Geophysics
The Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences offers majors, honours and combined honours specializations in Geophysics. For information on graduate degrees see Geophysics.
Geophysics is an interdisciplinary physical science of the planets and their environments, in particular the Earth. Geophysics applies the knowledge and techniques of physics, mathematics, and chemistry to understand planetary structure, dynamic behavior and evolution through time.
Those who wish to undertake graduate studies or apply for professional registration as a geophysicist in industry are encouraged to enrol in Major or Honours Geophysics specializations. Students who desire to register as Professional Geoscientists (P.Geo.) should contact the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia to ascertain course and other requirements. The Major Earth and Ocean Sciences specialization is available for students who have a broad interest in the Earth Sciences as it relates to geophysics.
For details of other undergraduate Science specializations available in the department, see Atmospheric Science, Earth and Ocean Sciences , Environmental Sciences, Geological Sciences, and Oceanography. The department also offers Geological Engineering as part of the B.A.Sc. program.
Co-operative Education Option
This option integrates academic study and supervised work experience. Enrolment is limited. Admissibility to any Geophysics specialization is prerequisite for admission. Detailed information is available from Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences or the Science Co-operative Education Office.
Specializations
Major (0001): Geophysics1
| First Year | |
|---|---|
| Communication Requirement2 | 6 |
| CHEM 121 (or 111) | 4 |
| CHEM 123 (or 113) | 4 |
| MATH 100 or 102 or 104 (or 120 or 180 or 184)8 | 3 |
| MATH 101 or 103 or 105 (or 121)8 | 3 |
| PHYS 107 (or 117) (or 101)3 | 3 |
| PHYS 108, 109 (or 118, 119) (or 102)3 | 4 |
| Electives4,6 | 3 |
| Total Credits | 30 |
| Second Year | |
| EOSC 212 or (EOSC 111 and one of EOSC 110, 112, 114, 116, 118)6 | 3 |
| EOSC 211, 222, 250 | 9 |
| MATH 200, 215, 221 | 9 |
| PHYS 2035 | 4 |
| Electives6 | 5 |
| Total Credits | 30 |
| Third and Fourth Years | |
| EOSC 352, 353, 354 | 9 |
| EOSC 450, 453, 454 | 10 |
| MATH 316 (or PHYS 312) | 3 |
| MATH 3177 | 3 |
| PHYS 3015 | 3 |
| Electives6 | 32 |
| Total Credits | 60 |
| Minimum Credits for Degree | 120 |
| 1 Students transferring from the Faculty of Applied Science should contact the geophysics undergraduate advisor for appropriate counting of FOAS course credit toward the GEOP degree. | |
| 2 For a full list of acceptable courses see Communication Requirement. ENGL 112 is recommended. | |
| 3 Students without Physics 12 must take PHYS 100 before any other PHYS 100-level course. PHYS 100 will count as an elective. Qualified students are encouraged to take PHYS 107/108/109 or PHYS 117/118/119. Students who chose PHYS 102 must increase electives credits by 1. | |
| 4 Students without one of Biology 11 or 12 must take 3 credits of 100-level biology. | |
| 5 Two 300-level or higher courses in thermodynamics, electromagnetism, or mechanics (solid or fluid), offered by the Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Applied Science, may satisfy these course requirements. See the geophysics undergraduate advisor for course approval. | |
| 6 Students who find the specific number of electives within a given year awkward to fulfill are permitted to move elective credit between years. Electives must be selected to ensure that the following Faculty of Science requirements are met: a) sufficient credits from the Faculty of Arts, excluding Arts credits used to satisfy the Communication Requirement; b) sufficient credits to satisfy the Breadth Requirement; c) sufficient upper-level credits including the specialization requirements; and d) sufficient upper-level Science credits including the specialization requirements. | |
| 7 A course in numerical analysis at the third-year level or higher, and offered by the Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Applied Science, will also satisfy this requirement. See the geophysics undergraduate advisor for course approval. | |
| 8 MATH 110 may substitute for the specified differential calculus courses listed by decreasing the electives by 3 credits. For each 4 credit MATH 100-level course chosen, electives credits must be decreased by 1. | |
Specialization Objectives
Mastery of the curriculum will provide a thorough background in a wide range of geophysics:
- that will qualify students for a wide range of careers in, or involving, the natural sciences;
- that students may use towards registration as a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.) with the Association of Professional Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC);
- that will qualify students for graduate school in geophysics.
