Science Academic Plans

Advisors: See Faculty of Science, academic advisors.

Geology is the study of the Earth, its structure and composition, and the physical, chemical, and biological processes that have affected and continue to shape this planet over a variety of time scales. Training in geology leads to numerous challenging career paths such as exploration for natural resources (minerals, oil, and gas), environmental protection, identifying geological hazards, and understanding global climate change. Graduates are in great demand in a variety of employment sectors that include the exploration industry, mining, government, education, and, consulting.

1. 21.75 units that include:
   
   • 8.75 EARTH units: EARTH 121, EARTH 121L, EARTH 122, EARTH 122L, EARTH 123, EARTH 123L, EARTH 221, EARTH 231, EARTH 232, EARTH 235, EARTH 238, EARTH 260, EARTH 331, EARTH 332, EARTH 333, EARTH 342, EARTH 358, EARTH 390, and EARTH 471
   • 1.0 EARTH unit: EARTH 436A and EARTH 436B or EARTH 499 and one EARTH elective at 300-level or higher
   • 3.5 EARTH elective units with the following conditions:
     
     • 3.0 unit must be 300-level or higher
     • 0.5 unit must be 200-level or higher
   • 1.5 CHEM units: CHEM 120, CHEM 120L, CHEM 123, and CHEM 123L
   • 1.5 PHYS units: PHYS 111 and PHYS 111L or PHYS 121 and PHYS 121L; PHYS 112 and PHYS 112L or PHYS 122 and PHYS 122L
   • 1.5 MATH units: MATH 106 or MATH 114; MATH 127 and MATH 128
   • 0.5 STAT unit: STAT 202
   • 1.0 Program elective unit chosen from any 200-level or higher BIOL, CHEM, PHYS, MATH, AMATH course or chosen from BIOL 120, BIOL 130, BIOL 150, CS 115, or CS 116
   • 0.5 Program elective unit chosen from the Faculty of Arts
   • 2.0 elective units chosen from any 0.5 unit lecture course
2. Completion of the English Language Proficiency Requirement

Notes

1. The Faculty of Arts Program elective should be taken in Year Two.
2. The Faculty of Arts Program elective is recommended to be a course in oral or written communication (e.g. SPCOM 223, ENGL 109, ENGL 129R, ENGL 140R, ENGL 209,ENGL 210E, ENGL 210F or PHIL 145).
3. SCI and EARTH courses may not be counted as Program elective options.
4. A maximum of 1.5 SCI units may be counted as elective courses.

Recommended Course Sequence

Year One

Fall

CHEM 120/CHEM 120L Physical and Chemical Properties of Matter/Laboratory
EARTH 121/EARTH 121L Introductory Earth Sciences/Laboratory
EARTH 123 Introductory Hydrology
MATH 127 Calculus 1 for the Sciences
PHYS 111/PHYS 111L Physics 1/Laboratory
 or PHYS 121/PHYS 121L Mechanics/Laboratory

Winter

CHEM 123/CHEM 123L Chemical Reactions, Equilibria and Kinetics/Laboratory
EARTH 122/EARTH 122L Introductory Environmental Sciences/Laboratory
MATH 128 Calculus 2 for the Sciences
PHYS 112/PHYS 112L Physics 2/Laboratory
 or PHYS 122/PHYS 122L Waves, Electricity and Magnetism/Laboratory

Year Two

Fall

EARTH 123L Field Methods in Hydrology
EARTH 231 Mineralogy
EARTH 235 Stratigraphic Approaches to Understanding Earth's History
EARTH 260 Applied Geophysics 1
MATH 106 Applied Linear Algebra 1 
 or MATH 114 Linear Algebra for Science
One elective (0.5 unit)

Spring

Year Three

Winter

Fall

Year Four

Fall 

EARTH 436A Honours Thesis
 or EARTH 499 Research Project
Three EARTH electives 300-level or higher (1.5 units)
One elective (0.5 unit)

Winter

EARTH 331 Volcanology and Igneous Petrology
  or EARTH 332 Metamorphic Petrology
EARTH 436B Honours Thesis
 or one EARTH elective 300-level or higher (0.5 unit)
EARTH 471 Mineral Deposits
One EARTH elective 200-level or higher (0.5 unit)
One EARTH elective 300-level or higher (0.5 unit)