Graduate Studies: Applied Snow and Avalanche Research

The ASARC program supports about five graduate students at a time. Graduate students can be registered in the graduate programs of the Department of Civil Engineering or the Department of Geoscience.  

There will likely be an opening and funding for one MSc student starting in September 2012 and a post doctoral fellow to start in July 2012. Most of the current funding extends only to August 2014. Consequently, applicants for the PhD program with ASARC should obtain a major scholarship, i.e. more than  $20,000 per year. Dr. Jamieson is seeking additional funding for graduate students to start in September 2013.

Students with degrees in engineering or the physical sciences and a GPA of at least 3.0 out of 4.0, including courses in statistics and preferably mechanics, who are interested in pursuing graduate studies on topics related to snow stability and avalanches are invited to contact Dr. Bruce Jamieson. Since most current research topics require intensive field studies, applicants should be at least intermediate backcountry (mountain) skiers. In addition to transcripts and references, applications must include a summary of the applicant's backcountry skills and provide at least one reference who can substantiate these skills.

For application details, see

• Civil Engineering:  Online application
• Geoscience: Online application

For September admission, the deadline for complete applications in Geoscience is typically February 1. The general deadline for Civil Engineering is later but to make offers to top graduate applicants around the same time as other universities, complete applications for Applied Snow and Avalanche Studies should be received by the end of March. 

Typically, our grad students take their courses in the fall. So far MSc programs have required approximately two years. PhD programs typically require three to three and a half years. 

Thesis topics are chosen by the student and supervisor from areas with funding.

Funding from various sources should total at least $22,000 per year. However, students are required to pay tuition and other fees, which can exceed $6000 from their funding. Most of past students have been funded by Bruce Jamieson's research grants. About half of past students have also received scholarships.

While the research grants and department may be able to provide financial support, applicants are encouraged to seek other sources of financial support, including those described at the Faculty of Graduate Studies web page. This web page also includes information on 

• applying for graduate school 
• international students. 

It is important to apply early for scholarships. For example, NSERC's deadline for postgraduate scholarships for September admission is typically in October of the previous year.

For information on other graduate snow and avalanche programs in Canada and the United States, click here.

Field program

We have two field stations: one at Rogers Pass in the Selkirk Mountains where we co-operate with Parks Canada's avalanche control program for the highway, and one in Blue River, BC between the Monashee Mountains and Cariboo Mountains where we co-operate with the heli-skiing operation. At the field stations, we provide room and board as well as snow safety and snow study equipment but not ski touring equipment such as skis, skins, pack, winter clothing, etc.

Since we access many of our study sites on touring skis (often with 13-15 kg packs), graduate students doing field studies should normally be at least intermediate skiers or riders and have several winters of experience travelling in the mountains. We also access our study areas by snowmobile, snowcat and helicopter.

Most days in the field, graduate students work with one or two other graduate students and/or research technicians on various field studies including one for their thesis. Additional data for a graduate student's thesis may be collected at the other field station, depending on the topic and logistics. Typically, MSc students spend at least 40 days in the field each winter. For our present research topics, we spend about 50-60% of the field days at regular study sites, monitoring changes in snowpack properties, photographing weak snow layers, collecting specimens for subsequent analysis. When not working at regular study slopes and plots, we test snow stability in and near avalanche start zones, and measure snowpack properties at recent avalanches. Although the emphasis is on field studies, some topics may also involve cold lab experiments and modelling.

Work after graduating from the ASARC program

(updated October 2010)

MSc graduates: Three are working in avalanche forecasting and training in Canada, one is consulting on avalanche protection projects in Canada and internationally, one is a school teacher in Canada, three others are working for engineering firms in Canada, and one is a hydraulic engineer in the US.

PhD graduates: Three are working in research and academia. in Canada and the US. One is doing avalanche risk analysis for transportation corridors and developments. in Europe The other is consulting on avalanche projects and forecasting.

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