Program Description
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Geography offered by the Department of Geography in the Faculty of Science is a research-intensive program that emphasizes interdisciplinary and comprehensive learning opportunities. The program's objective is to equip students with skills in original thinking, literature synthesis, and scientific communication to pursue professional opportunities in academia or industry.
The program may also be taken as one of the following options:
Currently not offered:聽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: gives the opportunity to pursue 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.
Keywords:聽Political Geography,聽Urban Planning,聽Economic Geography,聽Health Geography,聽Gender Studies,聽Environment and Development,聽Geographic Information Systems,聽Remote Sensing,聽Land Surface Processes,聽Biogeochemistry,聽Hydrology,聽Earth System Science,聽Climate Change,聽Sustainability Science,聽Environmental Management,聽Geomorphology,聽Soils,聽Food聽
Unique Program Features
- Students are typically only admitted to the Geography graduate program if they have confirmed funding from their prospective supervisor and/or an external funding agency;
- Being both a natural and a social science, geography provides a unique opportunity to obtain a broad interdisciplinary exposure to analytical methods to investigate the environmental and situational problems of contemporary society;
- Students benefit from the opportunity to conduct field-based studies in both the natural (i.e., biophysical) and the social sciences. Typically, the Department offers funding, fellowships and awards that help support 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 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
- The Department does not accept applicants into the PhD program who do not hold a Master鈥檚 degree. However, upon adequate performance in the first year, the Department may permit students to transfer from the MA or MSc to the PhD program (fast-track option).
- 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
PhD in Geography website
Department Contact
Graduate Program grad.geog [at] mcgill.ca (subject: PhD%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.