2026-27 Dates
Information Session: April 7, 2026, 3:00 PM
Microsoft Teams
Meeting ID: 238 049 690 046 38
Passcode: nz7rR7yL
Field Course: 2026/27
Application Deadline: May 8, 2026
Application
Please complete the GGR493Y Fall/Winter 2026-2027 Application.
About the Course
This course is designed to provide exposure to possible career trajectories, and professional networks in the various subfields of Geography & Planning, such as urban planning, environmental studies/science, community activism, social service provision, GIS and spatial analysis, urban design, etc. Experience has shown that students who take this course often develop very useful and enduring ideas and connections relating to a future occupational and/or educational options. Indeed, several former students of the course who are now working various professional capacities come back to offer workshops/presentations to current students, and these have been very well received.
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 (some of whom are previous students) facilitate problem-solving workshops and provide professional skills-based training. These workshops also act as excellent opportunities for professional networking.
In the past 2-3 years, student groups have been placed with a range of 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 Planning Department, ACORN Toronto, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations, the Canadian Urban Institute, Waterfront Toronto, 8 80 Cities, Daniels Corp., Invest Ontario and Youth Employment Services (to name a few). Past placements have seen teams of students involved in a variety of tasks relating to a host organization’s projects including (but not limited to), community consultation exercises, event organization, design and implementation of survey instruments, aiding in the researching and writing of reports to support decision-making, development of GIS products to aid in decision-making, website creation/editing, etc.. Very often, as is the case in most professions, students partake in multiple activities with their host organization.
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.