Master of Arts Program

The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies offers programs of study and research in geography leading to the degree of Master of Arts. Research on a wide variety of topics is possible. Whatever a student’s primary field of interest, the Carleton M.A. program promotes an integrative conception of Geography and encourages the crossing of inter- and intra-disciplinary boundaries. It also seeks to foster openness to a variety of philosophical and methodological approaches to geographical inquiry.

Research themes

The following summarizes thematic areas in which M.A. research has been, and is currently being conducted. Additional possibilities exist depending on student interests and supervisory capacity.  For students interested in a Master of Arts (MA), our faculty research interests and areas of expertise span a wide range of major issues and themes:

• Environmental sustainability: human security and environmental change; political ecology; Indigenous knowledge and approaches to resource use and conservation; local food systems and sustainable communities; changing natural resource economies; environmental politics.
• Cities and urban transformations: global urbanisms; housing markets; shantytowns and informal settlements; migration and immigration; governance and citizenship issues.

• Social and political change: social justice; post-traumatic bodies, places and things; emotion, affect, identity and change; empire and anti-colonialism; critical labour, legal and northern geographies.
• Innovative research methodologies: arts-based and narrative-based research; cross-cultural, collaborative research and education; community-university partnerships; participatory mapping.

Questions?

If you’re interested in finding out more about our Master of Arts programs, please get in touch with our graduate program administrator or our graduate program coordinator.

Who to Contact

Erin Johnston

• Graduate Administrator

Jennifer Ridgley

• Graduate Supervisor and Associate Professor