Planetary Sciences Honours (B.Sc.) (78 credits)
Offered by: Earth & Planetary Sciences (Faculty of Science)
Degree: Bachelor of Science
Program credit weight: 78
Program Description
The program curriculum is designed to provide a rigorous foundation in physical sciences and the flexibility to create an individualized program in preparation for careers in industry, teaching, and research. It is intended to provide an excellent preparation for graduate work in the earth and planetary sciences.
Note: Honours students must maintain a CGPA equal to or greater than 3.20.
Degree Requirements — B.Sc.
This program is offered as part of a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree.
To graduate, students must satisfy both their program requirements and their degree requirements.
- The program requirements (i.e., the specific courses that make up this program) are listed under the Course Tab (above).
- The degree requirements—including the mandatory Foundation program, appropriate degree structure, and any additional components—are outlined on the Degree Requirements page.
Students are responsible for ensuring that this program fits within the overall structure of their degree and that all degree requirements are met. Consult the Degree Planning Guide on the SOUSA website for additional guidance.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Courses (66 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EPSC 210 | Introductory Mineralogy. | 3 |
Introductory Mineralogy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Elementary crystallography, chemistry and identification of the principal rock-forming and ore minerals, in hand specimens and using optical microscopy. Demonstrations of other techniques applied to the identification of minerals and to the analysis of their composition and structure. Optional 2-day field trip. | ||
| EPSC 212 | Introductory Petrology. | 3 |
Introductory Petrology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and the processes responsible for their formation. The laboratory will emphasize the recognition of rocks in both hand-specimen and thin section using optical microscopes. | ||
| EPSC 220 | Principles of Geochemistry. | 3 |
Principles of Geochemistry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Basic concepts in geochemistry and the application of geochemical principles of chemistry to geological subdisciplines. Particular emphasis on origin of elements, controls on their distribution in Earth and cosmos, isotopes, organic geochemistry and water chemistry. Application of phase diagrams to geology. | ||
| EPSC 231 | Field School 1. | 3 |
Field School 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Geological mapping of selected areas, preparation of maps, reports from field notes, aerial photographs, etc. | ||
| EPSC 233 | Earth and Life Through Time | 3 |
Earth and Life Through Time Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Interpretation of stratified rocks; history of Earth with special emphasis on the regions of North America; outline of the history of life recorded in fossils. | ||
| EPSC 240 | Geology in the Field. | 3 |
Geology in the Field. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Lectures and field-based exercises, held locally on campus and in the Montreal area, introduce students to the reading and interpretation of a topographic map, the basic description of a stratigraphic section and the inference of its depositional environment, the nature of intrusive contacts, and the field measurement of some structural features and geophysical properties. Students plot geological information on a map, identify landforms in aerial views and learn the tectonic features diagnostic of plate margins. By the end of the course, the students relate a geological map to the geological history of Quebec. | ||
| EPSC 303 | Structural Geology. | 3 |
Structural Geology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Primary igneous and sedimentary structures, attitudes of planes and lines, stress and strain, fracturing of rocks, faulting, homogeneous strain, description and classification of folds, foliation and lineation, orthographic and stereographic projections. | ||
| EPSC 320 | Elementary Earth Physics. | 3 |
Elementary Earth Physics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Physical properties of Earth and the processes associated with its existence as inferred from astronomy, geodesy, seismology, geology, terrestrial magnetism and thermal evolution. | ||
| EPSC 340 | Earth and Planetary Inference. | 3 |
Earth and Planetary Inference. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to modern techniques for combining geological, geophysical, and geochemical measurements with theoretical knowledge about Earth and other planets. Use of tools from time series analysis and inverse methods to build models and test hypotheses within the Earth and Planetary Sciences. | ||
| EPSC 350 | Tectonics. | 3 |
Tectonics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Rheology of the Earth, mechanics of the crust and mantle and core, convection in the mantle, evolution and kinematics and deformations of the oceanic and continental plates, thermal evolution of the Earth, the unifying theory of plate tectonics. | ||
| EPSC 423 | Igneous Petrology. | 3 |
