Fall Application Deadline Extended
All Streams
Domestic Applicants: application deadline extended to March 1, 2025.
International Applicants: applications are closed.
The Trent advantage
Jumpstart your career in the environmental sector. Make an environmental impact with applied knowledge, professional placement experience, and the ability to learn fully online. Our professional programs will equip you with key skills and knowledge sought after by leading organizations in the environmental sector.
Program Description
Our unique program streams allow you to choose your pathway to future success as you apply critical thinking to current issues in environmental monitoring and assessment while learning and applying the latest techniques in sampling design, data analysis, science communication, geomatics, environmental genomics and landscape ecology.
Thesis Stream (Offered Fall, Winter & Spring intakes)
The new M.Sc. in Bioenvironmental Monitoring and Assessment is designed to prepare its graduates for future employment in the fields of bioenvironmental monitoring, population assessment, wildlife management, and conservation biology. Many of today’s pressing environmental questions can be addressed either through robust analysis of existing ecological datasets or by conducting original research using especially novel and innovative approaches.
This graduate program is designed to train students to answer questions strategically and efficiently, using state-of-the-art data collection and analytical tools in landscape genetics, population viability and trend analysis, environmental genomics, ecological stoichiometry, and nutrient cycling assessment. The program is thesis-based and is differentiated from traditional MSc programs by stressing how and why our environment is changing. It includes a required experiential learning component through placement with a non-academic partner, and mandatory professional skills workshops on topics of particular relevance to job training. MSc graduates will be well-positioned for employment in a variety of bioenvironmental sectors including in government, NGOs or industry.
Course-Based Stream (Offered Fall intake only)
As part of this online professional program, gain professional skills and practical experience in the Master of Bioenvironmental Monitoring and Assessment (M.BEMA). This combination is attractive to organizations that require deeper understanding of specialized monitoring and assessment issues, including all levels of government, conservation authorities, non-profit organizations and environmental consulting companies.
Complete the first professional masters degree in environmental sciences at Trent and be poised for success in the competitive environmental employment sector. As part of this full-time 12-month professional degree, you will complete eight online courses as well as a four-month placement experience. This placement will take place with environmental sector partners and be followed by a mandatory week-long face-to-face capstone course.
Experiential Learning
The M.BEMA and MSc degrees include a 4-month professional placement in the final summer term that can be paid or unpaid. Placements are typically with conservation authorities, government agencies (municipal, provincial, federal), environmental consultancies, and NGOs. Students will be applying their learned skills and knowledge in the workplace, whether collecting & analyzing data, writing technical reports, generating maps, communicating results to stakeholders, and/or developing environmental monitoring plans. Students will be active participants in this process, working with the Placement Coordinator on career preparedness prior to the placement, including creating a professional LinkedIn profile, networking, identifying skills, updating resumes, conducting job searches, writing cover letters, and preparing for interviews.
Program Details
- Where can I study?
- Peterborough
- Degrees offered
- Master of Bioenvironmental Monitoring & Assessment (M.BEMA)
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Program Length
- Thesis stream: 24 months
- Course-based stream: 12 months
- When can I start?
- Fall
- Winter
- Spring/Summer
- Applications Open
- Fall intake: October 10th (all streams)
- Winter intake: February 1st (thesis stream only)
- Spring intake: June 1st (thesis stream only)
- Application Deadline
- Fall intake: February 1st
- Winter intake: June 1st
- Spring intake: October 1st
- Guaranteed Funding
- Thesis stream: Yes (for eligible students)
- Course-based stream: No
- Deposit Required
- Thesis stream: No
- Course-based stream: Yes
Admissions
Trent has clear pathways for graduate students to apply and be admitted to study for their master's or doctorate at either of our campuses. Please review admission requirements for your program before applying.
Eligibility Requirements
- B.Sc. Honours degree (a four-year undergraduate bachelor’s degree) in the Sciences
- Minimum B+ (77%) or equivalent in the last two years of full-time study, or last ten full academic credits
Eligibility Requirements
- B.Sc. Honours degree (a four-year undergraduate bachelor’s degree) in the Sciences
- Minimum B+ (77%) or equivalent in the last two years of full-time study, or last ten full academic credits
- Proof of English Proficiency: All international applicants must provide proof of an adequate level of English proficiency regardless of their citizenship status or country of origin. Please visit our How to Apply: International page for details on English Language Proficiency requirements.
- A GRE test score is not required for admission into this program
All applicants, domestic and international, must submit the following documents to complete their application:
- Transcripts: Unofficial copies of all post-secondary transcripts
- 2 letters of reference: Academic references are required for the thesis stream. Professional references can be accepted for the course-based stream. Reference forms will be emailed to the referees that you have appointed on OUAC
- Plan of Study/Personal Statement: 1-2 pages outlining your objectives in a graduate program. Any specific research interests, relevant experiences, and/or career aspirations can be included
- Detailed Resume or Curriculum Vitae
- Proof of Citizenship (ie. copy of passport or birth certificate)
- Supervisor (thesis-stream only): A potential supervisor must be chosen as an admission requirement for this program. Please list your supervisor on your OUAC application and discuss this in your plan of study. Please visit the program's Faculty and Research page for a listing of faculty and areas of research. Applicants are responsible for reaching out to a faculty member
For more information on submitting transcripts, re-sending reference links and other application questions, please visit our How to Apply: Domestic or International pages and review Step 4, as well as review our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).
Financial Matters
Thesis stream
Eligible full-time students are offered minimum funding packages during their funded period of $20,000 annually, which includes a Graduate Teaching Assistantship employment offer valued at approximately $11,000 annually. Specific funding details are included in individual admission letters.
Students are expected to compete for external awards during their studies, such as the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. A full list of external awards is available on our Scholarships and Awards page.
Course-based stream
Professional programs do not offer funding as part of the letter of offer. It is expected that graduate students in these programs will have funds to support themselves for the duration of their studies.
Financial Aid can provide information about provincial loan programs for domestic students, as well as bursary opportunities for both domestic and international students.
Meet the Faculty
Trent's world-class professors and researchers will support your graduate studies.
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Dr. Thomas Hossie
Professor in Biology and MSc Co-Supervisor
Dr. Hossie's research focuses on behavioural ecology and population biology of amphibian and insect systems, including predator-prey interactions and understanding ecological and evolutionary mechanisms. His recent research has focused on rare salamander populations on Pelee Island in Ontario and he teaches the Data Analysis course in the BEMA Program. His conservation efforts include leading efforts on the Trent campus in 2023 to redesign and replace a section of existing curb to help salamanders reach their wetland breeding site more safely.
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Dr. Paul Frost
Professor in Biology and MSc Supervisor
Dr. Frost is the David Schindler Endowed Professor of Aquatic Science and focuses on how nutrients affect animals and their foodweb interactions in aquatic ecosystems. His current research examines animal responses (biochemical, physiological and population-level) to interactions among nutritional and environmental stressors in the laboratory and in the field, using a diverse collection of aquatic life from aquatic plants and algae to mayflies and zooplankton.
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One of the aspects I appreciated most about the M.BEMA program was how it rewarded effort and engagement—what you put into the experience directly reflected what you gained from it. The program fostered my personal and professional growth by encouraging me to take initiative and immerse myself in industry-relevant content. Overall, the M.BEMA program has left me highly confident in my ability to tackle real-world environmental challenges in the workforce.
Alumni, M.BEMA
Did you know?
Trent has been home to 2 Nobel Prize winners
10 Canada Research Chairs conduct innovative research at Trent
We are proud to be one of the top 3 greenest campuses in Canada