18 graduate courses in the Winter 2026 Graduate Calendar.
ERS 604Advanced Topics in Global Environmental Governance0.50 units
This course examines the ways in which environmental challenges are being addressed by means of 'global governance' - that is, international organizations and institutions intended to deal with these environmental challenges. Concepts are investigated both to help analyze the relative strengths and weaknesses of existing structures and to suggest ways in which alternative forms of global governance might advance sustainability. Specific organizations and other actors presently active in global environmental governance are given particular attention, as is the management of selected global environmental challenges.
ERS 606Governing Global Food and Agriculture Systems0.50 units
This course examines the international rules and organizations that have emerged to govern the increasingly global system of food and agriculture. Specific themes to be covered include governance issues related to the rise of global food corporations, agricultural trade liberalization and the WTO, food aid distribution, international agricultural assistance, the global agro-chemical industry, and agricultural biotechnology.
Community Economic Development is a field of theory, process and practice that is concerned with understanding the forces shaping communities and finding sustainable local solutions to economic needs. This seminar course will examine topics such as capacity-building, asset-based strategies, social capital, poverty-alleviation, social enterprises and co-operatives, and comprehensive community initiatives, using international and local examples and case studies.
Renewable and non-renewable energy supply systems are compared using economic and environmental measures. Consumption trends, conservation options and choices are considered at the household, community and global scales. Projects are used to demonstrate the economic and environmental challenges in the design of sustainable energy systems. *eligible for MES.
ERS 620Skills Identification and Career Development0.50 units
This course leads students through resources and activities that provide them with the tools to be competitive in an employment context, and prepare them for a successful career in the environment, resource and sustainability science-policy context. Course material will also help prepare students for the research internship component of their program and provide students with an opportunity to support professional work-integrated-learning opportunities. Selected activities include: how to create personalized application packages; demonstrate that developing professional skills is of equal importance to developing technical ones; provide strategies to help students make the most of workplace opportunities and challenges; develop their ability to critically self-reflect and plan for professional growth.
ERS 622Biosphere Reserves as Social-Ecological Systems0.50 units
The Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve is one of 16 UNESCO biosphere reserves in Canada, and is used as a setting to learn about sustainable community development, adaptive resource management, and social and ecological resilience. The main objective is to link practical experience "on the ground" with some of the theoretical concepts related to sustainability and complex social ecological systems. [Note: Field trip fee normally $400+HST; will not exceed $450+HST]
This course is designed to investigate the range of qualitative research methods (research tools) employed by human geographers and explore the methodological justifications (philosophical or theoretical underpinnings) for using this type of research approach. Qualitative methods attempt to interpret meaning as opposed to purely measuring phenomena. The focus of qualitative research is not descriptive measurement and prediction of phenomena, as offered by statistical description/analysis, but is more attuned to examining subjective understandings and the interpretation of meaning (hermeneutics). This course will examine and evaluate the range of research tools comprising qualitative methods including: various interviewing methods, participant observation, ethnography, case study methods and dicourse analysis. It will also engage with the theoretical debates and philosophical approaches that underpin qualitative research.
Government decisions to conserve rather than develop natural resources are nationally and internationally significant, but are often controversial. This course examines public policy objectives, issues and diverse perspectives related to the conservation of marine and terrestrial environments through the establishment and ongoing management of parks and protected areas. Lectures, seminar discussions and assignments engage students in the exploration of key public policy conservation issues.
ERS 669Applied Statistics in Ecology and Environment0.50 units
This course covers study design, and data management, visualization, and statistical analysis. The primary focus will be the development and understanding of generalized linear models as they are foundational to most analyses in Environment and Ecology. Students will learn to fit models to data and assess model fit. Students will also be introduced to the use of the statistical software R and provided the opportunity to use that software to manage and analyze their own data. Special topics will be developed based on the needs and interests of the students and may include hierarchical modelling, multivariate statistics, survey analysis, non-linear modelling, or other topics. Students are expected to bring their own computer. Students may be provided the opportunity to work with their thesis data if those data have been collected and are congruent with course learning outcomes and objectives.
ERS 674Special Topics in Environment and Resource Studies0.50 units
These courses allow for additions to the program on a short-term basis, and for development of future permanent courses. (Note: Field trip fee may apply)
This course revolves around the definition, concepts, evolution, and approaches of 'commons' as an interdisciplinary field of study. 'Governing the Commons' focuses directly on the theory, practice and policy pertaining to the commons and highlights the significance of collective action across multiple scales in responding to the complex sustainability and governance challenges facing our environment and society.
This course is intended to help students establish a reasonable working base from which to explore different fields of interest related to the pursuit of sustainability in a world of complex socio-ecological systems. The course focuses on the nature and implications of the intertwined theories, concepts and principles that are foundational to studies and applications in the transdisciplinary MES program.
The course examines how societies can respond in practical ways to complexity, change and uncertainty, Social and ecological theory is blended with examples of applications and strategies (local/global) to support management and governance in social-ecological systems. Emphasis is placed on how individuals and societies can transcend disciplinary thinking to build our capacity to foster sustainability.
This course examines the role of soil in the environment and its importance as a natural resource in agricultural and forest productivity and the effects on soil due to mismanagement.
ERS 701Sustainability in Complex Socio-Ecological Systems0.50 units
Consideration of transdisciplinary theoretical and methodological frameworks for analyzing issues that arise from the complex interactions among human decision making, communities and biophysical systems at various scales. The frameworks chosen are applicable to broad environment and resource issues as well as to a wide range of more specific topics.
ERS 702Critical Analysis and Advance Research in Environmental Studies0.50 units
Examination of the process leading from design of critical transdisciplinary research to publication of findings and other outreach to the broader community. The course will include examination of doctoral research design in ERS, the nature of potential findings and means of dissemination of findings, including the diverse academic literature in environmental studies.
Prerequisites
Complete all of the following
Must have completed the following:
ERS701 - Sustainability in Complex Socio-Ecological Systems (0.50)