ENV 550a () / 2025-2026

Natural Science Research: From Idea to Proposal

The course guides students through the process of developing an individualized research project in close partnership with their faculty advisor. We focus on writing a research proposal, which prepares students to apply for competitive research funding and is required of all MESc/MFS students. In doing so, we cover critical reading of the literature, narrowing a broad topic of interest to a feasible research project, proposal writing, and a high-level introduction to the philosophy of science. Students engage in peer review throughout the course and present their completed proposals to the class at the end of the semester.