Environmental Geoscience

Man sitting on a rock at the top on a mountain — Faculty of Science

Undergraduate

Environmental Geoscience

Unearth the secrets of our planet

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DURATION

4 years - 120 credits

LOCATION

On campus

LANGUAGE

English and French

None

Elevate your expertise at uOttawa, one of Canada's top 10 research universities investing nearly $350 million annually in research.

Investigate Earth as a professional environmental geoscientist to understand environmental interactions between geology, biology, and hydrology.

The Environmental Geoscience program integrates the Environmental Science and Geology programs in one stream that balances biology and chemistry-oriented courses with solid Earth-based courses. Environmental geoscience requires multidisciplinary study — students acquire a wide range of expertise to understand the environmental interactions between solid Earth, the biosphere, the atmosphere, and the oceans.

Explore the depth of our expertise through advanced courses and meet our esteemed professors as you chart your course to a future where expertise meets excellence.

Join our program at uOttawa and step into a world of possibilities. With the 5th largest co-op program in Canada, boasting a remarkable 95% job placement rate, your academic journey is not just about learning, it's about the hands-on experience and career readiness from Canada’s 7th-ranked university in graduate employability.

Become a professional in your field! Students who follow the suggested course sequence can meet the professional accreditation requirements of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario and the Ordre des géologues du Québec.

Explore more career options: What can I do with my studies?

Ready to shape your future? Dive into our Co-op program.

How can we understand and explain what we observe around us, from the smallest sub-atomic particles to the largest galaxies? How can we apply this understanding to manipulate our world? Of course, studying physics gives insight into the fundamental laws of nature.

In the Faculty of Science, we understand that some students want to gain experience in research, and that is why we offer a wide variety of options from the undergraduate level. Explore exciting opportunities such as Undergraduate Research Scholarship and dedicated research programs tailored to empower students with valuable hands-on experience.

Student on a field trip — Video

Earth and Environmental Sciences at uOttawa

Options and suggested course sequences

Explore the detailed suggested course sequence

Enhance with a microprogram

The Microprogram in Science Entrepreneurship provides an introduction to business management, new venture creation and entrepreneurship that will allow you to take a new scientific idea to market. It also includes a course on creativity and innovation, and a fourth year capstone course specifically dealing with commercializing a scientific product.

Microprogram in Science Entrepreneurship program requirements

The University of Ottawa is privileged to be in the heart of the nation’s capital, where science policy is made. The Science Policy option is a nine-unit (three course) option that can be incorporated into your Honours BSc program. It provides an introduction to public administration and public policy analysis. The fourth year capstone course deals with the importance of science in evidence-based decision making and sound policy making.

Microprogram in Science Policy program requirements

A new microprogram in Science Communication consisting of five courses (15 units) will offer undergraduate students the opportunity to develop and refine their written, oral, and visual science communication skills.

Scientists are increasingly expected to engage directly with the public to disseminate scientific information of value to society and to inform citizens, allowing them to make evidence-based decisions. However, skills in specialized scientific communication do not translate well during engagements with the public about science (termed science communication). Given that most of our undergraduate science students do not continue to undertake higher graduate studies upon completion of their BSc degrees, these future scientists in society will need skills in generalized science communication in order to effectively engage their public peers in meaningful communications about science during their future careers. For those students destined for careers in academia, this early exposure to science communication will allow them to have an extended reach for their research results, as well as a strong voice in the democratic process of societal discourse.

Microprogram in Science Communication program requirements

If you are interested in a career related to teaching or the design and delivery of educational programming, this microprogram will offer you the opportunity to acquire a strong foundation in Science Education. The courses can be counted as your elective courses at the 3000 and 4000 level in your undergraduate program. The combination of these courses is intended to develop your understanding and application of the scholarship of teaching and learning to your own scientific discipline.

Microprogram in Science Education program overview

Field and Lab Courses

The course consists of one 4-hour laboratory period per week, during the winter session, followed by a field camp (~12 days) involving geological mapping and structural analysis of a region and of its place in the tectonic history of the Appalachian belt. The field camp will be held following the end of the examination period, in late April. Fees are requested to cover accommodation and transportation. Previously GEO 2920.

Course component: Lecture
Prerequisite: GEO 1111, GEO 1115.

This is a mapping course. Each day will focus on a mapping exercise that will include outcrop examination and description, detailed measurements, preparation of sections, and interpretation of structural and stratigraphic relationships among a range of Precambrian volcanic and sedimentary rocks. While the focus will be on developing your mapping skills, every exercise will provide the context for learning about the regional geology of the Southern Superior Province and adjoining terranes. The localities chosen for each exercise include some of the best-preserved exposures of Archean and Proterozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks in the world, as well as some of Canada's most important mineral deposits.

Course component: Research
Prerequisite: GEO 2020, GEO 3163, GEO 3164.
iMAGE-CREATE Website

This course focuses on advanced bedrock mapping within the tectonically extended Basin & Range province of eastern California, near Death Valley National Monument. The trip includes two 4-day mapping exercises: i) a Miocene volcanic terrane and ii) a deformed Neoproterozoic-Cambrian succession. The latter package of rock represents the classic "Snowball Earth" sequence, including the ca. 750-700 Ma diamictites and capping carbonates. Cenozoic tectonism and magmatism has resulted in mineralization in the area with argentiferous galena (PbS with silver replacement), some native gold, pyrite and chalcopyrite, and an active talc mine. We also have an opportunity to visit Badwater (elevation: -282 ft, -86 m) and other notable locales in the region.

