Geology Major

For more information about the department, honors/high honors, transfer credit, etc., visit the geology department page.

Major Requirements

The geology major typically starts with any 100-level Geology or geology-related Core SP courses, which typically counts towards the major as one of the five (5) additional full-credit GEOL courses below.

All majors must complete the following set of requirements:

All of the Following

GEOL 190 - Evolution of Planet Earth and
GEOL 190L
GEOL 201 - Mineralogy and Geochemistry and
GEOL 201L
GEOL 215 - Paleontology of Marine Life and
GEOL 215L
GEOL 225 - Sedimentology and Surficial Processes and
GEOL 225L
GEOL 235 - Tectonics and Earth Structure and
GEOL 235L
Five (5) additional full-credit GEOL courses of which one can be at any level, at least 2 must be at the 300 level as listed below, at least 2 must be at the 400 level as listed below.

300-level Geology Electives

At least two courses from the following:

GEOL 301 - Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology and
GEOL 301L
GEOL 310 - Environmental Economic Geology
GEOL 311 - Environmental and Exploration Geophysics
GEOL 318 - Coastal Geology and
GEOL 318L
GEOL 320 - Techniques of Field Geology
GEOL 335 - Hydrology and Geomorphology and
GEOL 335L
Students are encouraged to consider taking a summer field course, such as GEOL 320 , as one of their elective courses, as field experience is generally expected for graduate work in geology and many employment opportunities.

400-level Geology Electives

At least two courses from the following:

Two Additional Courses

Two full-credit courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics, or physics. GEOG 245 - Geographic Information Systems , may be taken in place of one of the required biology, chemistry, mathematics, or physics courses.

Capstone Experience

The two required 400-level courses provide a capstone experience for the geology major, as all such courses involve a significant project that integrates hypothesis testing, data collection and/or analysis of existing data, literature review, and a final project that synthesizes this work. A senior thesis conducted with a geology faculty member as an adviser through GEOL 441 may count as one of the required 400–level courses and is required for all geology honors candidates. Students can initiate a senior research project of interest by speaking directly to a faculty member about ideas for a research project or by consulting with a faculty member about a project that might arise from a summer internship, a summer employment experience, or be based on research initiated in a geology course. GEOL 491 may not count towards the 400–level course requirement.

GPA Requirement

A GPA of 2.00 in the major is necessary for graduation. The ten full-credit courses that carry the highest grade are used to compute this average. A passing grade must be received in all courses counted toward the major.