Learning Goals
Students completing this specialization will be able to:
- demonstrate basic knowledge of the physics of the Earth and other planets;
- use analytical problem solving and mathematical techniques for model development;
- use numerical problem solving, computer programming skills, statistical approaches and inverse theory for data analysis and modeling;
- illustrate the distinctions between data, experiment, theory, and model;
- integrate theory, observations, and/or numerics to solve geophysics problems;
- apply geophysical approaches to understand the structure and dynamics of Earth and other planetary bodies;
- write reports and communicate through oral presentations.
Honours (0380): Geophysics (GEOP)1
| First Year | |
|---|---|
| Communication Requirement2 | 6 |
| CHEM 121 (or 111) | 4 |
| CHEM 123 (or 113) | 4 |
| MATH 100 or 102 or 104 (or 120 or 180 or 184)8 | 3 |
| MATH 101 or 103 or 105 (or 121)8 | 3 |
| PHYS 107 (or 117) (or 101)3 | 3 |
| PHYS 108, 109 (or 118, 119) (or 102)3 | 4 |
| Electives4,5 | 6 |
| Total Credits | 33 |
| Second Year | |
| EOSC 212 (or EOSC 111 and one of EOSC 110, 112, 114, 116, 118)5 | 3 |
| EOSC 211, 222, 250 | 9 |
| MATH 200, 215 | 6 |
| MATH 223 (or 221) | 3 |
| PHYS 2036 | 4 |
| Electives4,5 | 8 |
| Total Credits | 33 |
| Third and Fourth Years | |
| EOSC 352, 353, 354 | 9 |
| EOSC 450, 453, 454 | 10 |
| EOSC 449 | 6 |
| MATH 316 (or PHYS 312) | 3 |
| MATH 3177 | 3 |
| PHYS 3016 | 3 |
| Electives5 | 32 |
| Total Credits | 66 |
| Minimum Credits for Degree | 132 |
| 1 Students transferring from the Faculty of Applied Science should contact the geophysics undergraduate advisor for appropriate counting of Faculty of Applied Science course credit toward the GEOP degree. | |
| 2 For a full list of acceptable courses see Communication Requirement. ENGL 112 is recommended. | |
| 3 Students without Physics 12 must take PHYS 100 before any other PHYS 100-level course. PHYS 100 will count as an elective. Qualified students are encouraged to take PHYS 107/108/109 or PHYS 117/118/119. Students who chose PHYS 102 must increase elective credits by 1. | |
| 4 Students without one of Biology 11 or 12 must take 3 credits of 100-level biology. | |
| 5 Students who find the specific number of electives within a given year awkward to fulfill are permitted to move elective credit between years. There must be enough total elective credits to achieve a program total of 132 credits and honours students must take a minimum of 30 credits each Winter Session. Electives must be selected to ensure that the following Faculty of Science requirements are met: a) sufficient credits from the Faculty of Arts, excluding Arts credits used to satisfy the Communication Requirement; b) sufficient upper-level credits including the specialization requirements; and c) sufficient upper-level Science credits including the specialization requirements. | |
| 6 Two 300-level or higher courses in thermodynamics, electromagnetism, or mechanics (solid or fluid), offered by the Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Applied Science, may satisfy these course requirements. See the geophysics undergraduate advisor for course approval. | |
| 7 A course in numerical analysis at the third-year level or higher, and offered by the Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Applied Science, will also satisfy this requirement. See the geophysics undergraduate advisor for course approval. | |
| 8 MATH 110 may substitute for the specified differential calculus courses listed by decreasing the electives by 3 credits. For each 4 credit MATH 100-level course chosen, elective credits must be decreased by 1. | |
Specialization Objectives
Honours will provide more depth than the Major. Mastery of the curriculum will provide a thorough background in a wide range of geophysics:
- that will qualify students for graduate school in geophysics;
- that students may use towards registration as a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.) with the Association of Professional Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC);
- that will qualify students for a wide range of careers in, or involving, the natural sciences.
