uwloo

GEOG 318Spatial Analysis

Units
0.50
Faculty
Environment
Subject
Geography and Environmental Management
Cross-listed
PLAN 353

Not in the current Undergraduate Calendar. Shown as it appeared in 2025–26.

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Advanced quantitative analysis in a spatial context. A selection of techniques from sampling, geostatistics, point pattern analysis and cluster detection, spatial classification, and spatial data mining.

Prerequisites

  • Must have completed the following:
    • ENVS278 - Applied Statistics for Environmental Research (0.50)

Antirequisites

  • Not open to students enrolled in programs offered by Faculty of Mathematics

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Reviewed on UW Flow

74% liked it40% easy90% useful

From 19 ratings and 10 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Incredibly interesting stats course, I really enjoyed how it was much more GIS-focused and very applicable. Assignments are reasonably straightforward, but the final exam was a bit harder. Definitely reccomend this course as it is very applicable for courses like GEOG481/487.

    Apr 2024 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The course was confusing and not well prepared, the slides are loaded with content and often you rearrange them on your own after staring at them for hours and trying to extrapolate their meaning. That said, If you manage to pass, you will have learned a decent amount of useful information.

    Jul 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course is a bit of a mix between GIS and classic statistics. The combination was a bit jarring at first, but once you get into the groove of things the content is quite interesting! The slides can be a bit overloaded but I found that you don't actually need to know everything on them, just understand the basic foundation and applications.

    Apr 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This class is extremely focused on the spatial processes of GIS data, which I can tell will come in useful for future courses and co-op. However, the lectures are overloaded with content and are not engaging at all (unless you are super interested). I wish this class used ArcGIS or even Python rather than R. I feel as though I have no idea how the content can "actually" be applied, because the assignments in R are often "run this script and interpret the results." It would have been nice to have tried some examples in the lab with data samples rather than have the labs been for assignment time. Assignments are pretty straightforward if you read through them carefully, and will definitely…

    Apr 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Overall I liked the course. I don't think it was particularly easy as the concepts are new and fairly dense to understand. Using R for the first time was daunting, especially not knowing if we needed to modify code. That being said, I think the content is useful to learn and applicable to GIS analysis.

    Aug 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

11 posts and comments in 9 threads mention GEOG 318, September 2015 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Winter 2024

Courses related to LiDAR or Photogrammetry? 7 points, 5 comments

“Are there courses related to LiDAR, SLAM, or Photogrammetry? Interested in knowing but what I know so far is prob ECE 495, MTE 544, STAT 443 (Kalman Filtering?), have no clue for Photogrammetry”

u/WestonSpec: “Definitely look into some Geography department courses for that! GEOG 271 (Earth from Space Using Remote Sensing) and GEOG 371 (Advanced Remote Sensing Techniques) GEOG 310 (Geodesy and Surveying) …”

u/WestonSpec: “… The GEOG department does offer GEOG 316 (Multivariate Statistics) and GEOG 318 (Spatial Analysis), but I think they're usually limited to ENV students because you have to take ENVS 278 as a prerequisite.”

View on RedditRemove this

Spring 2019

is geog 181 hard // how hard is geomatics 5 points, 8 comments

“i have no background in GIS..... i am in the ENV faculty and trying to figure out if i should transfer to GEMS and what to specialize in... …”

u/RedPanda26: “Honestly, most people don't know any GIS starting out in first year. GEOG 181 has been redesigned to be an intro level cartography class using QGIS where you learn the basics of different map …”

u/RedPanda26: “… Other than that we take env level stats classes, ENVS 178, 278 and geog 316/318 which are pretty straightforward as well. You definitely need some math skills and to pass the classes but overall I don't think you need to be particularly strong at math, just willing to practice. …”

View on RedditRemove this

Fall 2018

Winter 2017

GEOG practice exams? 3 points, 4 comments

“Hey, I've noticed that its very hard to get a hold of previous exams for any course in the faculty of environment. …”

u/hornager: “Just write error 999999 on every question you do not understand... 100% guaranteed. And if they mark it wrong, tell them that is what ArcGIS does every time it does not know what it is doing)(every …”

u/MidnightJE: “GEOG 318 was blessed”

View on RedditRemove this

Fall 2016

Do geomatics peoole get a job? 7 points, 26 comments

“I heard their coop rate is pretty high. What about after graduation? Still good? FYI I'm from GEM.”

u/ghostofstuff: “Serious answer here. I'm entering my first coop this next term and many of my other friends in geomatics got jobs too. …”

u/ghostofstuff: “… After that there are a few courses that take a bit of time and are some what difficult such as GEOG 387/310/316/318/271 but are very useful.”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2016

PHIL 240 3 points, 3 comments

“Why is PHIL 240 (Intro to Formal Logic) not open to students in the math faculty???”

u/Huex3: “Because CS245 and PMATH330 are available, and they don't want math students ass-raping the course. Similarly, a lot of non-math statistics and CS minor courses are like that.”

u/Huex3: “… Similarly, a course like GEOG318 which focuses on spatial statistics also doesn't have an equivalence for lower year (1-3) math students (where STAT436 is probably the math-major substitute). …”

View on RedditRemove this

Fall 2015

Currently in Geomatics, looking for additional classes to compliment my program. 7 points, 6 comments

“I just finished 2B in Geomatics. I absolutely love the program and the jobs have so far been awsome. In order to use my university credits to the fullest, I am looking to take courses that will help …”

u/quatch: “Stats (not math stats where you do proofs, but applied stats). Take geostats if it isn't a requirement and multivariate. Earth science is a good compliment. …”

u/hornager: “I believe GEOG 318 is the Geostats you are talking about. I will be taking that in Winter after co-op. Multivariate stats is something that I will definitely look into. English course will be in the 4th year, as it will be the report writing one.”

u/Odzinic: “I'm pretty you are required to take either GEOG 318 or GEOG 316. At least in the old Geomatics plan that is the case.”

u/hornager: “Indeed. GEOG 318 is a required course for my year. Im excited for the course. Speaking of which, as a Geomatics student, can I ask you for advice. I am debating on GEOG 209(Hydrometeorology) vs GEOG 201(Fluvial Hydromeorology). Can you give some insight on which one is better?”

View on RedditRemove this

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar