ENSC 502

Course dates/duration:
This course takes place in the fall and winter terms (full course).

Course description:
This is the capstone course for our program. It consists of an eight month experiential research project, relevant to Albertans that is conducted by the students. The class is divided into subgroups between four and six people and each group is assigned a mentor who has expertise in the field of study. The project is accompanied by relevant presentations by students and by experts in the topic of study in addition to lectures on environmental science, practices, issues and management. There are no formal labs associated with the course, but some projects involving field sampling and laboratory analysis give students hands-on experience. Students are assigned a research topic, but the remainder of the project, including its design, implementation and presentation, are performed by the students in this course.

Location:
The course is held at the University of Calgary, but may involve field trips and/or surveys, depending on the nature of the project.

Course structure:
Two 75 minute lectures per week for the duration of the fall and winter terms.  Typically there is a mid-term and final exam on the lecture component of the course. However, the bulk of the grade is associated with the research component of the course, including a proposal, a final report as well as poster and oral presentations at an open house at the end of the winter term.

Logistical details:
Additional time for field and laboratory components of the course should be taken into account by the student at the time of registration. Note that no laboratory is scheduled for this class and the time devoted to this portion of the course is at the student's discretion. However, students typically find this course to be very demanding of their time.

Availability:
This course is restricted to ENSC students. The prerequisite or corequisite is ENSC 401.  It is highly recommended that ENSC 401 be taken prior to this course.