Honours Environmental Sciences Co-op (B.Sc.)

Admission

Enrolment in this program is limited and possession of the published minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Selection is based on academic achievement and an interview but requires, as a minimum, submission of the on-line application by the stated deadline and completion of Level II Honours Environmental Sciences with a Grade Point Average of at least 5.0 and completion of the following courses:

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 2L03, 3CC3 , 4CC3 , ENVIRSC 2Q03 , 3O03 , 4N03 

   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 program 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 ENVIRSC 3ME3 are normally taken outside of the normal term. Details are announced in December (EARTHSC 2FE3) or March (ENVIRSC 3ME3).
6. This is a five-level (year) co-op program which includes two eight-month work terms which must be spent in environmental sciences related placements.
7. Students must be registered full-time and take a full academic workload, as prescribed by Level and Term.
8. Students are required to complete SCIENCE 2C00 and SCIENCE 3C00 before the first work placement and are strongly recommended to complete SCIENCE 2C00 in Level II.
9. During Levels III, IV, and V, a total of 27 units from the Environmental Sciences Course List, of which must include 18 units from Levels III, IV, must be completed.
10. Co-op students interested in pursuing GIS-related work placements and/or a Minor in Geographic Information Systems must complete GEOG 2GI3  in Fall Term of Level II and one of GEOG 3GI3  or 3GV3  in Winter Term of Level II. Students are encouraged to consult with an academic advisor to ensure proper course selection.

Environmental Sciences Course List

• ASTRON 2E03 - Planetary Astronomy
• BIOLOGY 2D03 - Plant Biodiversity and Biotechnology
• BIOLOGY 2F03 - Fundamental and Applied Ecology
• BIOLOGY 3DD3 - Communities and Ecosystems
• BIOLOGY 3R03 - Field Biology I
• BIOLOGY 3SS3 - Population Ecology
• BIOLOGY 4A03 - Advanced Topics in Ecology
• BIOLOGY 4J03 - Field Biology II
• EARTHSC 2E03 - Earth History
• EARTHSC 2FE3 - Introduction to Field Methods in Earth Sciences
• EARTHSC 2T03 - Geology of Canada
• EARTHSC 3CC3 - Earth’s Changing Climate
• EARTHSC 3E03 - Clastic Sedimentary Environments
• EARTHSC 3W03 - Physical Hydrogeology
• EARTHSC 4CC3 - Stable Isotopes in Earth and Environmental Systems
• EARTHSC 4FF3 - Topics of Field Research
• EARTHSC 4G03 - Glacial Sediments and Environments
• EARTHSC 4MI3
• EARTHSC 4P03 - Coral Reef Environments
• EARTHSC 4VV3 - Environmental Geophysics
• EARTHSC 4WB3 - Contaminant Hydrogeology
• ENVIRSC 2B03 - Soils and the Environment
• ENVIRSC 2C03 - Surface Climate Processes and Environmental Interactions
• ENVIRSC 2E03
• ENVIRSC 2EI3
• ENVIRSC 2GI3
• ENVIRSC 2L03
• ENVIRSC 2Q03 - Introduction to Environmental Geochemistry
• ENVIRSC 2W03 - Physical Hydrology
• ENVIRSC 3B03 - Global Change, Ecosystems, and the Earth System
• ENVIRSC 3CC3
• ENVIRSC 3E03
• ENVIRSC 3EE3
• ENVIRSC 3GI3
• ENVIRSC 3GV3
• ENVIRSC 3MB3
• ENVIRSC 3ME3 - Environmental Studies Field Camp
• ENVIRSC 3O03 - Contaminant Fate and Transport
• ENVIRSC 3SR3
• ENVIRSC 3U03 - Environmental Systems Modelling
• ENVIRSC 3W03
• ENVIRSC 4BB3 - Field Techniques in Hydrology
• ENVIRSC 4C03 - Advanced Physical Climatology
• ENVIRSC 4CC3
• ENVIRSC 4FF3
• ENVIRSC 4G03
• ENVIRSC 4GA3
• ENVIRSC 4HH3
• ENVIRSC 4MI3 - Independent Study in Earth and Environmental Sciences
• ENVIRSC 4MT6 A/B - Senior Thesis
• ENVIRSC 4N03 - Global Biogeochemical Cycles
• ENVIRSC 4W03 - Hydrologic Modelling
• ENVIRSC 4WB3
• GEOG 2EI3 - Environmental Issues
• GEOG 2GI3 - Geographic Information Systems
• GEOG 3EE3 - Energy and Society
• 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
• GEOG 4HH3 - Environment and Health
• LIFESCI 2H03
• STATS 2B03 - Statistical Methods for Science

Requirements

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

Co-op Program Chart