¶¡ÏãÔ°AV

Earth Sciences Major Program

Department of Earth Sciences | Faculty of Science
¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Calendar 2013 Spring

The department offers a bachelor of science degree with three course stream options leading to course concentrations: geology stream, environmental geoscience stream, and general earth sciences stream.

The geology stream and the environmental geoscience stream are designed to permit a student to enrol as a geologist or environmental geoscientist respectively, in the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC), the governing body that regulates geoscience practice in BC. All students intending to practice as a geoscientist in BC must be licensed by APEGBC, and are strongly advised to pursue one of these two streams. Many other Canadian provinces also require professional licensing.

Students who are not intending to practice as professional geoscientists, or seek accreditation, may choose to pursue the general earth sciences stream. This stream may best accommodate students in some joint major programs.

Students should seek the advice of a departmental program advisor.

Minimum Grade Requirement

Students wishing to register for earth sciences courses must obtain a C- grade or better in prerequisite courses.

Program Requirements

Students complete 120 units, as specified below.

Lower Division Requirements

All students, no matter which streams they will choose, will complete a minimum of 54 units including all of

  • CHEM 121 General Chemistry and Laboratory I (4)
  • CHEM 122 General Chemistry II (2)
  • CHEM 126 General Chemistry Laboratory II (2)
  • EASC 101 Physical Geology (3)
  • EASC 201 Stratigraphy and Sedimentation (3)
  • EASC 202 Introduction to Mineralogy (3)
  • EASC 204 Structural Geology I (3)
  • EASC 205 Introduction to Petrology (3)
  • EASC 206 Field Geology I (2)
  • EASC 207 Introduction to Applied Geophysics (3)
  • EASC 208 Introduction to Geochemistry (3)
  • EASC 210 Historical Geology (3)
  • GEOG 213 Introduction to Geomorphology (3)
  • MATH 152 Calculus II (3)

and one of

  • MATH 150 Calculus I with Review (4)
  • MATH 151 Calculus I (3)

and one of

  • STAT 201 Statistics for the Life Sciences (3)
  • STAT 270 Introduction to Probability and Statistics (3)

and one of

  • PHYS 101 Physics for the Life Sciences I * (3)
  • PHYS 120 Mechanics and Modern Physics (3)
  • PHYS 125 Mechanics and Special Relativity (3)
  • PHYS 140 Studio Physics - Mechanics and Modern Physics (4)

and one of

  • PHYS 102 Physics for the Life Sciences II * (3)
  • PHYS 121 Optics, Electricity and Magnetism (3)
  • PHYS 126 Electricity, Magnetism and Light (3)
  • PHYS 141 Studio Physics - Optics, Electricity and Magnetism (4)

and if not completing PHYS 140/141, one of

  • PHYS 130 Physics for the Life Sciences Laboratory * (2)
  • PHYS 131 Physics Laboratory I (2)

*Students are encouraged to complete the standard stream (PHYS 120, 121, 131) or the advanced stream (PHYS 125, 126, 131). Students may also choose to complete the studio physics stream (PHYS 140, 141). Students who complete the life sciences stream (PHYS 101, 102, 130) (which has a corequisite of BISC 100 or 101 or 102) with a minimum B grade should have sufficient preparation for the major program.

Upper Division Requirements

Students are encouraged to select upper division elective courses in consultation with an academic advisor, as APEGBC has specific groupings of elective courses for each stream, respectively.

Geology Stream

Students who choose this stream will complete a minimum of 44 units, including all of

  • EASC 301 Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology (3)
  • EASC 302 Sedimentary Petrology (3)
  • EASC 306 Field Geology II (3)
  • EASC 309 Global Tectonics (3)
  • EASC 310W Paleontology (3)

and at least one of

  • EASC 303W Environmental Geoscience (3)
  • EASC 304 Hydrogeology (3)
  • EASC 313 Introduction to Soil and Rock Engineering (3)
  • EASC 403 Quaternary Geology (3)

and at least one of

  • EASC 406 Field Geology III (3)
  • EASC 416 Field Techniques in Hydrogeology (3)

and at least 21 units chosen from

  • EASC 300 Selected Topics in Earth Sciences (3)
  • EASC 303W Environmental Geoscience (3)
  • EASC 304 Hydrogeology (3)
  • EASC 305 Quantitative Methods for the Earth Sciences (3)
  • EASC 307 Applied Geophysics (3)
  • EASC 312 Stratigraphy (3)
  • EASC 313 Introduction to Soil and Rock Engineering (3)
  • EASC 314 Principles of Glaciology (3)
  • EASC 315 Geochemistry of Natural Waters (3)
  • EASC 317 Global Geophysics (3)
  • EASC 400 Selected Topics in Earth Sciences (3)
  • EASC 401 Mineral Deposits (3)
  • EASC 402 Sedimentology (3)
  • EASC 403 Quaternary Geology (3)
  • EASC 404 Structural Geology II (3)
  • EASC 405 Water Cycles and Resources: Environmental and Climate Change Impacts (3)
  • EASC 406 Field Geology III (3)
  • EASC 408 Regional Geology of Western Canada (3)
  • EASC 410 Groundwater Contamination and Transport (3)
  • EASC 411 Terrain Analysis (3)
  • EASC 413 Resource Geotechnics (3)
  • EASC 416 Field Techniques in Hydrogeology (3)
  • EASC 420 Petroleum Geology (3)
  • EASC 421 Volcanology (3)
  • EASC 491 Directed Readings ** (1)
  • EASC 492 Directed Readings ** (2)
  • EASC 493 Directed Readings ** (3)

**students may only complete a maximum of three units from a combination of EASC 491, 492, or 493

Other Requirements: Students in the geology stream must also complete at least two additional units in the Faculty of Science or physical geography at the upper division. These courses may be used toward the minor requirements in another department. Some of these courses may also satisfy APEGBC requirements.

