Honours Programs

[X] close

Academic Programs

Academic > undergraduate > honours

B.Sc Honours Programs in the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences

It is possible to obtain admission to graduate school and/or to complete the requirements for Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.) in BC (more details here) with a Majors EOS degree or with an Honours degree. An Honours degree at UBC is designed so that you complete a significant research project (thesis), take more courses in a shorter time frame, and maintain a higher grade average than is required for a Majors degree. If you are interested in completing a masters and/or a doctoral degree, graduate schools will look favourably upon your having completed an Honours degree, which has these stricter requirements. In addition, Honours programs in Geological Sciences and Geophysics meet the requirements for P. Geo. registration more directly than does the Majors EOS program.

Registering in Honours: Incoming (second year or third-year transfer) students who wish to register for Honours must FIRST request a Majors specialization (such as Majors EOS) using the online application from the Faculty of Science. Normally this procedure would take place during the summer before the start of second year. After you have requested admittance to Majors program, then book an appointment with the Honours undergraduate advisor in your program of choice, to discuss your admittance to Honours. Please note: Potential honours students must follow Honours requirements starting in first year even though they may not be admitted to Honours until second or even third year. I.e., starting in first year, always take a minimum of 30 credits in a Winter session, maintain a >68% average, and have no failed courses.

Honours Geological Sciences

Description

Recommended electives are grouped into four areas of interest, each of which focuses on a particular aspect of geological science. They are: environmental geology (includes hydrogeology, groundwater), sedimentary geology and geobiology (includes petroleum geology), crustal and mantle processes, and mineral deposit geology.

Suggested electives are found in the current Honours Geological Sciences Program Guide and Course Template.

See Links to the official UBC Calendar.

Honours Geophysics

Description

Geophysics is an interdisciplinary physical science that applies the knowledge and techniques of physics, mathematics and chemistry to understand the structure, subsurface and dynamic behaviour of the earth and its environment. Professionals work in resource exploration, environmental, engineering, and other earth science disciplines. Science electives are normally selected from Geophysics, Geology, Astronomy, Oceanography, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry courses.

See Program details for Honours and Combined Honours geophysics program.

See Links to the official UBC Calendar.

Honours Oceanography

Description

Oceanography is one of the most interdisciplinary of sciences. Some professionals may be specialists in purly biological disciplines, while others may be mathematical physicists.

Currently, Honours Oceanography exists only in Combined Honors (see Combined Honours programs below) and in Honours Fisheries Oceanography.

Honours Atmospheric Sciences

Description

For details, please refer to the Atmospheric Sciences Homepage.

See Links to the official UBC Calendar.

Honours Environmental Sciences

Description

The Environmental Sciences Program is designed to give students a broad perspective on the environment. It concentrates on understanding the major environmental issues facing human societies and adopts an integrative cross-deiciplinary approach to the study of these issues. While the program provides a significant background in chemistry, social sciences, life sciences, and earth and ocean sciences, students also concentrate their studies in one of two areas: "Ecology and Conservation" or "Air, Land and Water".

For details see the program description (http://www.ensc.ubc.ca/about/programs.html).

See Links to the official UBC Calendar.

Combined Honours

Description

Available EOS Combined Honours (CHN) programs are listed here. At this time, the only information available on the Combined Honours degrees is HERE in the UBC Calendar. Appropriate links have been provided below. Please note that you may have to scroll down past other degree information to reach the one in which you are interested.

Geology/Geography
Geology/Geophysics
Geology/Other
Oceanography/Biology
Oceanography/Chemistry
Fisheries Oceanography
Oceanography/Geology
Oceanography/Geophysics
Oceanography/Physics

Please explore the UBC Calendar for descriptions of all options. These programs all require permission from one of the EOS department's undergraduate advisors.