Igneous Petrology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Physical properties, nucleation, crystallization, differentiation and emplacement of magmas. Integrated studies on various rock suites. | ||
| EPSC 480D1 | Honours Research Thesis. | 3 |
Honours Research Thesis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Research project, designed by a student in consultation with a departmental faculty member, leading to a thesis. | ||
| EPSC 480D2 | Honours Research Thesis. | 3 |
Honours Research Thesis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See EPSC 480D1 for course description. | ||
| EPSC 510 | Climate and Geodynamics | 3 |
Climate and Geodynamics Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics in geodynamics and its connection to climate and surface processes, including the Earth's gravity field, body and orbital dynamics, tidal interactions, Earth deformation under static and dynamic loads including glacial isostatic adjustment and sea level change, the history and dynamics of the Earth's climate and of surface ice and water. | ||
| EPSC 570 | Cosmochemistry. | 3 |
Cosmochemistry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examines the implications of phase equilibria and the compositions of meteorites and the solar system for the formation and internal differentiation of the terrestrial planets and the nature of chemical fractionation processes in both planetary interiors and the solar system as a whole. | ||
| MATH 222 | Calculus 3. | 3 |
Calculus 3. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals. | ||
| MATH 223 | Linear Algebra. | 3 |
Linear Algebra. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications. | ||
| MATH 314 | Advanced Calculus. | 3 |
Advanced Calculus. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Derivative as a matrix. Chain rule. Implicit functions. Constrained maxima and minima. Jacobians. Multiple integration. Line and surface integrals. Theorems of Green, Stokes and Gauss. Fourier series with applications. | ||
| MATH 315 | Ordinary Differential Equations. | 3 |
Ordinary Differential Equations. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions. | ||
| MATH 317 | Numerical Analysis. | 3 |
Numerical Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Error analysis. Numerical solutions of equations by iteration. Interpolation. Numerical differentiation and integration. Introduction to numerical solutions of differential equations. | ||
| MATH 319 | Partial Differential Equations . | 3 |
Partial Differential Equations . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. First order equations, geometric theory; second order equations, classification; Laplace, wave and heat equations, Sturm-Liouville theory, Fourier series, boundary and initial value problems. | ||
| PHYS 340 | Majors Electricity and Magnetism. | 3 |
Majors Electricity and Magnetism. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The electrostatic field and scalar potential. Dielectric properties of matter. Energy in the electrostatic field. Methods for solving problems in electrostatics. The magnetic field. Induction and inductance. Energy in the magnetic field. Magnetic properties of matter. Maxwell's equations. The dipole approximation. | ||
Complementary Courses (12 credits)
3 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PHYS 230 | Dynamics of Simple Systems. | 3 |
Dynamics of Simple Systems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Translational motion under Newton's laws; forces, momentum, work/energy theorem. Special relativity; Lorentz transforms, relativistic mechanics, mass/energy equivalence. Topics in rotational dynamics. Noninertial frames. | ||
| PHYS 251 | Honours Classical Mechanics 1. | 3 |
Honours Classical Mechanics 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Newton's laws, work energy, angular momentum. Harmonic oscillator, forced oscillations. Inertial forces, rotating frames. Central forces, centre of mass, planetary orbits, Kepler's laws. | ||
plus 9 credits (three courses) chosen from the following:
Note: Courses at the 300 level or higher in other departments in the Faculties of Science and Engineering may also be used as complementary credits, with the permission of the Director of undergraduate studies.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EPSC 334 | Invertebrate Paleontology. | 3 |
Invertebrate Paleontology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Preservation of fossils; the fossil record of invertebrates; use of fossils in stratigraphy and paleoecology; fossils in evolutionary studies. Fossils of invertebrates are studied in the laboratory. | ||
| EPSC 425 | Sediments to Sequences. | 3 |
Sediments to Sequences. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced techniques for interrogating the sedimentary record. Exploration of both descriptive and quantitative approaches to describing and interpreting the stratigraphic record, including sedimentary facies analysis, seismic stratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy, and chemostratigraphy. Other topics include methods for dating and age-calibrating the stratigraphic record and approaches to analyzing sedimentary cycles. | ||
| EPSC 445 | Metamorphic Petrology. | 3 |
