Geography

Geography

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis-based program

Program overview

Engage in deep scholarship on the relationships between spaces, people and places. Graduate students admitted into the Geography program join a community of internationally recognized scholars offering one-on-one supervision and small graduate seminars. The program offers a judicious mix of course work and investigation that is tailored to meet the needs of each student's research endeavour. Faculty have extensive experience with physical and human geography, as well as geographic methods. With a campus located in Alberta's open prairies at the foot of the stunning Rocky Mountains, the University of Calgary offers students an incomparable location to pursue advanced study in Geography.

Students are normally admitted to the Fall term. However, off-cycle admissions may also be considered on an individual basis, but will require alternate funding arrangements. Program funding will only be distributed in the competition for Fall admissions. Please contact the program for details

Completing this program

  • Seminars: Students will participate in four semesters of graduate research seminars.
  • Conference: Students will participate in the annual department conference.
  • Thesis: Students will be required to submit and defend an original research thesis.
  • Courses: Topics may include remote sensing, statistical methods, spatial analysis and modelling, geocryology, fluvial geomorphology and others.
  • Candidacy: Students will complete both oral and written candidacy exams.

Outcomes

Cartographer, commercial/residential surveyor, environmental consultant, planning and development surveyor, teacher, planner, demographer, community developer, resource management specialist, municipal advisor, development officer.

A PhD in geography is usually considered a final degree.

Thesis-based program

Students are required to prepare a thesis and successfully defend in an open oral defense.

Courses

Two courses and four graduate research seminars

Learn more about program requirements in the Academic Calendar

Classroom delivery

Time commitment

Four years full-time; six years maximum

Supervisor

A supervisor is required, and must agree to oversee the student's research before the student applies for admission

Fees and funding

See the Graduate Calendar for information on fees and fee regulations, and for information on awards and financial assistance.

Virtual Tour

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Supervisors

Learn about faculty available to supervise this degree.
Please note: additional supervisors may be available. Please visit this page for more information.


  1. Byron Miller

    Byron Miller

    Accepting Inquiries
    urban governance, politics of urban and regional sustainability, neighbourhood change and inequality, social movements, governance of smart cities
  2. Brian Moorman

    Brian Moorman

    Accepting Inquiries
    Physical Geography - permafrost and glacial hydrology, cold regions coastal dynamics
  3. Eliot Tretter

    Eliot Tretter

    Seeking Students
    Critical Approaches to Contemporary Urbanization
  4. John Yackel

    John Yackel

    Accepting Inquiries
    Snow covered sea ice thermodynamic processes

Admission requirements


GPA

A minimum of 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 point system, over the past two years of full-time study (a minimum of 10 full-course equivalents or 60 units) of the undergraduate degree.

Minimum education

A master’s degree, or equivalent from a recognized institution.

Work samples

None

Documents

  • A proposal describing applicant’s intended research area
  • A C.V

Reference letters

Two (one of the references must be from your master's supervisor)

Test scores

None


English language proficiency (ELP)

An applicant whose primary language is not English may fulfill the English language proficiency requirement in one of the following ways:

*Please contact your program of interest if you have any questions about ELP requirements.

Deadlines

For admission on September 1:

  • Canadians and permanent residents - apply by January 5, submission of all supporting documents due at time of application.
    • Online reference submission required by January 15
  • International applicants – apply by January 5, submission of supporting documents due at time of application.
    • Online reference submission required by January 15

If you're not a Canadian or permanent resident, or if you have international credentials, make sure to learn about international requirements

Learn more about this program

Department of Geography

Earth Sciences Building, Room 356

2500 University Drive NW

Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4

Contact the Graduate Program Administrator

Visit the departmental website

Faculty of Arts

University of Calgary
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4

Visit the Faculty of Arts website