The Geology concentration provides a comprehensive undergraduate education in geoscience, emphasizing a hands-on and field-oriented approach that is well-suited to professional careers in the energy, water, environmental and resources industries, and the many other fields that employ geologists. The Geology concentration provides a strong general science background for additional diverse careers, including primary and secondary school teaching, science writing, environmental and resource law, and resource and/or hazards specializations within the construction, insurance, land use, securities, and other industries. The Geology concentration additionally provides foundational preparation for graduate education in the many geosciences subdisciplines.
Effective Fall 2024
| Freshman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| AUCC | Credits | ||
| CHEM 111 | General Chemistry I (GT-SC2) | 3A | 4 |
| CHEM 112 | General Chemistry Lab I (GT-SC1) | 3A | 1 |
| CO 150 | College Composition (GT-CO2) | 1A | 3 |
| GEOL 1501 | Dynamic Earth (GT-SC2) | 3A | 4 |
| GEOL 154 | Historical and Analytical Geology | 4 | |
| GEOL 192 | New Student Seminar--Exploring Geosciences | 1 | |
| MATH 1602 | Calculus for Physical Scientists I (GT-MA1) | 1B | 4 |
| Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | 1C | 3 | |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences | 3C | 3 | |
| Electives | 3 | ||
| Total Credits | 30 | ||
| Sophomore | |||
| CHEM 113 | General Chemistry II | 3 | |
| CHEM 114 | General Chemistry Lab II | 1 | |
| GEOL 232 | Mineralogy | 3 | |
| GEOL 250 | The Solid Earth | 3 | |
| GEOL 332 | Optical Mineralogy | 2 | |
| GEOL 364 | Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology | 4B | 4 |
| MATH 1613 | Calculus for Physical Scientists II (GT-MA1) | 1B | 4 |
| Select one course from the following: | 3 | ||
| Writing Arguments (GT-CO3) | 2 | ||
| Writing in the Disciplines: Sciences (GT-CO3) | 2 | ||
| Strategic Writing and Communication (GT-CO3) | 2 | ||
| Select one course from the following: | 5 | ||
| General Physics I (GT-SC1) | 3A | ||
| Physics for Scientists and Engineers I (GT-SC1) | 3A | ||
| Historical Perspectives | 3D | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 31 | ||
| Junior | |||
| GEOL 344 | Stratigraphy and Sedimentology | 4A | 4 |
| GEOL 372 | Structural Geology | 4B | 4 |
| GEOL 376 | Geologic Field Methods | 4A,4C | 3 |
| NR 319 | Introduction to Geospatial Science | 4 | |
| Select one course from the following: | 5 | ||
| General Physics II (GT-SC1) | 3A | ||
| Physics for Scientists and Engineers II (GT-SC1) | 3A | ||
| Select one course from the following: | 3-4 | ||
| Intro to Ordinary Differential Equations | |||
| Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods | |||
| Intro to Theory and Practice of Statistics | |||
| Arts and Humanities | 3B | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 26-27 | ||
| Summer | |||
| GEOL 436 | Geology Summer Field Course | 4C | 6 |
| Total Credits | 6 | ||
| Senior | |||
| GEOL 366 | Sedimentary Petrology and Geochemistry | 4A,4B | 4 |
| GEOL 454 | Geomorphology | 4 | |
| Select 3 credits from Technical Elective Department List | 3 | ||
| Sea Level Rise and a Sustainable Future | |||
| Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry | |||
| Fundamentals of Inorganic Chemistry | |||
| Introduction to Analytical Chemistry | |||
| Modern Organic Chemistry I | |||
| Foundations of Physical Chemistry | |||
| Physical Chemistry I | |||
| Basic Hydrology | |||
| Nonpoint Source Pollution | |||
| Environmental Organic Chemistry | |||
| Inferential Reasoning in Data Analysis | |||
| Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation | |||
| Calculus for Physical Scientists III | |||
| Intro to Ordinary Differential Equations | |||
| Linear Algebra I | |||
| Biological Diversity | |||
| Public Communication in Natural Resources | |||
| GIS Applications in Natural Resource Management | |||
| Programming for GIS I | |||
| Programming for GIS II | |||
| Geospatial Project Design and Analysis | |||
| Geospatial Field Methods in Natural Resources | |||
| Remote Sensing and Image Analysis | |||
| Introduction to Modern Physics | |||
| Physical Thermodynamics | |||
| Pedology | |||
| Microbiomes of Soil Systems | |||
| Soil Physics | |||
| Intro to Theory and Practice of Statistics | |||
| Seasonal Snow Environments | |||
| Land Use Hydrology | |||
| Land Use and Water Quality | |||
| Geology Electives5 | 7 | ||
| Arts and Humanities | 3B | 3 | |
| Electives6 | 5-6 | ||
| Total Credits | 26-27 | ||
| Program Total Credits: | 120 | ||
- 1
GEOL 110, GEOL 120, GEOL 122 or GEOL 124 in combination with GEOL 121 may be substituted for GEOL 150.
