Honours Earth and Environmental Sciences (B.Sc.)

Admission Notes

1. Students who did not complete Grade 12 Chemistry U must complete CHEM 1R03  in Level I. Given this course is considered elective, an additional three units from the Science I Course List must be completed. CHEM 1A03  must be completed by the end of Level II.
2. One of PHYSICS 1A03  or 1C03  must be completed prior to graduation. Completion by the end of Level II is recommended. Students who did not complete Grade 12 Physics U must register in PHYSICS 1A03 .

Admission

Enrolment in this program is limited and possession of the published minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Admission is by selection but requires, as a minimum, completion of any Level I program with a Grade Point Average of at least 5.0 including:

Program Notes

1. Earth and Environmental Sciences at McMaster encompass five major themes: Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Hydrology and Climate, Environmental Policy, GIS and Spatial Analysis. It should be noted that each thematic area has its own sequence of courses and prerequisites (See the Course Listings section of this Calendar). Students may elect to take some or all of the upper level courses from different areas. In addition, there is a set of courses encompassing research design, field work, internships, and the senior thesis or review paper. 

   AQUEOUS ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY

   EARTHSC 3CC3 , 4CC3 , 4N03 , ENVIRSC 2Q03 , 3O03 

   EARTH SCIENCES

   EARTHSC 2E03 , 2FE3 , 2K03 , 2T03 , 3E03 , 3K03 , 3Z03 , 4G03 , 4J03 , 4P03 , 4T03 , 4VV3 , GEOG 3SR3 

   ENVIRONMENTAL HYDROLOGY AND CLIMATE

   EARTHSC 3CC3 , 3W03 , 4CC3 , 4WB3 , ENVIRSC 2B03 , 2C03 , 2W03 , 3B03 , 3U03 , 4BB3 , 4C03 , 4W03 

   ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

   ENVIRSC 4EA3 , GEOG 2EI3 , 3EC3 , 3EE3 , 4ET3 , 4HH3 

   GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) AND SPATIAL ANALYSIS

   GEOG 2GI3 , 3GI3 , 3GV3 , 3SR3 , 4GA3 , 4GS3 , 4GT3 

    

2. Students aiming to meet the academic requirements for professional registration of Geoscientists (PGeo) in Ontario can find additional information on these requirements on the website: https://www.science.mcmaster.ca/geo/undergraduate.html. Students are encouraged to consult with the academic advisor in the School of Geography and Earth Sciences to ensure proper selection of courses for professional registration. The Honours programs offered by the School of Geography and Earth Sciences may not fulfill professional registration requirements.

3. All students are strongly encouraged to meet with the academic advisor in the School of Geography and Earth Sciences to discuss program requirements and course selections.

4. There are Level III prerequisites for many Level IV courses. The prerequisites should be considered when selecting your courses.
5. The field components of EARTHSC 2FE3  and 3FE3 , are normally taken outside of the normal term. Details are announced in December (EARTHSC 2FE3 ) or March (EARTHSC 3FE3 ).
6. A Minor in Geography and Earth Sciences, Earth Sciences or Environmental Sciences is not permitted in the Honours Earth and Environmental Sciences program. However, Minors in Environmental Studies, Geographic Information Systems and Geography are permitted.
7. In order to meet the Compulsory Foundation Science and Geoscience requirements for the Professional Geoscientist Certification, completion of the following courses is required: CHEM 1A03 , EARTHSC 2E03 , 2K03 , 3FE3 , 3Z03 , MATH 1A03  or 1LS3 , and PHYSICS 1A03  or 1C03 . Additional requirements are posted on the website https://www.science.mcmaster.ca/geo/images/documents/APGO_Environmental_Geoscience_Stream.pdf.
8. Students who entered the program prior to September 2015, may use ENVIRSC 1B03  as three units toward Course List 1.
9. GEOG 3MB3  (or EARTHSC 3MB3  or ENVIRSC 3MB3 ) or STATS 2B03  must be completed by the end of Level III. Students who entered the program prior to September 2018, may use one of MATH 1AA3 , 1B03  or 1LT3  to satisfy the Statistics requirement.