Course component: Research
Prerequisite: Student must have completed 12 units at 3000 level within the field.

A lecture and field course on the nature and occurrence of sediment and siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. The physical basis of sedimentary processes and the characteristics of siliciclastic deposition environments analysed in a sequence stratigraphic framework. (Not offered each year, students must check with the Department.)

Course component: Lecture
Prerequisite: GEO 3166

Combined Biology - Geochemistry - Hydrogeology field course, emphasizing environmental sampling (biological, soils, water, air, sediment, etc.), and field equipment, installations and measurements. Course is two weeks long at the end of August, outside of Ottawa. Fees are required to cover accommodation and transportation. Students will present a field- course report.

Course component: Laboratory
Prerequisite: BIO 2129, MAT 2379 and have completed a minimum of 60 credits of the program in environmental sciences.

Identification, properties and interpretation of Earth materials in field excursions and laboratory exercises. Common rock-forming and metallic minerals; sedimentary rocks and fossils; igneous rocks and textures; metamorphic rocks and fabrics; unconsolidated materials (clay, silt, sand, gravel and soils). Geology of the Ottawa area. A minimal fee is required to cover transportation for field trips.

Course Component: Laboratory, Lecture
Prerequisites: Advanced Functions and Introductory Calculus 4U or Calculus and Vectors 4U or MAT1319 or MAT1339 and two of the 4U Science or Mathematics courses.

Fundamental concepts of mineralogy. Systematic examination of crystal structure, physical and chemical properties of minerals, uses, and occurrence of the principal minerals in nature. Introduction to principal analytical methods available for the identification and study of minerals and rocks. Propagation of light in crystalline media and the use of the polarizing microscope is highlighted, and the applications of other microscopy and spectrometry analyses are discussed.

Course component: Laboratory, Lecture
Prerequisite: GEO 1115, CHM 1311.
EES ROCK LAB

The origin of sedimentary rocks. Characteristics of primary structures and secondary alteration. Basic principles of stratigraphy.

Course Component: Laboratory, Lecture
Prerequisites: GEO 1111, GEO 1115.

Concepts de base de la classification des roches ignées; processus de cristallisation et de différentiation; discrimination et identification tectonique. Microscopie des roches ignées. Aperçu des principales roches volcaniques et plutoniques.

Volet: Laboratoire, Cours magistral
Préalables: PHY 1522, GEO 2563, (CHM 2730 ou CHM 2753).
GEO3163/3563 website

Basic concepts and applications of geochemistry to other geological disciplines. Introduction to geochronology, radiogenic isotope systematics and stable isotope geochemistry. Particular emphasis on the present-day composition of the Earth and the processes modifying the distribution of elements in rocks, and natural waters. (Offered in alternate years with GEO 3782)

Course Component: Discussion Group, Lecture
Prerequisites: GEO 2163, CHM 1311.

Testimonials

Liam Jasperse

"University teaches you how to think, but EVS4010 makes it hands-on. Through collaborative teamwork, you're taught how to tackle real-world environmental issues with quality, concentrated field and lab work, while fostering new relationships within uOttawa's Earth Sciences department. Rain or shine, strap on your field gear and go get your hands dirty; you'll learn invaluable, practical skills that'll kickstart your career in the natural world."

Jessie Kehew

"GEO 4366 (Siliciclastic Sedimentology) was one of the most enriching learning experiences of my undergrad. The field excursions integrated regional stratigraphic correlation and core logging, providing a thorough understanding of Ottawa’s sedimentological history. The presentations we gave in class were great practice, and it was so interesting to learn the geophysical logging methods used in the petroleum industry. I’m so happy to have taken this class!"

Mary Macquistan

"GEO 4366 is a fantastic course for anyone interested in siliciclastic sedimentology. The foundations covered in second and third year courses are taken to a new level, with a prominent field component to this class that gives you a chance to look in depth at the sedimentological record of the Ottawa area. Filled with day trips, core logging, thin section work, and an independent study, this class is immersive. You finish the course with confidence in your understanding of the forces at work in the sedimentological record that you didn't have when you started."

Michael Ryan

"GEO3382 covered all the essential topics that one would expect from a general geochemistry class, while also introducing us students to modern day applications and controversies, without overstepping boundaries. The well-structured course format worked in a cascading fashion, with each lecture building off the previous one, ensuring that you could learn the content efficiently while cramming as little information as possible. The lab component provided a great balance of theoretical and practical questioning, while also forcing you to work directly on the foundational concepts and topics of the course! A course like this begs for student discussion, and the professor was very accommodating for this, both during and outside of classroom hours. Overall, this course was excellent and facilitated healthy learning. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who plans on pursuing research or an industry job in the field of Geology!"

Research at the undergraduate level

At the Faculty of Science, we understand that some students want to gain experience in research and that is why we offer a wide variety of options from the undergraduate level.

Undergraduate Research Scholarship

Research opportunities for students