Research Areas and Resources at the UBC Department of Geography

The UBC Department of Geography organizes its research around a set of named research themes and research groups, and supports that work with digital resources, publications, a research centre, and an undergraduate journal. The department describes its overall approach as "a critical and ethical approach to the natural environment and society's relationship with it." If you are looking for a supervisor, a research group to join, or published output from the department, the site's Research section is the starting point; the specific themes and groups are listed there rather than summarized on the homepage.

Research themes and groups

The department maintains two parallel structures on its Research page:

• Research Themes — broad areas of inquiry that cut across the department.
• Research Groups — smaller, often faculty-led clusters organized around a shared topic or method.

Both are listed as top-level navigation items under Research, alongside Digital Resources and Publications. The site does not enumerate the individual themes or groups in the homepage text, so the Research landing page is where you confirm which areas are currently active.

Digital resources and publications

Two further items sit under Research:

• Digital Resources — the department's collection of digital tools, datasets, or platforms connected to its research.
• Publications — output from department researchers.

These are the most direct routes to citable work and to any data or tools the department makes available.

Centre for Climate Justice

The Centre for Climate Justice appears as a distinct unit within the department. It is listed separately from the research themes and groups, which means it functions as a named centre rather than a general theme — useful if your interest is specifically in climate justice work rather than geography research broadly.

Trail 6 Undergraduate Journal

Trail 6 is the department's undergraduate journal. It is listed alongside the Centre for Climate Justice in the site navigation, and it is the venue for undergraduate-authored geography work in the department. If you are an undergraduate looking to publish, this is the department's own outlet.

How to use these entry points

A note on the department's framing

The department states that its research and teaching "strive for a critical and ethical approach to the natural environment and society's relationship with it." This framing is worth reading as a signal about the kind of work the department prioritizes: environment–society relations approached critically, rather than purely technical or descriptive geography. If your interests align with that orientation, the research themes and groups are where you check whether a specific topic is represented.

For current details on any theme, group, or resource — including who leads it and what is active this year — consult the Research section of geog.ubc.ca directly, since the homepage only surfaces featured news and program links.