Course List 1

• BIOLOGY 2D03 - Plant Biodiversity and Biotechnology or
• BIOLOGY 2F03 - Fundamental and Applied Ecology

•  

• CHEM 2A03
• CHEM 2AA3 - Quantitative Chemical Analysis
• CHEM 2E03 - Introductory Organic Chemistry
• EARTHSC 2C03
• EARTHSC 2EI3
• EARTHSC 2FE3 - Introduction to Field Methods in Earth Sciences
• EARTHSC 2GI3
• ENVIRSC 2C03 - Surface Climate Processes and Environmental Interactions
• GEOG 2EI3 - Environmental Issues
• GEOG 2GI3 - Geographic Information Systems
• STATS 2B03 - Statistical Methods for Science

Course List 2

• BIOLOGY 2F03 - Fundamental and Applied Ecology
• BIOLOGY 3DD3 - Communities and Ecosystems
• BIOLOGY 3SS3 - Population Ecology
• CHEM 2AA3 - Quantitative Chemical Analysis
• CHEM 2E03 - Introductory Organic Chemistry
• CHEM 2OA3 - Organic Chemistry I
• CHEM 2OB3 - Organic Chemistry II
• CHEM 2OC3 - Structure and Reactivity of Organic Molecules
• CHEM 2OD3 - Synthesis and Function of Organic Molecules
• EARTHSC 2C03
• EARTHSC 2GI3
• EARTHSC 2M03
• EARTHSC 3B03
• EARTHSC 3CC3 - Earth’s Changing Climate
• EARTHSC 3E03 - Clastic Sedimentary Environments
• EARTHSC 3GI3
• EARTHSC 3GV3
• EARTHSC 3K03 - Petrology
• EARTHSC 3MB3
• EARTHSC 3O03
• EARTHSC 3RS3
• EARTHSC 3U03
• EARTHSC 3W03 - Physical Hydrogeology
• EARTHSC 3Z03 - Structural Geology
• EARTHSC 4BB3
• EARTHSC 4C03
• EARTHSC 4CC3 - Stable Isotopes in Earth and Environmental Systems
• EARTHSC 4EA3
• EARTHSC 4FF3 - Topics of Field Research
• EARTHSC 4G03 - Glacial Sediments and Environments
• EARTHSC 4GA3
• EARTHSC 4J03 - Basin Analysis
• EARTHSC 4MI3
• EARTHSC 4MT6 A/B - Senior Thesis
• EARTHSC 4MI3
• EARTHSC 4P03 - Coral Reef Environments
• EARTHSC 4T03 - Plate Tectonics and Ore Deposits
• EARTHSC 4VV3 - Environmental Geophysics
• EARTHSC 4W03
• EARTHSC 4WB3 - Contaminant Hydrogeology
• ENVIRSC 2C03 - Surface Climate Processes and Environmental Interactions
• ENVIRSC 3B03 - Global Change, Ecosystems, and the Earth System
• ENVIRSC 3O03 - Contaminant Fate and Transport
• ENVIRSC 3U03 - Environmental Systems Modelling
• ENVIRSC 4BB3 - Field Techniques in Hydrology
• ENVIRSC 4C03 - Advanced Physical Climatology
• ENVIRSC 4EA3 - Environmental Assessment
• ENVIRSC 4MI3 - Independent Study in Earth and Environmental Sciences
• ENVIRSC 4N03 - Global Biogeochemical Cycles
• ENVIRSC 4W03 - Hydrologic Modelling
• GEOG 2GI3 - Geographic Information Systems
• GEOG 3GI3 - Advanced Raster GIS
• GEOG 3GV3 - Advanced Vector GIS
• GEOG 3MB3 - Statistical Analysis
• GEOG 3SR3 - Remote Sensing
• GEOG 4GA3 - Applied Spatial Statistics
• GEOG 4GS3 - GIS Programming
• GEOG 4GT3 - Special Topics in GIS
• LIFESCI 2H03

Requirements

120 units total (Levels I to IV), of which no more than 48 units may be Level I