Hydrogeology is an interdisciplinary field of study that integrates geological knowledge with the principles of subsurface fluid flow, contaminant migration, geochemistry, mathematics and physics in order to understand and protect groundwater resources. Typical problems hydrogeologists are trained to tackle include the search for groundwater supplies, assessment and remediation of soil and groundwater contamination due to industrial, agricultural and mining practices, and conducting watershed studies to assess environmental impacts due to urban and rural activities. This quantitative program prepares students for challenging and exciting careers in both the public and private sectors, particularly in the environmental consulting industry where the demand for well-trained hydrogeologists is high.
Year 1A/B (Fall/Winter)
CHEM 120/120L Physical and Chemical Properties of Matter/Laboratory
CHEM 123/123L Chemical Reactions, Equilibria and Kinetics/Laboratory
EARTH 121/121L Introductory Earth Sciences/Laboratory
EARTH 122/122L Introductory Environmental Sciences/Laboratory
EARTH 123/123L Introductory Hydrology/Field Methods in Hydrogeology
MATH 127/128 Calculus 1/2
PHYS 121/121L Mechanics and Waves 1/Laboratory
PHYS 122/122L Mechanics and Waves 2/Laboratory
One elective (0.5 units)
Year 2A (Fall)
EARTH 231 Mineralogy
EARTH 235 Stratigraphic Approaches to Understanding Earth's History
EARTH 260 Applied Geophysics 1
MATH 106 Linear Algebra
One elective (0.5 units)
Year 2B (Spring)
EARTH 221 Geochemistry 1
EARTH 232 Petrography
MATH 218 Differential Equations for Engineers
Arts Core (0.5 units)
One elective (0.5 units)
Year 3A (Winter)
EARTH 238 Introductory Structural Geology
EARTH 333 Introductory Sedimentology
EARTH 281 Geological Impacts on Human Health or
EARTH 358 Earth System Science
EARTH 390 Methods in Geological Mapping
CIVE 353 Geotechnical Engineering 1
Year 3B (Fall)
EARTH 342 Applied Geomorphology
EARTH 458/458L Physical Hydrogeology/Field Methods in Hydrogeology
EARTH 421 Geochemistry 2
GEOG 281 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
STAT 202 Introductory Statistics for Scientists
Year 4A/B (Fall/Winter)
EARTH 359 Flow Through Porous Media
EARTH 436A/B Honours Thesis
EARTH 440 Quaternary Geology
EARTH 456 Groundwater Modelling
EARTH 459 Chemical Hydrogeology
Two 300- or 400-level EARTH electives (1.0 units)
Two electives (1.0 units)
Recommended Electives
A computer programming course such as CS 115 Introduction to Computer Science 1
ENVS 201 Introduction to Environmental Planning Law
BIOL 140 Fundamentals of Microbiology
BIOL 447 Environmental Microbiology
GEOG 387 Spatial Databases
GEOG 271 Earth from Space Using Remote Sensing