General Information

View our Graduate Student handbook

Degree Programs

The Earth Sciences Department offers both MSc and PhD degrees. A glance through the areas of research page will provide you with a wide spectrum of research areas in our department. Once you have chosen your prefered area of interest please view our faculty member lisitng page and connect with a faculty member whose research best matches your research interests. Please note that Honorary Research Professors and Professors Emeritus are not accepting graduate students.

In addition to our faculty expertise, our department is particularly well equipped with modern analytical equipment. The Earth Resources Research and Analysis (TERRA) Facility is located right here, in Earth Sciences building. The TERRA Facility provides researchers with a variety of instrumentations including ICP-MS, XRF, XRD, Microprobe, Radiogenic Isotope, and Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometers.

All graduate degrees require a research-based thesis. In addition to graduate research projects in these areas, the department also participates actively in multidisciplinary MSc programs in Environmental Science and Computational Science. These programs are initiatives of the Faculty of Science, and offer thesis-based degrees as well as course-only degrees.

Financial Support

MSc students are eligible to receive $20,000 per year, for two years in personal financial support. Ph.D. students are eligible to receive $21,800 per year, for four years in personal financial support. This support comes from a combination of fellowships from the School of Graduate Studies and contributions from the thesis supervisor. 

Students may also be eligible to receive external financial support from scholarships, research funding organizations and industry-sponsored funds. For example, Canadian students with strong academic records can apply for NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships. To view a variety of other internal and external scholarships, please visit our Graduate Scholarships page. Students may also be eligible for a Teaching Assistanceship (TAS) if a position is available, please contact with your supervisor for questions regarding TAS.

Application Procedures and Admission Criteria

Visit the University Diary for application deadlines. It will be in your best interest to apply as far in advance as possible in order that you may be considered for Fellowship support. Graduate students may begin their studies at the start of any of the three semesters - September/January/May.

Successful applicants to the MSc program will normally have a BSc with a minimum of 2nd class Honours. If your University offers an Honours degree as well as a General degree, you should obtain the Honours degree.

Successful applicants to the PhD program will normally have completed an MSc degree, although exceptionally well qualified BSc students will be considered for direct entry to the PhD program.

Students whose first laungage is that other than English must provide evidence of completion of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum score of 550. This requirement may be waived for students who have successfully completed at least 2 years of study at a university in which English is the language of instruction and examination.

Earth Sciences is a very broad discipline with strong ties to cognate areas such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics. Some of the most interesting research takes place at the interfaces with these other disciplines. Although most of our graduate students have prior degrees in Earth Sciences, this is not always the case. For example, physics or mathematics students often find relevant thesis projects in geophysics; biology students in paleontology; chemistry students in geochemistry or mineralogy. Well qualified and motivated students from other backgrounds are encouraged to contact faculty members to discuss possible thesis projects.

To print an application package or complete an online application, please visit the School of Graduate Studies.

For general information on tuition, living in St. John's, and student life at Memorial University, please visit the School of Graduate Studies.

For further information, please contact by e-mail earthsci@mun.ca