Freshwater systems provide many essential ecosystem services, such as clean water, food, energy, recreation, climate regulation and waste assimilation. As human populations and economies grow, demand for these ecosystem services will continue to increase.
Trent University's 4-year Bachelor of Science degree in Water Sciences provides students with the knowledge and skills they will need to respond to contemporary water challenges, in Canada and internationally.
The Water Sciences Program is a cooperative undertaking by three academic units: Biology, Chemistry, and the School of the Environment. Students in the Water Sciences Program of Study complete required courses drawn from four primary subjects (biology, chemistry, geography, and environmental science), that together provide the technical and theoretical foundation for study of the science of water and the aquatic environment.
The Department Representative for the Water Science Program in the Biology Department is Dr. Paul Frost.
Admission Requirements
Admission requirements are consistent with existing Trent B.Sc. degrees; see the current Trent Academic Calendar for details. Students may specify their interest in the program when they first apply to Trent; they may also transfer into the program after their first year, depending on whether they have obtained the necessary course prerequisites.
Faculty
The Water Sciences Degree is taught and supported by three Trent academic units. Below are links to their respective faculty and staff pages:
Biology Department Faculty and Staff
Chemistry Department Faculty and Staff
School of the Environment Faculty and Staff
Curriculum
The Water Sciences curriculum is designed to ensure that students gain a broad foundation in the scientific disciplines and related policy fields that are relevant to water and the aquatic environment. The interdisciplinary program provides a broad, yet in-depth understanding of:
- the basic mechanics of water movement within the environment,
- the factors affecting its chemical and physical quality,
- its feedbacks within the climate system,
- the biological and ecological importance and functions of water,
- its suitability as biological habitat or for human use and
- policies relating to the governance and management of freshwater resources.
The most current requirements of this degree program are to be found in the Trent University Undergraduate Academic Calendar.
