In 1976, he turned away from what had been a strong early passion for physics and engineering, and attend the Integrated Studies Program at the University of Waterloo.

The Integrated Studies Program was student-driven and required self-motivation to complete an open curriculum in a subjects of the student's choosing.

He returned to the University of Waterloo to a new interdisciplinary doctoral program, in which he combined studies in the Department of Philosophy and the School of Urban and Regional Planning.

Working with co-supervisors, Lawrence Haworth, a social and moral philosopher, and Robert Dorney, an ecologist and environmental planner, Higgs completed his dissertation, "Planning, Technology and Community Autonomy," in 1988.

[citation needed] In addition to work as a professor, he is the Principal Instigator for the Mountain Legacy Project, a field based group studying long term landscape change in the Canadian mountains using repeat photography techniques.