Current Graduate Courses

This is the core graduate course, which is mandatory for all incoming graduate students. The goal of the course is to develop each student’s research proposal and skills to communicate their proposals (oral and written forms). Each student will have a completed written research proposal and two opportunities for oral presentations by the end of the course.

This advanced course focuses on analyzing structures to understand how "strain" and "stress" are expressed in the rocks. Through geometric, kinematic, and mechanical analysis of these structures, we will learn to elucidate the geological processes that have occurred over time. Graduate student will be given the opportunity to apply the knowledge they learn in this course towards their graduate research.

Exploration of the tectonic processes of the Earth from a global and regional perspective. The course examines the nature of these surface tectonics based on geological observations and tries to unravel the geodynamics that give rise to planetary activity.

The use of proxy data (terrestial and aquatic microfossils) to infer past environmental conditions. The nature and extent of Quaternary environmental change is considered in the context of assessing current issues such as acidification, metal pollution, eutrophication, and global climate change. Paleoenvironmental techniques are applied in the laboratory.

This course provides an in-depth introduction to statistical methods and their applications in geosciences. It focuses on the principles of statistical inference, data analysis, and modeling tailored to the unique challenges and datasets encountered in Earth Sciences. Students will learn to implement statistical tools to solve problems in geology, geophysics, hydrology, and related fields.

This course considers the application of chemical principles to research problems in Earth Science. Emphasis will be placed on fundamental concepts that can be applied across diverse areas of research, with practical examples selected according to the research interests of enrolled students. Possible topics include: the composition and formation of geochemical reservoirs, the application of stable and radiogenic isotope systems, chemical thermodynamics, and geochemical kinetics. The course will comprise a mix of instructor-delivered background lectures and roundtable discussion of recent publications. Students will take turns presenting their chosen research papers and leading the discussion.

This course investigates the geochemistry, geology, and mineralogy of mineral systems. Practical skills that will be developed include identification of ore and gangue minerals in hand and polished sections as well as understanding ore systems from source to the deposit. This will be of interest to students interested in a career in mineral exploration and mining as it will lead to an increased understanding of mineral systems, skills used in mineral exploration, and how to use these to find mineral deposits. Additionally, it will be of interest to students interested environmental science as it will teach identification of ore minerals and associated minerals that are important for assessing and developing remediation techniques for acid mine drainage sites. Finally, it will be of interest to students interested in geochemistry as we will investigate high temperature reactions between fluids and wallrocks.

Current geophysical surface and borehole methodologies (gravity, magnetics, electrical, electromagnetic, nuclear) and their theoretical basis for investigating Earth's interior to depths ranging from several metres to tens of kilometres.

An in-depth look at a significant aspect of the Earth system. The "critical zone" — defined as the outer layer reaching from the treetops into the weathered bedrock where rock, water, air, and life interact — is crucial to life and habitats, food production, water quality, and regulating climate.

Topics will vary depending on instructor expertise, who may focus on biosphere-atmosphere interactions, or microbiologically driven cycling of energy and matter in the subsurface. Emphasis will be placed on approaches to quantitatively model interactions and reading of primary scientific literature.

Communication is a fundamental part of academic life. This course provides a space for the acquisition of knowledge on communication theory to be applied to real academic situations. Science Communication focuses on developing accessible and inclusive communication strategies from conferences to publishing, as well as in community engagement and outreach. The course allows for the direct application of science communication techniques into practical outputs of graduate life and welcomes collaboration with the wider science communication community.

An in-depth overview of state-of-the-art instruments for characterizing the chemical and isotopic compositions of materials. Under the guidance of an experienced analyst, students will prepare samples, perform measurements, and reduce data on select instruments. By the end of the course, students should be able to develop analytical plans and scrutinize the accuracy of data collected by others.

This course provides a practical and accessible introduction to the Python programming language, tailored specifically for a non-technical audience in the Earth Sciences. The course focuses on building a working knowledge of Python to tackle common tasks in data analysis, visualization, and manipulation within the geoscience domain. Students will develop their programming skills using Jupyter Notebooks, gaining hands-on experience in writing Python scripts and applying essential methods for data manipulation and analysis.

The course culminates in a capstone project, where students independently address a practical geoscience problem — from sourcing data to performing analysis and communicating their findings. Capstone projects vary each year and may be undertaken in collaboration with the student's research group or assigned by the course instructor.

This is an advanced seismology course that covers a range of theoretical and computational topics related to seismic wave propagation, seismic tomography, full-waveform inversion, earthquake sources and fault dynamics, as well as exploration seismology. Detailed topics may vary based on instructors.

An individual directed studies course about a selected topic in Earth Sciences. A maximum of one directed studies course may be used to fulfil program requirements. Contact the Graduate Administrator for more information.

The mark for this course is based on the written report produced in ESS3603Y and the student’s performance in an oral defence of that work. The examining committee for the oral defense will consist of the supervisor and two members of the graduate faculty selected by the supervisor. The student must provide members of the examining committee a copy of the report at least one week in advance. The oral defense will consist of a 20 minute presentation of the work, followed by questioning by members of the examining committee. Other students may attend the presentation and question period with the permission of the candidate and examining committee. The examination concludes when the committee finishes with questions. Each committee member will evaluate the student based on the quality of the written report, and the student’s explanation of it, the depth and breadth of knowledge relevant to the project demonstrated during the oral examination and overall originality and creativity. The mark for this course will be the average mark assigned by the three examiners. For candidates who start their MSc studies in September, the final grade for this course must be submitted to the Graduate Affairs Officer no later than the end of the third week of the following August.

Students must complete a research project assigned by the supervisor. During the first two weeks of the term in which the student first registers, the student and supervisor must reach an agreement on the objectives and methodology of the research project, along with an evaluation scheme. This information must be conveyed to the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies for their approval. The final product for this course is a written document of the work performed (approx. 40 pages in standard format). For candidates who start their MSc studies in September, the final grade for this course must be submitted to the Graduate Affairs Officer no later than the end of the third week of the following August.