Program Description
The Master of Arts (M.A.) in Geography (Thesis) offered by the Department of Geography in the Faculty of Science is a research-intensive program that emphasizes profound and innovative learning opportunities. The program's objective is to equip students with skills in independent thinking, data collection, and academic writing to either continue their studies or pursue professional opportunities.
The program may also be taken as one of the following options:
Development Studies option: students take an interdisciplinary seminar and a variety of graduate-level courses on international development issues.
Environment option: offered in collaboration with the Bieler School of Environment, the program considers how various dimensions (scientific, social, legal, ethical) interact to define environment and sustainability issues.
Gender and Women's Studies option: emphasizes coursework and research focusing on gender and women's studies, and issues in feminist research and methods.
Neotropical Environment option: is aimed at students who wish to focus their graduate research on environmental issues relevant to the Neotropics and Latin American countries. Students will complete their research in Latin America and their core and complementary courses will be taught in Panama.
Unique Program Features
- Students benefit from the opportunity to conduct field-based studies in both the natural (i.e., biophysical) and the social sciences. Being both a natural and a social science, geography provides a unique opportunity to obtain a broad interdisciplinary exposure analytical techniques to investigate the environmental and situational problems of contemporary society;
- The program offers Fellowships and awards that help support graduate students' field-work/research;
- The Department's thematic areas of study include: Political, Urban, Economic, and Health Geography; Environment and Development; Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing; Land Surface Processes, Ecosystem Biogeochemistry, and Ecohydrology; Earth System Science and Global Change; Sustainability Science and Environmental Management;
- Faculty members and students conduct research in fields such as climate change impacts, periglacial geomorphology, and forest resource history in regions ranging from the Arctic to Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
University-Level Admission Requirements
- An eligible Bachelor's degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA out of a possible 4.0 GPA
- English-language proficiency
Each program has specific admission requirements including required application documents. Please visit the program website for more details.
Visit our Educational credentials and grade equivalencies and English language proficiency webpages for additional information.
Program Website
MA in Geography website
Department Contact
Graduate Program grad.geog [at] mcgill.ca (subject: MA%20in%20Geography) (email)
Available Intakes
Fall
Application Deadlines
| Intake | Applications Open | Application Deadline - International | Application Deadline - Domestic (Canadian, Permanent Resident of Canada) |
|---|---|---|---|
| FALL | September 15 | January 15 | January 15 |
| WINTER | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| SUMMER | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Note: Application deadlines are subject to change without notice. Please check the application portal for the most up-to-date information.