Earth Science
The Earth Science major is a program leading to the bachelor of arts or bachelor of science.
The bachelor of arts emphasizes an interdisciplinary field and prepares the student primarily for a career in secondary education. Apart from the required and supporting coursework listed below, the B.A. program must satisfy the requirements of the Teacher Education Program. The B.S. program provides a broad overview of geology and supporting sciences. This degree pathway is also suitable for students who may want to pursue a career in secondary education or continue on to graduate school. If a student choses this option and is interested in secondary education, they should contact Dr. Cinzia Cervato for additional guidance.
Required courses for the B.A. include:
| GEOL 100 | How the Earth Works | 3 |
| or GEOL 101 | Environmental Geology: Earth in Crisis | |
| GEOL 100L | How the Earth Works: Laboratory | 1 |
| GEOL 102 | History of the Earth | 3 |
| GEOL 102L | History of the Earth: Laboratory | 1 |
| GEOL 302 | Summer Field Studies | 6 |
| GEOL 315 | Mineralogy and Earth Materials | 3 |
| GEOL 315L | Laboratory in Mineralogy and Earth Materials | 1 |
| GEOL 316 | Optical Mineralogy | 1 |
| GEOL 356 | Structural Geology and Tectonics | 4 |
| GEOL 357 | Geological Mapping and Field Methods | 1 |
| GEOL 365 | Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology | 3 |
| GEOL 368 | Sedimentary Geology | 4 |
| MTEOR 206 | Introduction to Weather and Climate | 3 |
| ASTRO 120 | The Sky and the Solar System | 3 |
| ASTRO 150 | Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology | 3 |
| And 3 credits of geology electives | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 43 | |
Required supporting courses include:
| CHEM 177 | General Chemistry I | 4 |
| CHEM 177L | Laboratory in General Chemistry I | 1 |
| CHEM 178 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 178L | Laboratory in College Chemistry II | 1 |
| PHYS 111 | General Physics | 5 |
| PHYS 112 | General Physics | 5 |
| One of the following | ||
| MATH 151 | Calculus for Business and Social Sciences | 3 |
| or MATH 160 | Survey of Calculus | |
| or MATH 165 | Calculus I | |
| One of the following | ||
| COM S 107 | Windows Application Programming | 3 |
| or STAT 101 | Principles of Statistics | |
| or STAT 104 | Introduction to Statistics | |
| And one course in Biology, Botany, or Zoology | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 28 | |
Communication Proficiency requirement: According to the university-wide Communication Proficiency Grade Requirement, students must demonstrate their communication proficiency by earning a grade of C or better in ENGL 250. The department requires a grade of C or better in ENGL 309 or ENGL 314.
| ENGL 150 | Critical Thinking and Communication | 3 |
| ENGL 250 | Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition | 3 |
| or ENGL 250H | Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition: Honors | |
| One of the following: | ||
| ENGL 309 | Proposal and Report Writing | 3 |
| or ENGL 314 | Technical Communication | |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Required courses for the B.S. include:
| GEOL 100 | How the Earth Works | 3 |
| or GEOL 101 | Environmental Geology: Earth in Crisis | |
| GEOL 100L | How the Earth Works: Laboratory | 1 |
| GEOL 102 | History of the Earth | 3 |
| GEOL 102L | History of the Earth: Laboratory | 1 |
| GEOL 302 | Summer Field Studies | 6 |
| GEOL 315 | Mineralogy and Earth Materials | 3 |
| GEOL 315L | Laboratory in Mineralogy and Earth Materials | 1 |
| GEOL 316 | Optical Mineralogy | 1 |
| GEOL 356 | Structural Geology and Tectonics | 4 |
| GEOL 357 | Geological Mapping and Field Methods | 1 |
| GEOL 365 | Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology | 3 |
| GEOL 368 | Sedimentary Geology | 4 |
| GEOL 479 | Surficial Processes | 3 |
| MTEOR 206 | Introduction to Weather and Climate | 3 |
| And 8 credits of electives in agronomy, astronomy, environmental science, or other approved areas. | 8 | |
| Total Credits | 45 | |
Required supporting courses include:
| CHEM 177 | General Chemistry I | 4 |
| CHEM 177L | Laboratory in General Chemistry I | 1 |
| CHEM 178 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 178L | Laboratory in College Chemistry II | 1 |
| MATH 165 | Calculus I | 4 |
| MATH 166 | Calculus II | 4 |
| PHYS 111 | General Physics | 5 |
| PHYS 112 | General Physics | 5 |
| COM S 107 | Windows Application Programming | 3 |
| or STAT 101 | Principles of Statistics | |
| or STAT 104 | Introduction to Statistics | |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
Communication Proficiency requirement: According to the university-wide Communication Proficiency Grade Requirement, students must demonstrate their communication proficiency by earning a grade of C or better in ENGL 250. The department requires a grade of C or better in the below communication courses.
| ENGL 150 | Critical Thinking and Communication | 3 |
| ENGL 309 | Proposal and Report Writing | 3 |
| or ENGL 314 | Technical Communication | |
| or ENGL 302 | Business Communication | |
| or JL MC 347 | Science Communication | |
| Total Credits | 6 | |