Departments & Programs

Geological Sciences

Major in Geological Sciences—B.S.

Purpose

The B.S. curriculum includes more science requirements than the B.A. and is designed for students who plan advanced study or professional employment in the geological sciences.

Required General Education Courses

Students must complete the following Foundations, Intensive Writing, Foreign Language, Public Oral Communication, and Breadth of Inquiry requirements:

  1. Writing, same as B.A. degree (English Composition, Intensive Writing).
  2. Foreign language, 3 credit hours at the second-year level.
  3. Arts and humanities, two courses.
  4. Social and historical studies, two courses.
  5. Natural and mathematical sciences, fulfilled by major.
  6. One Critical Approaches to the Arts and Sciences course.
  7. One Public Oral Communication course.

The requirements for the major are:

  1. Any 100-level course in the geological sciences. G111 or G104 is recommended.
  2. G221, G222, G323, G334, and G429.
  3. Three formal 3 or 4 credit hour geological sciences courses at the 400 level.
  4. Chemistry C117 and C127.
  5. Mathematics M211 and M212.
  6. Physics P221 and P222.
  7. Biology L111 or L112.
  8. Two courses at the 300 or 400 level, intended for science majors, selected from Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Mathematics. Recommended courses include Biology B300 or Z374; Chemistry C360 or C361; Mathematics M311 or M343; and Physics P331 or P340. These courses must be selected from two different departments.
  9. One additional formal 3 credit course at the 300 or 400 level, intended for science majors, from any of the following departments: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, or Physics, or one additional formal 3 credit geological sciences course at the 400 level.

Students should satisfy the 100- and 200-level allied sciences and mathematics requirements at the earliest possible date.

Requirements for the Atmospheric Sciences Track

Purpose

The Atmospheric Science track within the Geological Sciences B.S. degree is designed for students who plan to follow advanced study or professional employment in the atmospheric sciences.

Required Courses

Students must complete the same Foundations, Intensive Writing, Foreign Language, Breadth of Inquiry, Critical Approaches, and Public Oral Communication requirements above, in addition to the following courses:

  1. One formal 100-level course in the geological sciences
  2. A total of 6 credit hours in non-atmospheric science courses in Geological Sciences above the 100 level.
  3. G340 plus at least 15 additional credit hours in atmospheric science courses (see list below), including at least 6 credit hours at the 400 level.
  4. MATH-M 211 and MATH-M 212.
  5. PHYS-P 221 and PHYS-P 222.
  6. CHEM-C 117 and CHEM-C 127.
  7. Two courses at the 300–400 level intended for science majors, selected from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics, or Mathematics.
  8. A minimum of 30 credit hours in Geological Sciences.

Students must also complete the degree requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Approved Atmospheric Science Courses
  • GEOL-G 339 Weather Analysis and Forecasting (3 cr.) CASE N&M
  • GEOL-G 340 Physical Meteorology, Climate, and Paleoclimate (3 cr.) CASE N&M
  • GEOL-G 347 Instrumentation for Atmospheric Science (3 cr.) CASE N&M
  • GEOL-G 364 Dynamic Meteorology: Boundary-Layer Meteorology (3 cr.) CASE N&M
  • GEOL-G 410 Undergraduate Research in Geology (1-6 cr.) (Topic must be related to atmospheric science)   
  • GEOL-G 434 Dynamic Meteorology: Synoptic to Global Scales (3 cr.) CASE N&M
  • GEOL-G 437 Advanced Synoptic Meteorology and Climatology (3 cr.) CASE N&M
  • GEOL-G 438 Air Pollution Meteorology (3 cr.) CASE N&M
  • GEOL-G 448 Sustainable Energy Systems (3 cr.) CASE N&M
  • GEOL-G 456 Wind Power Meteorology (3 cr.)
  • GEOL-G 470 Micrometeorology (3 cr.) CASE N&M