Degree Streams in Geography

The Department of Geography offers a 4-Year B.A. or B.Sc. degree, 4-year B.A. or B.Sc. Honours degree, 4-Year B.A. or B.Sc. Concentrations in Environmental Studies Geomatics, as well as a 3-Year B.A. or B.Sc., and a minor. Students pursuing either any 4-Year or 3-Year degree are required to complete a common set of core degree requirements in addition to a prescribed set of Arts or Science- based Geography courses in order to obtain either the B.A. or B.Sc. degree. Since several upper level courses are cycled on a biennial basis, students who are considering a major or minor in Geography are advised to plan their program in consultation with members of the Department. Please note the general requirements of the University in Section 7 of the BU Course Calendar.

Minor In Geography

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3-Year Major In Geography (B.A. or B.Sc.)

The 3-Year major in Geography is primarily intended for students either currently enrolled in an education degree program at Brandon University or those that intend to complete an after degree program in Education. Students not pursuing an Education degree are strongly encouraged to consider the 4-Year B.A. or B.Sc. degrees in Geography or the Honours Degree in Geography if they plan to pursue a career related to the discipline or move on to post graduate studies. Students wishing to pursue the 3-Year B.A. or B.Sc. Major in Geography MUST complete a minimum of 30 credit hours in Geography as follows:

• 24 credit hours of Core Degree Requirements, as outlined below:
• 6 credit hours of 4-Year B.A. OR B.Sc. Degree Requirements, as outlined below.

PLUS: A minor consisting of 15 or 18 credit hours as outlined elsewhere in the Calendar. Note: If the selected Minor requires only 15 credit hours, then an additional 3 credit hours of electives is required.

PLUS: An additional 24 credit hours of electives which also satisfies the Liberal Education requirements outlined in Section 7.3.1.

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4-Year Major In Geography (B.A. or B.Sc.)

Students wishing to pursue the 4-Year B.A. or B.Sc. Major in Geography MUST complete a minimum of 48 credit hours in Geography as follows:

• 24 credit hours of Core Degree Requirements, as outlined below.
• 15 credit hours of a 4-Year B.A. OR B.Sc. Degree requirements, as outlined below.
• A minimum of 9 additional credit hours of Geography electives selected from any courses listed in the Course Descriptions section of this calendar. Note: This requirement does not apply to students who elect to pursue either the Environmental Studies or Geomatics Concentration.

PLUS: A minor consisting of 15 or 18 credit hours as outlined elsewhere in the Calendar. Note: If the selected Minor requires only 15 credit hours, then an additional 3 credit hours of electives is required.

PLUS: An additional 54 credit hours of electives which also satisfies the Liberal Education requirements outlined in Section 7.3.1.

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4-Year Honours Major In Geography

Students who wish to enter the Honours Program in Geography must meet the general Honours Degree requirements for the Faculty of Science (see section 7.5 of this calendar). In addition, students must declare their intention to pursue this degree to the Department Chair as early as possible after completion of 30 credit hours of university courses including at least 12 credit hours of geography courses. Honours students are required to meet with the Geography Department Honours Program Co-ordinator prior to acceptance into the Honours Program to review entry requirements and to plan the specific program of study. Honours students are required to maintain an overall grade point average of 3.0 in all Geography courses throughout the program. Each honours student will be evaluated in May as to maintenance of eligibility and overall performance. A student failing to maintain eligibility will be removed from the Honours program until such time as the student meets the 3.0 g.p.a. required for the program.

Students wishing to pursue the 4-Year Honours B.A. or B.Sc. in Geography MUST complete a minimum of 54 credit hours in Geography consisting of either the 4 yr. major B.A. or B.Sc. degree requirements OR one of the Concentrations in Geography; as outlined below.

PLUS: 38:449 Honours Thesis in Geography

Concentrations in Geography

The Department of Geography offers concentrations in Environmental Studies and Geomatics. The concentrations meet all 4-year Geography degree requirements but prescribe a specific suite of courses in lieu of the 9 credit hours of general geography electives. Students who pursue one of the concentrations in geography may also receive an Honours Degree by completing the Undergraduate Thesis in Geography.

• 4-Year Major In Geography – Environmental Studies Concentration
• 4-Year Major In Geography – Geomatics Concentration

ACC – BU Geography Transfer Agreements

The Department of Geography has arranged two advanced placement block transfer agreements with Assiniboine Community College. Students who have graduated from ACC with the Environmental Technologies Diploma in Land and Water Management are eligible for a block transfer of 60 credit hours into the Department of Geography Environmental Studies Concentration. Students who have graduated from ACC with Environmental Technologies Diploma in GIS are eligible for a block transfer of 60 credit hours into the Department of Geography Geomatics Concentration. ACC transfer students who are pursing either concentration in geography may also receive an Honours Degree by completing the Undergraduate Thesis.

• 4-Year B.Sc. Major In Geography, ACC Transfer – Environmental Technologies Diploma; Land & Water Management
• 4-Year B.A. OR B.Sc. Major In Geography, ACC Transfer – Environmental Technologies Diploma: GIS

Notes

1. Only ACC Environmental Technologies diploma students who have successfully complete all courses for that program and with a minimum 3.0 g.p.a. are eligible for transfer into a Concentration in Geography.
2. No additional courses at the college level will be counted towards the degree. See notes 4 & 5.
3. Where a required BU course is not offered within a 2-year period from the initial date of registration in the Geography Concentration, a student may substitute another course for the required course with written permission from the Program Co-ordinator or the Dean.
4. The following BU courses cannot be counted toward the Geography Concentration for transferring ACC students: 38:286, 38:291, 38:292, 38/42:353, 38:355, 38:366 and 38:376.
5. For purposes of prerequisites for Brandon University courses, where the transferring student has completed an ACC course as part of their diploma, and that course is recognized as being equivalent to the required course at Brandon University in the course transfer database, that prerequisite will be considered to have been completed.
6. If an ACC student chooses to opt out of the concentration at any time following admission to BU, the block transfer credit will be withdrawn and the student must transfer their ACC courses on an individual basis.
7. Students entering into this transfer program must consult with the Co-ordinator of the respective Geography Concentration to determine a timetable of course selections.