GeoX is a one-week summer camp for high school students interested in learning more about earth and environmental sciences at the university level. Attendees will stay together on campus for a week engaging with faculty and students currently studying in the Faculty of Science at the University of Waterloo.
What will you do?
Attendees will spend a week getting their hands dirty and exploring what it’s like to be an Earth and Evironmental Sciences student at the University of Waterloo. Stay on campus while you beef up your knowledge of rocks and minerals, visit research labs, and participate in hands-on mapping and sampling out in the field.
You will travel with us to various locations to examine rock outcrops for fossils, minerals, and structures, gather and test water and soil samples, tour an active mine site, and see and use the lab technology and exploration instruments our students and industry professionals use daily. If you’re curious about Earth and Environmental Sciences, this week will give you a taste of the many disciplines available within this exciting field.
Who can attend?
High school students entering Grades 11 or 12 in September 2025 can apply. We will be accepting 20 students for this experience. Attendance for the full week is expected.
When does it take place?
Students will check in on campus in the late afternoon on Sunday, August 10, 2025. The camp concludes on the morning of Saturday, August 16, 2025, after breakfast.
Program costs
The cost for the program in 2025 is $700.
This includes five full days of programming and residence fees for six nights. Attendees stay in the United College residences with a full meal plan from Sunday night to Saturday morning. Evening programming and a residence chaperone are also included in the fee. There may be an overnight stay off-campus during a full-day field trip (TBC) which will also be included.
Students who attend this camp and subsequetnly accept an offer of admission from a program in the Faculty of Science at the University of Waterloo will receive a guaranteed $1000 scholarship as part of the Faculty of Science Contest Award. Admitted students will be provided with details on how to claim this award when they receive an offer of admission.
Bursaries
If you require a bursary to attend GeoX, please check the box in the form below and we will send further information should you be a successful applicant.
Application
Fill out the application form below and submit a 60-second (or less) video telling us why you want to attend the camp and what you love about earth and environmental sciences. How you answer that question is up to you, so be creative!
The application form will be open until midnight on March 26, 2025.
Applications will be reviewed from March 27 to April 7, 2025.
Offers will be sent to selected students from April 8-15, 2025. Additional registration information will be included in the selection email.
Questions?
Questions about the camp or the application process can be directed to Heather Neufeld.