for sustained independent work and original geographical research or thought.
GEOG 5F91
Major Research Paper
An independent research project involving the preparation of a major research paper that demonstrates capacity for independent work and rigorous geographical analysis.
GEOG 5P01
Theoretical Approaches to the Critical Examination of Geographical Issues
Evaluation of contemporary geographical theory through a brief analysis of philosophies of the mind, and of scientific knowledge, and extended investigation of philosophies of geography, and of geography's core concepts.
GEOG 5P02
Methodologies for the Critical Examination of Geographical Issues
Major research methods used in geography, with a focus on analyzing the epistemological, theoretical and political implications of using these methods for the creation of geographical knowledge.
GEOG 5P03
Quantitative Analysis in Geography
An examination and application of essential steps in quantitative analysis: data collection and quality assurance, selection and application of appropriate techniques for different types of geographical data, and the meaningful interpretation and communication of results.
GEOG 5P20
Economy, Space and Society
Exploration of one or more strands of contemporary economic geography such as cultural industries, evolutionary economic geography, and theories of regional development.
GEOG 5P25
Advanced Topics in Geomatics
Geospatial data analyses, statistical analyses, data integration and management, and the emergence of web-based geomatics technologies. The use of a geomatics approach to investigate a geographical research topic.
GEOG 5P30
Sustainability and the Environment
Approaches to evaluating the quality of natural and built environments, the role of planning and policy in promoting environmental sustainability and the value and limitations of strategies proposed for managing environmental issues.
GEOG 5P35
Rural Geography, Planning and Development
Investigation of a range of approaches and perspectives in contemporary rural geography, rural land use planning and rural economic development.
GEOG 5P40
Historical Geographies of Culture and Power
Investigation of temporal and spatial manifestations of cultural politics and power relations, emphasizing the contested nature of cultural production at global and local scales.
GEOG 5P50
Critical Geographies of the City
Critical examination of modern urban geographies from various theoretical perspectives, involving empirical case studies from around the world.
GEOG 5P55
Queer Geographies of Gender and Sexuality
Investigation of the spatial organization of gender and sexuality from conceptual perspectives including gay/lesbian studies, women's studies, queer, feminist and trans theorizing.
GEOG 5P60
Vulnerability, Human Communities and the Environment
Concepts of vulnerability, risk, hazard and disaster; the social and spatial production of vulnerability; relationships among vulnerability and environmental change; social, cultural and political responses and formal mitigation efforts.
GEOG 5P65
Political Ecology and the Global South
Critical examination of relationships among political, economic, ecological and social factors in constituting the Global South, with reference to selected case studies.
GEOG 5P70
Geographies of Inequality and Exclusion
How inequality and social exclusion are spatially constituted and manifested as discursive and material practices, and the ways that exclusionary practices are resisted.
GEOG 5V10-5V29
Directed Studies
Specialized study on an individual basis under the direction of a faculty supervisor.
GEOG 5V80-5V89
Selected Topics in Geography
A specialized geographical topic that will vary by instructor.