Curriculum

Requirements for Major
Required Credit Hours: 35 (or more, depending on options)
Major Computing Requirement: Geology 492 or Geology 496.
Major Writing Requirement: Senior Research (Geology 492) or the Honors Thesis (Geology 496); students must receive a grade of C- or better to satisfy the requirement.

Core requirements:

1. A core for all majors consisting of nine semester courses totaling 25 or more credits, which are:

Geology 101 or 110 or 150, 160, 320, 321, 322, 323, 404, and either 491 and 492 OR 495 and 496.

2. The Geology Option:

a. Two elective courses totaling at least six credits elected from 303, 305, 306, 311, 307, 312, 314, 315, 316.
b . Two advanced courses totaling at least four credits elected from 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 437.

3. The Environmental Geology Option:

a. Two elective courses totaling at least six credits elected from 305, 312, 314, 315, 316. One of the two must be 314 or 315.
b . Two advanced courses totaling at least four credits elected from 427, 428, 429. Depending on the topic, 437 may be used as one of the advanced courses with permission of the chair.
c . Biology 204, 417, 426, or 427

Geology majors are required to take eight credits (two courses and associated laboratories) from the following list of five choices:

Chemistry 103 and 151, Chemistry 206 and 252, Chemistry 308 and 354, Physics 101, and Physics 102.

A year of calculus, a year of chemistry, and a year of physics are strongly recommended for a career in the earth sciences.

Requirements for Minor
Required credit hours: 21 credits (or more depending on choices).

Core requirements: A minor in geology requires seven courses distributed as follows:

1. One from Geology 101, 110, 150
2. Geology 160
3. Two courses from Geology 320, 321, 322, 323
4. Three courses (with at least nine credits) from GEO 303, 305, 306, 307, 312, 314, GEOL 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 437. A course from group 3 may be substituted for one from group 4.

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