Fall 2026 Courses
ESS1101H1F: Graduate Core Course (M. Anderson/L.Schoenbohm)
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.
ESS1441H1F: Advanced Structure (T. Santimano) - Monday 1-3 and Wednesday 9-12
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.
Exclusion: ESS441H
ESS1445H1F: Global Tectonics (R. Pysklywec) - Wednesday 11-1
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.
Exclusion: ESS445H
ESS1461H1F: Palaeoenvironmental Studies (J. Bollmann) - Friday 1-6
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.
Exclusion: ESS461H
ESS2048H1F: Practical Python for the Geosciences
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.
ESS2704H1F - Istope Geochemistry (B.Bergquist,K.Wendt)
The course is focused on the principles and applications of stable and radiogenic isotope geochemistry to understanding geological and planetary processes. The course will be taught using specific case studies from selected themes, which will change on a yearly basis. Possible themes might include: early solar system chronology, isotopic contraints on Earth differentiation, tracing pollutants in the subsurface, nature of the early Earth, ocean and atmospheric circulation, applications to tectonics. The course will be team taught, in which individual instructors will focus on a particular aspect of each theme, providing some lectures for background prior to reading the important literature.
ESS3000H1F - Directed Studies
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.
Winter 2026 Courses
ESS1423H1S: Mineral Deposits (D. Gregory) - Thursday 1-3 and Friday 9-12
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.
Exclusion: ESS423H
ESS1465H1S: Topics in Critical Zone Processess (S. Ariano) - Tuesday 1-3
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.
Exclusion: ESS465H
ESS2049H1F: Statistics for the Earth Sciences (X.Chu/A.Swidinsky)
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.
ESS3000H1S - Directed Studies
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.
Full Year courses
ESS3000Y: Directed Studies in Earth Sciences
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.
ESS3601Y: MSc Research Presentation
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.
ESS6303Y: MSc Research Project
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.