Environmental Geoscience Stream

Students who choose this stream will complete all of

  • EASC 303W Environmental Geoscience (3)
  • EASC 304 Hydrogeology (3)
  • EASC 306 Field Geology II (3)
  • EASC 313 Introduction to Soil and Rock Engineering (3)
  • EASC 403 Quaternary Geology (3)

and one of

  • GEOG 311 Hydrology (4)
  • GEOG 317 Soil Science (4)

and at least one of

  • EASC 301 Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology (3)
  • EASC 302 Sedimentary Petrology (3)
  • EASC 309 Global Tectonics (3)
  • EASC 310W Paleontology (3)

and at least one of

  • EASC 406 Field Geology III (3)
  • EASC 416 Field Techniques in Hydrogeology (3)

and a minimum of 19 units chosen from

  • EASC 300 Selected Topics in Earth Sciences (3)
  • EASC 301 Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology (3)
  • EASC 302 Sedimentary Petrology (3)
  • EASC 305 Quantitative Methods for the Earth Sciences (3)
  • EASC 307 Applied Geophysics (3)
  • EASC 309 Global Tectonics (3)
  • EASC 310W Paleontology (3)
  • EASC 312 Stratigraphy (3)
  • EASC 314 Principles of Glaciology (3)
  • EASC 315 Geochemistry of Natural Waters (3)
  • EASC 317 Global Geophysics (3)
  • EASC 400 Selected Topics in Earth Sciences (3)
  • EASC 401 Mineral Deposits (3)
  • EASC 402 Sedimentology (3)
  • EASC 404 Structural Geology II (3)
  • EASC 405 Water Cycles and Resources: Environmental and Climate Change Impacts (3)
  • EASC 406 Field Geology III (3)
  • EASC 408 Regional Geology of Western Canada (3)
  • EASC 410 Groundwater Contamination and Transport (3)
  • EASC 411 Terrain Analysis (3)
  • EASC 413 Resource Geotechnics (3)
  • EASC 416 Field Techniques in Hydrogeology (3)
  • EASC 420 Petroleum Geology (3)
  • EASC 421 Volcanology (3)
  • EASC 491 Directed Readings + (1)
  • EASC 492 Directed Readings + (2)
  • EASC 493 Directed Readings + (3)
  • GEOG 311 Hydrology (4)
  • GEOG 313 River Geomorphology (4)
  • GEOG 317 Soil Science (4)
  • GEOG 412W Glacial Processes and Environments (4)

+students may only complete a maximum of three units from a combination of EASC 491, 492, or 493

General Earth Sciences Stream

Students who choose this stream will complete

  • EASC 306 Field Geology II (3)

and at least one of

  • EASC 406 Field Geology III (3)
  • EASC 416 Field Techniques in Hydrogeology (3)

and at least 30 other upper division EASC units.++

++students may only complete a maximum of three units from a combination of EASC 491, 492, or 493

and at least eight additional units in the Faculty of Science or physical geography. These courses may be used toward the minor requirements in another department.

Faculty of Science Requirements

In addition to the above requirements, students must also satisfy Faculty of Science major program requirements to complete a total of 120 units including

  • additional upper division units to total a minimum of 44 upper division units (excluding EDUC 401 to 406)
  • students who were enrolled at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV between fall 1991 and summer 2006 are required to complete a minimum of 12 units in subjects outside the Faculty of Science (excluding EDUC 401 to 406) including six units minimum to be completed in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements

Students admitted to ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV beginning in the fall 2006 term must meet writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of any degree program they may undertake. See Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements for university-wide information.

WQB Graduation Requirements
A grade of C- or better is required to earn W, Q or B credit.
Requirement

Units

Notes
W - Writing

6

Must include at least one upper division course, taken at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV within the student’s major subject
Q - Quantitative

6

Q courses may be lower or upper division
B - Breadth

18

Designated Breadth Must be outside the student’s major subject, and may be lower or upper division
6 units Social Sciences: B-Soc
6 units Humanities: B-Hum
6 units Sciences: B-Sci

6

Additional Breadth

6 units outside the student’s major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements)
Additional breadth units must be from outside the student's major and may be B-designated (B-Hum, B-Soc, B-Sci courses). Students choosing to complete a joint major, joint honours, double major, two extended minors, an extended minor and a minor, or two minors may satisfy the breadth requirements (designated or not designated) with courses completed in either one or both program areas.

Residency Requirements and Transfer Credit

The University’s residency requirement stipulates that, in most cases, total transfer and course challenge credit may not exceed 60 units, and may not include more than 15 units as upper division work.

Elective Courses

In addition to the courses listed above, students should consult an academic advisor to plan the remaining required elective courses.

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