Earth Sciences

Established in 1982, the Ottawa-Carleton Geoscience Centre (OCGC) combines the research strengths of the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. The Centre offers graduate programs leading to the master’s (MSc) and doctoral (PhD) degrees in Earth sciences.

Research facilities are shared between the two campuses. Students have access to the professors, courses and facilities at both universities; however, they must register at the “home university” of the thesis supervisor.

Members of the Institute are engaged in the following main areas of research: environmental geoscience, geochemistry / petrology, geomathematics / geomatics, mineral resources studies, sedimentary systems, and tectonics / geophysics.

Most of the courses in these programs are offered in English. Research activities can be conducted either in English, French or both, depending on the language used by the professor and the members of his or her research group.

The Centre is one of the participating units in the collaborative program in chemical and environmental toxicology (at the master’s and doctoral levels) and in environmental sustainability (at master's level).

In accordance with the University of Ottawa regulation, students have a right to produce their work, their thesis, and to answer examination questions in French or in English.

• MINERALOGY 
• ADVANCED IGNEOUS PETROLOGY
• GEOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF ORE DEPOSITS 
• SILICICLASTIC SEDIMENTOLOGY
• CARBONATE SEDIMENTOLOGY
• PALEOBIOLOGY 
• GLACIAL AND PERIGLACIAL GEOLOGY
• ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE
• ENVIRONMENTAL ISOTOPES AND GROUNDWATER GEOCHEMISTRY
• TECHNIQUES OF GROUNDWATER RESOURCES EVALUATION
• GEOCHEMISTRY OF NATURAL WATERS
• THEORY OF FLOW AND CONTAMINANT TRANSPORT IN GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS
• PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGY
• COMPUTER TECHNIQUES IN THE EARTH SCIENCES
• TECTONIC PROCESSES EMPHASIZING GEOCHRONOLOGY AND METAMORPHISM
• CHEMISTRY OF THE EARTH
• STABLE ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY
• RADIOISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY
• PHYSICS OF THE EARTH
• STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY
• TECTONICS 
• ENGINEERING SEISMOLOGY
• GEOPHYSICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
• FIELD STUDIES
• SEMINARS IN EARTH SCIENCES
• PhD THESIS

Requirements

• Hold a related master's degree
• Application Fee:$100.00 ($CDN non-refundable)
• 2 Recommendation letter(s)
• Transcript
• Proof of proficiency in your program's language of instruction, in the case of applicants whose first language is neither English nor French
  Language proficiency test scores equivalencies:TOEFL 550 / IELTS Overall 6.5 - Individual 5.0 (Paper-based), TOEFL 79-80 / IELTS Overall 6.5 - Individual 5.0 (Internet-based)
• Resume
• A letter of intent outlining your career goals and proposed research area.
• We recommend that you contact potential thesis supervisors early. To register, you need to be accepted by a thesis supervisor.
• International students must show proof of funding in the form of a supervisor stipend and a combination of scholarships and/or in-trust accounts.

Scholarships

• Full/Partial FGPS Scholarship
• Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS)
• Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship
• Mitacs Globalink Fellowship