- 2
- 3
Students who substituted MATH 155 for MATH 160 should substitute MATH 255 for MATH 161.
- 4
STAT 315 can be used to fulfill technical elective requirement if not taken for statistics requirement in junior year.
- 5
Select at least two upper-division regular or experimental GEOL courses (300-381, 402-481, 500-581) for a minimum of five credits. A maximum of two credits may be satisfied by non-regular courses (courses ending in -82 to -99) and GEOL 401, which may only count once.
- 6
Select enough elective credits to bring the program total to a minimum of 120 credits, of which at least 42 must be upper-division (300- to 400-level).
| Freshman | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semester 1 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
| CO 150 | College Composition (GT-CO2) | X | 1A | 3 | |
| GEOL 150 | Dynamic Earth (GT-SC2) | X | 3A | 4 | |
| GEOL 192 | New Student Seminar--Exploring Geosciences | X | 1 | ||
| Social and Behavioral Sciences | X | 3C | 3 | ||
| Electives | X | 3 | |||
| Total Credits | 14 | ||||
| Semester 2 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
| CHEM 111 | General Chemistry I (GT-SC2) | X | 3A | 4 | |
| CHEM 112 | General Chemistry Lab I (GT-SC1) | X | 3A | 1 | |
| GEOL 154 | Historical and Analytical Geology | X | 4 | ||
| MATH 160 | Calculus for Physical Scientists I (GT-MA1) | X | 1B | 4 | |
| Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | X | 1C | 3 | ||
| CO 150 and MATH 126 must be completed by the end of Semester 2. | |||||
| Total Credits | 16 | ||||
| Sophomore | |||||
| Semester 3 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
| CHEM 113 | General Chemistry II | X | 3 | ||
| CHEM 114 | General Chemistry Lab II | X | 1 | ||
| GEOL 232 | Mineralogy | X | 3 | ||
| GEOL 332 | Optical Mineralogy | X | 2 | ||
| Select one course from the following: | X | 5 | |||
| General Physics I (GT-SC1) | 3A | ||||
| Physics for Scientists and Engineers I (GT-SC1) | 3A | ||||
| Historical Perspectives | X | 3D | 3 | ||
| Total Credits | 17 | ||||
| Semester 4 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
| GEOL 250 | The Solid Earth | X | 3 | ||
| GEOL 364 | Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology | X | 4B | 4 | |
| MATH 161 | Calculus for Physical Scientists II (GT-MA1) | X | 1B | 4 | |
| Select one course from the following: | X | 3 | |||
| Writing Arguments (GT-CO3) | 2 | ||||
| Writing in the Disciplines: Sciences (GT-CO3) | 2 | ||||
| Strategic Writing and Communication (GT-CO3) | 2 | ||||
| Total Credits | 14 | ||||
| Junior | |||||
| Semester 5 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
| GEOL 344 | Stratigraphy and Sedimentology | X | 4A | 4 | |
| Select one course from the following: | X | 5 | |||
| General Physics II (GT-SC1) | 3A | ||||
| Physics for Scientists and Engineers II (GT-SC1) | 3A | ||||
| Select one course from the following: | X | 3-4 | |||
| Intro to Ordinary Differential Equations | |||||
| Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods | |||||
| Intro to Theory and Practice of Statistics | |||||
| Total Credits | 12-13 | ||||
| Semester 6 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
| GEOL 372 | Structural Geology | X | 4B | 4 | |
| GEOL 376 | Geologic Field Methods | X | 4A,4C | 3 | |
| NR 319 | Introduction to Geospatial Science | X | 4 | ||
| Arts and Humanities | X | 3B | 3 | ||
| CHEM 113 must be completed by the end of Semester 6. | X | ||||
| Total Credits | 14 | ||||
| Semester 7 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
| GEOL 436 | Geology Summer Field Course | X | 4C | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 6 | ||||
| Senior | |||||
| Semester 8 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
| GEOL 366 | Sedimentary Petrology and Geochemistry | X | 4A,4B | 4 | |
| Technical Elective (See Department List on Concentration Requirements tab) | X | 3 | |||
| Geology Elective | X | 3 | |||
| Arts and Humanities | X | 3B | 3 | ||
| STAT 301 or STAT 315 or MATH 340 must be completed by the end of Semester 8. | X | ||||
| Total Credits | 13 | ||||
| Semester 9 | Critical | Recommended | AUCC | Credits | |
| GEOL 454 | Geomorphology | X | 4 | ||
| Geology Elective | X | 4 | |||
| Electives | X | 5-6 | |||
| The benchmark courses for the 9th semester are the remaining courses in the entire program of study. | X | ||||
| Total Credits | 13-14 | ||||
| Program Total Credits: | 120 | ||||