Science Academic Plans

Advisors: See Faculty of Science, academic advisors.

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 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.

1. 22.0 units that include:
   
   • 10.0 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 333, EARTH 342, EARTH 359, EARTH 390, EARTH 421, EARTH 440, EARTH 456, EARTH 458, EARTH 458L, and EARTH 459
   • 1.0 EARTH unit: EARTH 436A and EARTH 436B or EARTH 499 and one EARTH elective at 300-level or higher
   • 1.5 EARTH elective units with the following conditions:
     
     • 1.0 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
   • 2.0 MATH units: MATH 106 or MATH 114; MATH 127 and MATH 128; MATH 218 or ENVE 223
   • 0.5 STAT unit: STAT 202
   • 0.5 CIVE unit: CIVE 353
   • 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. ENVS 201, ERS 215, BIOL 240, BIOL 447, GEOG 387, GEOG 271, MATH 217 and CIVE 221 are recommended electives for this program.
4. SCI and EARTH courses may not be counted as Program elective options.
5. 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

Spring

Year Three

Winter

Fall

Year Four

Fall

EARTH 359 Flow Through Porous Media
EARTH 436A Honours Thesis
 or EARTH 499 Research Project
EARTH 440 Quaternary Geology
One EARTH elective 300-level or higher (0.5 unit)
One elective (0.5 unit)

Winter

EARTH 436B Honours Thesis
 or One EARTH elective 300-level or higher (0.5 unit)
EARTH 456 Numerical Methods in Hydrogeology
EARTH 459 Chemical Hydrogeology
One EARTH elective 300-level or higher (0.5 unit)
One elective (0.5 unit)