...take advantage of all the resources available to you through the Faculty of Science and its departments.

My name is Rachel and I am currently in my third year of the Honours Biology and Environmental Science program and working towards an interdisciplinary minor in Sustainability and a concurrent certificate in Geographic Information Science. I am also currently interning as a research assistant in McMaster’s Remote Sensing Lab.

My first year of university was in Engineering at a different Ontario university where I learned I didn’t want to pursue a career in engineering. By the following year I had transferred into McMaster’s Environmental and Earth Sciences Gateway program since my favourite topics to learn about include climate, geology, ecology, and other natural sciences. I still feel that my decision to transfer into McMaster Science and study what I’m truly passionate about is the best decision I have ever made! Based on my interests after taking courses in all areas of science in the Gateway program, the Biology and Environmental Sciences program seemed perfect for me.

I have enjoyed the content in my Biology and Environmental Science courses so much that I have learned I absolutely want to pursue graduate studies in the field of Environmental Science and possibly have a career in academic research in the future. In preparation for applying to graduate schools and then doing graduate research, I am taking a science internship course working in the laboratory of a professor, learning if I like doing research, and gaining research experience as early as I can.

My biggest piece of advice to incoming Science students is to take advantage of all the resources available to you through the Faculty of Science and its departments. In my first year I was overwhelmed about choosing courses and my second-year program, so I took the opportunities I could talk with academic advisors, professors, and attend office hours and events aimed at first year students.

I hope you love your time at McMaster as much as I do and make the most out of everything the Faculty of Science has to offer.

Through the co-op program I have been able to gain real-world experience in different fields such as environmental impact assessment, water/wastewater treatment, and using GIS in public sector.

My name is Lysha, I am in my final year of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Co-op program. I am also pursuing a Concurrent Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). I am currently working on a thesis with the McMaster Ecohydrology Lab where I will be using remote sensing and GIS to look at the spatial and temporal variability in ice on and off of lakes and wetlands in the Georgian Bay region.

I chose McMaster and the Faculty of Science because of the great reputation in science and the flexibility that gateway programs allow. This meant that I could have a good idea about what I wanted to study, but left the door open for me to explore different interests as well. I chose Earth and Environmental Sciences because I have always wanted to help the world around me. I enjoy several different streams of science and wanted to learn to apply them to solve real world problems. I have had the opportunity to take general biology, chemistry, physics, math, and programming courses and learned how they can all apply to the natural world through topics like geophysics, hydrogeology, and spatial statistics.

The Honours Earth and Environmental Sciences program at McMaster has exposed me to so many new learning opportunities. The program focuses on topics like hydrology and climate, GIS, earth science, and environmental policy. Being able to take classes in a variety of topics has made me a more well-rounded student and allowed me to find where my passions lie. Through the co-op program I have been able to gain real-world experience in different fields such as environmental impact assessment, water/wastewater treatment, and using GIS in public sector.

I would tell a student interested in a Faculty of Science program to actively try to step out of your comfort zone. That can be something like talking to a professor about their research, trying out a new club, or taking a class that you think might be interesting, but maybe is not directly related to your major. I would not have learned about most of my interests if I had not tried things that were outside of my comfort zone!