Learning Goals
Students completing this specialization will be able to:
- demonstrate basic knowledge of the physics of the Earth and other planets;
- use analytical problem solving and mathematical techniques for model development;
- use numerical problem solving, computer programming skills, statistical approaches and inverse theory for data analysis and modeling;
- illustrate the distinctions between data, experiment, theory, and model;
- integrate theory, observations, and/or numerics to solve geophysics problems;
- apply geophysical approaches to understand the structure and dynamics of Earth and other planetary bodies;
- define, conduct, and present the results of an individual research project;
- write reports and communicate through oral presentations.
Combined Honours: Geophysics and Another Science Subject1
| First Year | |
|---|---|
| Communication Requirement2 | 6 |
| CHEM 121 (or 111) | 4 |
| CHEM 123 (or 113) | 4 |
| MATH 100 or 102 or 104 (or 120 or 180 or 184)8 | 3 |
| MATH 101 or 103 or 105 (or 121)8 | 3 |
| PHYS 107 (or 117) (or 101)3 | 3 |
| PHYS 108, 109 (or 118, 119) (or 102)3 | 4 |
| Electives3,4,5 | 6 |
| Total Credits | 33 |
| Second Year | |
| EOSC 211, 222, 250 | 9 |
| EOSC 212 (or EOSC 111 and one of EOSC 110, 112, 114, 116, 118)5 | 3 |
| MATH 200, 215 | 6 |
| MATH 221 (or 223) | 3 |
| Electives5 | 12 |
| Total Credits | 33 |
| Third and Fourth Years | |
| EOSC 352, 353, 354 | 9 |
| EOSC 450, 453, 454 | 10 |
| MATH 316 or PHYS 312 | 3 |
| MATH 3177 | 3 |
| PHYS 3016 | 3 |
| EOSC 449 (or thesis in other discipline) | 6 |
| Electives5 | 32 |
| Total Credits | 66 |
| Minimum Credits for Degree | 132 |
| 1 Combined honours must be approved by advisors from both disciplines at the time that the specialization is declared. Not all disciplines offer combined honours. Examples of combined honours geophysics and other subjects are at Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. Students transferring from the Faculty of Applied Science should contact the geophysics undergraduate advisor for appropriate counting of Faculty of Applied Science course credit toward the GEOP degree. | |
| 2 For a full list of acceptable courses see Communication Requirement. ENGL 112 is recommended. | |
| 3 Students without Physics 12 must take PHYS 100 before any other PHYS 100-level course. PHYS 100 will count as an elective. Qualified students are encouraged to take PHYS 107/108/109 or PHYS 117/118/119. Students who chose PHYS 102 must increase elective credits by 1. | |
| 4 Students without one of Biology 11 or 12 must take 3 credits of 100-level biology. | |
| 5 Within the specified electives all students must meet the requirements of the other specialization. The available elective credit in each of the different years may be adjusted to allow for alternative courses and specific specialization combinations, as long as there are 132 total credits and that there are at least 30 credits in each Winter Session. Electives must be selected to ensure that the following Faculty of Science requirements are met: a) sufficient credits from the Faculty of Arts, excluding Arts credits used to satisfy the Faculty of Science Communication Requirement; b) sufficient upper-level credits including specialization requirements; and c) sufficient upper-level Science credits including specialization requirements. If fewer than 18 additional credits are specified by the other specialization, further courses must be selected in consultation with specialization advisors. | |
| 6 A 300-level or higher course in thermodynamics, electromagnetism, or mechanics (solid or fluid), offered by the Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Applied Science, may satisfy this requirement. See the geophysics undergraduate advisor for course approval. | |
| 7 A course in numerical analysis at the third-year level or higher, and offered by the Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Applied Science, will also satisfy this requirement. See the geophysics undergraduate advisor for course approval. | |
| 8 MATH 110 may substitute for the specified differential calculus courses listed by decreasing the electives by 3 credits. For each 4 credit MATH 100-level course chosen, elective credits must be decreased by 1. | |
