Why EARTH SCIENCES at St.FX?

There are a lot of reasons:
Love the outdoors? Interested in the natural resource sector, environmental research, monitoring, assessment, and climate science?

The reasons are simple:

Canada needs well-prepared thinkers to support its huge resource economy, and to prevent and manage environmental issues.

Demand for our graduates is expected to grow faster than the economy, and Canada expects a labour market shortage for Earth Scientists within five years. It helps that our graduates are inspired, energetic individuals!

Get a job!

Data show that, since 2009, all of our Earth Sciences majors have successfully moved into industry jobs, graduate studies and/or Earth Science-related or teaching careers.

Learning experiences
around the world.

The earth sciences department is the most research intensive on campus.

Since 2009 research funds have created an average of 42 research jobs a year in our Department. Many of the positions are for undergraduate researchers.

Hands on.

Since earth sciences involves the study of the planet earth, many earth science classes are rooted in outdoor activities.

The Evidence.

Our departmental reviews shows that our students highly value the small class sizes in their upper level courses and the one-on-one attention that they receive in our course labs, field trips, and especially in student research projects.

We also offer a challenging MSc program, and our MSc students become embedded in department life and culture.

Cozy.

Recently, we had to conduct a survey of our graduates from the past 6 years, and amazingly we were already in touch with 95% of them!

Explore our ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

The department has two core streams including Geoscience, and Environmental Geoscience. Geoscience of either flavour is a hands-on science involving the outdoors, and leading to a wide array of job opportunities. For interested students, both can lead to accreditation as a Professional Geoscientist. We also offer joint programs in collaboration with other departments.

Geoscience

Description: Geoscience is the scientific study of the planet Earth and its many different natural geologic systems. It includes the study and investigation of Earth’s minerals, how Earth’s natural systems work today, how they operated in the recent and ancient past, and how we expect they may behave in the future.

Example courses: Earth History, Structural Geology, Crystal Chemistry and Mineralogy, Paleontology: The History of Life, Genesis of Igneous Rocks, Field Geology

Typical careers: Most geoscience graduates go on to work in the resource sector (mining or petroleum), for either industry or government. For students doing directly into the workforce post-graduation, the employment rate for our graduates is near 100%. Many have also done gone on to Master’s and or Doctoral degrees. Some of those are involved in teaching geoscience at universities around the world.

Environmental Geoscience

Description: Environmental geoscience is the study of Earth’s systems, soil, water, energy resources, and climate. This includes paleoclimatic studies to present day examples of soil, water, or air contamination.

Example courses: Global change and the climate system, Sedimentology, Geochemistry of Natural Waters, Hydrology, Oceanography, Hydrogeology, Environmental Earth Science Field Course

Typical careers: Environmental consulting, rehabilitation and monitoring, climate change research, alternative energy, environmental impact assessment, computer modeling of environmental systems, environmental scientist, government policymaker, teacher, graduate studies, arctic research.

Joint Programs

As described in the calendar, we offer options in environmental science, geochemistry, and joint programs with aquatic resources, biology, business administration, chemistry, mathematics, statistics and computer science, and physics. In addition, science students at StFX are now allowed to combine a minor with any major, and we have many specialty courses suitable for minoring in earth science that are accessible without a large number of prerequisites.

Study at one of the BEST UNIVERSITIES in Canada

As one of the most research-intensive departments on campus, you will have abundant opportunity to work one-on-one with professors on cutting edge research projects that are regional, national, and international in scope.