The Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) is located in the village of Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia.

COGS traces its history to 1948 when the Nova Scotia Land Survey Institute (NSLSI) was established by Major J.A.H.

Church (retired) as a training institution for survey and map production.

NSLSI became a world leader in geomatics education during the 1970s and 1980s as it evolved into incorporating then-revolutionary technologies such as remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS).

A slightly different arrangement is maintained through the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Acadia where the department accepts a COGS diploma in lieu of two graduate level Geology courses at the university.