Geography & Aviation

You can combine your two interests in Waterloo's one-of-a-kind Geography and Aviation program.

• Graduate with a Bachelor of Environmental Studies degree (BES) and a Commercial Pilot license.
• Explore aviation from the perspective of a geographer and pilot.
• Gain up to 250 hours of flight experience.

In your Geography and Aviation classes, you'll learn to:

• interpret weather patterns,
• identify land formations,
• read multi-layer maps,and
• use tools such as geographic information systems and remote sensing.

At the Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre, you'll learn to fly and attain your:

• Radiotelephone Operator's Restricted Certificate (Aeronautical)
• Written and Flight Tests for Private Pilot Licence (VFR)
• Night Rating
• Commercial Written and Commercial Flight Tests
• Instrument Written and Multi-engine Rating
• Multi-instrument Rating (IFR)

Find out more about Geography and Aviation by visiting the Aviation microsite.

Connections take on a new meaning

Making a connection in Geography and Aviation doesn't mean dashing to the gate for a connecting flight, it's discovering a world of possibilities in a high-flying career path. Jomo, pictured above, is a student who discovered just what's available to him through the program. Now he's thinking about tracking seasonal trends for the tourism industry; trying out aerial photography; or working with remote sensing, GIS or GPS technologies.

Experience the program through the eyes of our students

We met up with a group of Geography and Aviation students at the Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre to get a fist hand look at what Geography and Aviation is really like. Check out the video clips of a tour of the facilities, interviews with the students and of course, footage from a flight.

Possible career paths

• Be the pilot of a commercial aircraft for Air Canada.
• Work inside an Air Traffic Control centre to aid airborne planes to their destinations.
• Conduct aerospace research towards new flight technologies at NASA.

Learn more about how this new program can prepare you for a career in aviation.