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Trent University
Environmental & Life Sciences
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  1. Trentu.ca
  2. Environmental & Life Sciences
  3. The Experience

The Experience

Environmental & Life Sciences News

photo of woman holding an Atlantic puffin bird

The Puffin Conundrum: Young Atlantic Puffins Need Darkness, But Are Attracted to Light

New research by Environmental & Life Sciences Ph.D. graduate offers key insight for helping Newfoundland’s beloved provincial bird avoid the risks of getting stranded

November 20, 2025
an underwater image of a stream-resident brook trout fish swimming near the bottom of a rocky stream

More Oxygen Won’t Save Fish from Warming Waters

Trent study helps inform long-standing theory about increasing oxygen levels in higher water temperatures to support heat tolerance in aquatic species

November 12, 2025
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ENLS Graduate Program Conference

Take a look at our recent ENLS Conference Abstract Booklet to learn more about our Graduate Students' research.

Abstract Booklet and Schedule

Fields of Study

The Environmental & Life Sciences Graduate Program is deliberately interdisciplinary.  Our students’ experiences are diverse, gleaned from across the disciplines – ecology, environmental chemistry, forensics, genetics, geography, and physiology. This is deliberate.  It is because scientific advances are most rapid at the interface of the disciplines.  It is because environmental solutions demand a multifaceted view.  It is because interdisciplinary training enhances our students' success in publishing, finding employment, and flourishing.

Not only do graduate students in the program have access to world-class facilities and the opportunity to work with globally-recognized leaders in their field of expertise to conduct their research, our Program Staff are available to help support and motivate students throughout the entire process. A number of students have expressed how influential the support system has contributed directly and indirectly to providing them with exceptional experiences; allowing individuals to explore their research interests while promoting leadership and personal growth; and fostering integrity, respect, service, and commitment to Trent’s mission. You can take comfort in knowing that you will be set up for success in this program!


The Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program encompasses 4 different fields of study:

1.  Earth Sciences, Natural Resources, and Agriculture - Climatology, geomorphology, and hydrology, including surface hydrology, sediment transport, process geomorphology, wind tunnel simulation, boundary-layer climatology, and surface-atmosphere interactions

2. Ecosystem Biogeochemistry and Trace Contaminants - Sources, distribution, cycling and transformations of organic and inorganic contaminants, and their uptake by and effects of organisms, elemental cycling (transport, sources, sinks) in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, the role of anthropogenic stressors in altering elemental cycles, biological response to altered cycles

3. Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation - Fish and wildlife management, evolutionary and population ecology, biological conservation, ecological and evolutionary physiology of plants and animals, physiology of environmental stressors

4. Genes, Cells, and Physiological Systems - Molecular virology, protein engineering, forensic science, biochemistry, molecular biology, genomics, genetics of behaviour and aging, cancer


 

Please visit our Faculty & Research page to see what fields of research are currently being studied. Interested students are encouraged to contact faculty directly to discuss possible graduate openings in their lab. Please also see our Current Research Opportunities listing. 

Financial support is provided to all full-time M.Sc. and Ph.D. students admitted to the program. Please see our awards and scholarship page for more details. Financial support comes from diverse sources, such as internal scholarships, external scholarships, Graduate Teaching Assistantships or faculty research funds. Support levels are reviewed annually. Candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for external scholarships (NSERC, OGS) on their own behalf during their last year of undergraduate or M.Sc. programs. Application deadlines for these and other external scholarships are typically in October or November.

More information about financial support and scholarships is available from the Graduate Studies Office and through Trent University's Financial Aid.

 

Please refer to the current Academic Calendar for further details on the ENLS Program.

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M.Sc. Program

Admission Requirements

For more detailed information on how to apply to EnLS, visit the Trent University Graduate Studies page.

M.Sc. Program

Accelerated Masters Program

For more detailed information on how to apply to EnLS, visit the Trent University Graduate Studies page.

Accelerated Masters Program
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Ph.D. Program

Admission Requirements

For more detailed information on how to apply to EnLS, visit the Trent University Graduate Studies.

Ph.D. Program
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Student Research

Graduate students in the Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program (EnLS) have access to world-class facilities to conduct their research.

Student Research
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How to Apply

Important information on how to apply to the Environmental & Life Sciences graduate program.

How to Apply
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Forms & Resources

Forms and resources for students and faculty of the ENLS program.

Forms for Students & Faculty
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Awards & Scholarships

Internal and external awards and scholarships for graduate students.

Please visit the Graduate Studies scholarship page for all Trent Graduate Studies Scholarship and their Deadlines.

Awards & Scholarships

The Experience

  • M.Sc. Program
    • Accelerated Masters
      • Why do an Accelerated Masters?
  • Ph.D. Program
  • Forms for Students & Faculty
  • Student Research
    • Careers & Alumni
  • Awards & Scholarships

Related Links

  • ENLS Program Handbook
  • Forms for Students & Faculty
  • Graduate Studies
  • Trent Career Centre
  • Trent School of the Environment
  • Trent Biology
  • Trent Chemistry
  • Trent Community Research Centre
  • Trent Forensics
  • MNRF Aquatics
  • MNRF Wildlife
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Trent University respectfully acknowledges it is located on the treaty and traditional territory of the Mississauga Anishnaabeg. We offer our gratitude to First Peoples for their care for, and teachings about, our earth and our relations. May we honour those teachings.

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