The University of British Columbia

This is a flexible degree program that encompasses the broad spectrum of disciplines within the Department. Students may choose to take courses necessary to:

• focus upon specializations such as geology, geophysics, oceanography or atmospheric sciences
• provide a solid understanding of how our Earth works as preperation for further degrees in education, pre-med, law, journalism, or other disciplines

Detailed outline of requirements for completing a Majors degree in EOS.

NOTE those wishing to become professional geoscientists (see:  professional registration by APEGBC) should take EOSC 110 in first year.

Mineral and Fuel Deposits

This area of focus stresses the application of the geological sciences, together with chemistry, physics and mathematics, towards understanding the orgins of the Earth's mineral and fossil fuel resources. This Stream is of especial interest to those who intend to establish their careers in mineral resource exploration, development, and management, and ultimately to become registered Professional Geoscientists. It also provides a strong background for thos wishing to pursue this field of study in greater detail at the Graduate Level.

Crustal and Mantle Processes

Programs in this area of focus stress the application of Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics towards understanding and solving Earth Science problems and phenomena. Stream 3 is designed to provide the student with a strong background in the physical sciences as applied to the Earth sciences, and to prepare the student for a career in the mining, petroleum, and environmental industries. In addition, this program is intended to give the student the background necessary for the pursuit of higher degrees (Masters and Doctorate) in graduate school. These higher degrees are required for careers in post-secondary teaching and research in universities, government agencies, and industry.

Sedimentary Geology and Geobiology

Sedimentary Geology and Geobiology concern the chemical, physical, and biological interactions in Earth systems that produce the clastic and biogenic sediments making up the stratigraphic record. Sedimentary sequences offer us insight into the history of environmental change and the evolution of life over geological time; they are also the sources and accumulation sites of hydrocarbons and the hosts to many types of mineral deposits.

This Stream is of interest to policy makers, explorationists, and those wishing to understand the grand themes of environmental change. Opportunities for employment exist in the oil and mineral industries, teaching, geological surveys, and museums. Graduate work leading to an advanced degree is advantageous.

Environmental Geology

This area of focus concentrates on the geologic processes that operate on or near the surface of the Earth. These processes help to determine the environment in which we exist, and hence are fundamental to the understanding of environmental change. The programs would be of interest to students who seek a general background in environmental science, as well as those who seek a career in this field.

Opportunities for employment exist in the consulting industries (e.g., hydrogeology, engineering geology, hazards assessment), government agencies, and teaching. An advanced degree in some aspect of specialization is decidedly advantageous.

Understanding Earth's Physics

"How can we find resources or contaminants that are hidden, without disturbing the earth? What causes earthquakes, and how can we live more safely near where they occur? Why does Earth have a magnetic field while many other planets do not?" These are the types of issues you can tackle using physics, mathematics, and instrumentation to probe into the earth, and to understand it's behaviour.

With these skills, professional geophysicists are solving a host of practical and fundamental problems that range from applying state-of-the-art approaches to locate buried oil, metal ore, and contaminants, to using high-performance computers for simulation of the flow of Martian (and terran!) ice caps. Many of our undergraduates find employment with companies involved in environmental engineering, petroleum exploration or mineral exploration.

Climate

Climate, both locally and on the global scale, is a topic of increasing importance in today's society. In an undergradate program emphasizing climate you will study atmospheric flow from the microscales of turbulence to global circulation. There are specialists at UBC in cloud physics, air pollution dispersion, air-sea interactions, numerical prediction, climate dynamics and variability, and urban and forest meteorology.

With skills from such a program you can make a difference in advancing our understanding of the atmosphere, and making weather forecasts for the benefit of society. Jobs abound for meteorologists with B.Sc. degrees. In fact, the Canadian Atmospheric Environment Service currently needs more meteorologists than are expected to graduate from all Canadian universities.

Paleontology

The incredible diversity of life on Earth through time has resulted in a fossil record that is extremely rich in information. Paleontologists try to unravel and understand the complexity of the fossil record as it records the history and development of life on Earth. Paleontology is the biological part of geology. The physical evolution of the Earth's surface and the evolution of the Earth's living organisms is intimately interlinked: for example, without the evolution of organisms such as algae and cyanobacteria, the atmosphere would never have become sufficiently oxygenated to support all the many forms of life that have developed.

Ancient organisms can tell us a great deal not only about relative time, but also about environments of the past. We can also use the distribution of fossil organisms to establish the past distribution of continents and oceans in space and time and to establish paleoclimate.

Paleontologists specialize in five main areas. Those who study the microscopic remains of organic microfossils, such as pollen and spores from plants, are called palynologists. Micropaleontologists study very small fossils (generally < 1 mm) such as foraminifera or conodonts because they are abundant in small samples of rock. Another group, the invertebrate paleontologists deal with invertebrate fossils such as corals, ammonites, trilobites and molluscs. Paleobotanists study fossil plants and vertebrate paleontologists study fish, mammals, dinosaurs and other vertebrates.

(From the "Careers in Geoscience" CD by the Canadian Geoscience Council)