BA/BS in Geography and Environmental Management is a bachelor's degree in Geography programme taught at University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Canada. Tuition for international students is CAD 23,598 per semester (CAD 3,125 per semester for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Bachelor's Degree
Field:Geography
Local tuition: CAD 3,125 / semester
International tuition: CAD 23,598 / semester
Last checked September 2026 · Source: uwaterloo.ca ·
Program details
Overview
The Geography and Environmental Management program at the University of Waterloo leads to a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and examines how human activity shapes the physical environment, addressing challenges such as climate change, water scarcity, and natural resource management. First-year coursework combines geography and environmental studies, with upper years weighted toward geography courses alongside electives; sample topics include geographic information systems, natural hazards, wetland science, and glaciology. The degree is available with co-op, alternating four-month study and work terms from second year, with several work placements possible before graduation, or as a regular study program. Students can pursue specializations in areas such as Aviation, Climate Change, Earth Systems Science, Economy and Development, Environment, Society and Well-being, Geographic Information Systems, or Remote Sensing, and may add a minor from a wide selection across the university. The curriculum includes field studies conducted both across Canada and internationally. The program is based in the Faculty of Environment on Waterloo's main campus. It suits students interested in the interaction between people and the environment who want fieldwork experience alongside technical skills such as GIS and remote sensing. Graduates pursue roles as conservation technicians, planners, GIS technicians, environmental scientists, and policy analysts across government, consulting, and conservation organizations.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Ontario applicants apply directly to Geography and Environmental Management through OUAC, presenting six Grade 12 U/M courses including any Grade 12 U English (minimum 70%). Admission is competitive, with recent admission averages in the high 70s. Applicants studying outside Ontario follow the University's general admission requirements for Geography and Environmental Management, presenting an equivalent senior secondary qualification with the same prerequisite subjects. Applicants whose four most recent years of full-time education were not completed in Canada or at English-language schools must submit an accepted English test: IELTS 6.5 overall (6.5 writing and speaking, 6.0 reading and listening), TOEFL iBT 90 overall with 25 in writing and speaking for tests completed before 21 January 2026 (4.5 overall with 5 in writing and speaking for tests on or after that date), PTE Academic 63 (65 writing and speaking), Duolingo 120 (125 Literacy and Production), or Cambridge C1/C2 180 (176 per skill).
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:Waterloo admits first-year students for September entry only, through the OUAC, with identical deadlines for domestic and international applicants. For Fall 2027, most programmes must be applied to by 1 February 2027 with documents due 15 February 2027; Engineering programmes (excluding Architecture) close earlier, on 15 January 2027, with documents due 1 February 2027, and require an online interview. Waterloo states a deadline may be extended if a programme is not yet full, but publishes no separate rolling-admission date and no explicit application-opening date. Pharmacy is a named exception with its own earlier deadline; Social Work and the Conditional Admission to Pharmacy stream are directed to programme-specific timelines outside this page. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
