2024-25 Dates
Information Session: TBA Sign up to receive a link to the information session
Field Course: 2024/25
Application Deadline:
Application
Please complete the GGR493Y Fall/Winter 2024 Application by May 10, 2024.
About the Course
This course is designed to provide exposure to work experience, career trajectories, and professional networks in the various subfields of Geography, such as urban planning, environmental studies/science, community activism, social service provision, GIS, urban design, etc. It provides an opportunity for students to explore career options and develop networks and skills for the workplace.
The course includes a placement component, where groups of 2-4 students are placed with organizations based on their stated preferences to work on well-defined projects for the host organization. The placement involves working one day a week (8 hours a week) through the school year – the location and distribution of those work hours depend on the agreement between the placement supervisors and the students themselves. The course also includes class meetings (Mondays 10am to 1pm, 5-6 meetings per semester) where practitioners from various geography-related fields facilitate problem-solving workshops and provide professional skills-based training. These classes are great opportunities for professional networking as well.
In the past 2-3 years, student groups have been placed with organizations such as: Bousfields Inc., Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the Halton Environmental Network, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, Social Planning Toronto, The Stop/Davenport Community Coalition, the City of Toronto, ACORN Toronto, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations, the Canadian Urban Institute, Waterfront Toronto, 8 80 Cities, and Youth Employment Services. Students have worked on a variety of different projects with these organizations in the past, including community mapping exercises, event organization, report writing, and research. Past guest facilitators include: Kofi Hope and Zahra Ebrahim, co-founders of Monumental Projects, Chris Cummings and John McDonald from Matrix Solutions, and Nadia Galati from Process.
If you have any questions about the course, please reach out to the course instructor, Richard DiFrancesco, richard.difrancesco@utoronto.ca
Note: For the placements, you will be responsible for getting to the workplace, if they are in-person. Placements may or may not be downtown, and some commuting may be required. You will not be paid for this work. However, you will have complete safety insurance coverage for the time you spend at your placement, and will receive academic credit. It is important that you conduct yourself in a professional manner at all times.