Required Courses

The Geology major starts with an introduction to the fundamental principles and processes that govern the character of the earth from its surface environment to its core. In consultation with their departmental advisor, Geology majors must take five additional courses from the Department's offerings, constructing an integrated program that may be tailored to the major's fields of interest or future plans.

Many of these foundational cognitive skills are utilized in all geology courses and will be practiced by all geology majors. The Geology Department recommends, nevertheless, that Geology majors strive to construct a sequence of courses that includes:

  • at least one writing and/or presentation attentive course such as Senior Departmental Honors (GEOL 498, 498D, 499, and 499D), Seminar in Biogeochemistry (GEOL 451), Plate Tectonics and Continental Dynamics (GEOL 401);
  • one or more quantitative and/or symbolic reasoning courses such as Geochemistry (GEOL 431), Environmental and Solid Earth Geophysics (GEOL 341), and Hydrogeology (GEOL 301), or any course in Mathematics, Computer Science, or Physics;
  • spatial reasoning courses such as Mineralogy (GEOL 271) and Structural Geology (GEOL 291);
  • interdisciplinary courses such as Paleontology and Geobiology (GEOL 251), Seminar in Biogeochemistry (GEOL 451), Geochemistry (GEOL 431), and Environmental and Solid Earth Geophysics (GEOL 341)
  • at least one research-based course that engages the geologic literature as do Paleontology and Geobiology (GEOL 251), Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (GEOL 321), Plate Tectonics and Continental Dynamics (GEOL 401) and Biogeochemistry (GEOL 451) and a course that applies modern analytical equipment as do Hydrogeology (GEOL 301), Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology (GEOL 321), and Environmental and Solid Earth Geophysics as well as Senior Departmental Honors (GEOL 498, 498D, 499, and 499D).