Metamorphic Petrology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The origin, classification and petrological significance of metamorphic rocks, from the point of view of theory, experiment and field observations. | ||
| EPSC 501 | Crystal Chemistry. | 3 |
Crystal Chemistry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Discussion of crystal structures and compositions of important mineral groups, especially oxides, sulphides and silicates. Solid solution. Relation of structure to morphology and to chemical and physical properties of the rock-forming minerals. | ||
| EPSC 519 | Isotopes in Earth and Environmental Science. | 3 |
Isotopes in Earth and Environmental Science. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The theory and application of stable and radioactive isotope measurements in the Earth and environmental sciences, including applications in geology, hydrology, climatology, biogeochemistry, and ecology. | ||
| EPSC 520 | Earthquake Physics and Geology. | 3 |
Earthquake Physics and Geology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. What are earthquakes and how do we study them? Fundamental mechanics of faulting and earthquake source processes are explored from theoretical and observational perspectives. The lectures cover concepts of earthquake source mechanism, including seismic waves, earthquake energy budget, fracture and friction mechanics, earthquake cycle deformation, earthquake triggering and prediction, and seismic hazards. This is complemented by in-class discussion on recent major discoveries and challenges in the field. Students learn to investigate earthquake source process by using seismic, geodetic and geological data in computer labs and course projects supervised by the instructor(s). | ||
| EPSC 530 | Volcanology. | 3 |
Volcanology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The physical mechanisms which drive volcanoes and volcanic activity are presented. Descriptive, practical and theoretical approaches to the study of volcanoes are discussed. | ||
| EPSC 547 | Modelling Geochemical Processes. | 3 |
Modelling Geochemical Processes. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Modelling will be applied to construct equilibrium and transport models that quantitatively investigate geochemical processes occurring on Earth and other planets. Topics include, but are not restricted to: box modelling of the transport of elements between geochemical reservoirs, chemical reactions of components during flow through systems, interactions between multiple, competing reactions and/or processes. Model applications will vary from the core and mantle of planets to their surface environments and humans' impact upon them. | ||
| EPSC 548 | Igneous Petrogenetic Mechanisms. | 3 |
Igneous Petrogenetic Mechanisms. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Investigation of the primary mechanisms causing the diversity of igneous rock compositions on the Earth, other planets, asteroids, and meteorite parent bodies. | ||
| EPSC 549 | Hydrogeology. | 3 |
Hydrogeology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to groundwater flow through porous media. Notions of fluid potential and hydraulic head. Darcy flux and Darcy's Law. Physical properties of porous media and their measurement. Equation of groundwater flow. Flow systems. Hydraulics of pumping and recharging wells. Notions of hydrology. Groundwater quality and contamination. Physical processes of contaminant transport. | ||
| EPSC 550 | Selected Topics 1. | 3 |
Selected Topics 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Research seminar and/or lecture with readings in topics concerning aspects of current interests in Earth Planetary Sciences. | ||
| EPSC 551 | Selected Topics 2. | 3 |
Selected Topics 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Research seminar and/or lecture with readings in topics concerning aspects of current interest in Earth Planetary Sciences. | ||
| EPSC 552 | Selected Topics 3. | 3 |
Selected Topics 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Research seminar and/or lecture with readings in topics concerning aspects of current interest in Earth Planetary Sciences. | ||
| EPSC 561 | Ore-forming Processes. | 3 |
Ore-forming Processes. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Physicochemical controls of hydrothermal mineral deposition. Discussion of fluid inclusion theory and application; stable isotope systematics, wall-rock alteration; ore mineral solubility and speciation; and mechanisms of mineral deposition. | ||
| EPSC 567 | Advanced Volcanology. | 3 |
Advanced Volcanology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An in-depth approach to physical and chemical processes associated with volcanic systems. Examination of magma chamber dynamics, magma behaviour in conduits, and eruption mechanisms. Study of eruptive products including pyroclastic deposits, lava flows and lava domes, and volcanic gases. Volcanic-tectonic and magma-hydrothermal interactions. | ||
| EPSC 590 | Applied Geochemistry Seminar. | 3 |
Applied Geochemistry Seminar. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Seminar course devoted to field case studies that illustrate the applications of geochemical principles to solving geologic problems. Each student will prepare and lead a class devoted to a geochemical subject of their own choosing. | ||