Geosciences Major (BS)
College: College of Natural & Health Sciences
- To prepare students for professional certification and employment in areas of environmental and earth sciences.
- To promote scientific literacy on the campus and in the community, particularly with respect to principles and issues involving environmental awareness, quality, and protection.
- To contribute fundamental scientific research that enhances environmental quality and quality-of-life for members of the regional, state, local and campus communities
Requirements for the Geosciences Major
The geosciences major requires a selection of core courses and courses in a concentration. Students select one of two concentrations: environmental geosciences or earth science.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| College of Natural and Health Sciences requirement | ||
| New entering students, and transfer students with less than 30 college credits, choosing a major in the College of Natural and Health Sciences are required to take this course. | ||
| UWP 101 | First Year Seminar: Natural and Health Sciences | 1 |
| Required Core Courses | ||
| GEOS 102 | Origin and History of the Earth | 3 |
| GEOS 104 | Introductory Geology Laboratory | 2 |
| GEOS 200 | Minerals and Rocks | 4 |
| GEOS 330 | Environmental Geology | 4 |
| GEOS 355 | Stratigraphy and Sedimentation | 4 |
| GEOS 445 | Environmental Sampling, Monitoring, and Assessment | 4 |
| GEOS 495 | Senior Seminar | 1 |
| GEOS 496 | Geoscience Applications | 3 |
| Required Core Courses Subtotal | 26 | |
| Concentration Courses | ||
| Choose one concentration | 43-50 | |
| Concentration Courses Subtotal | 43-50 | |
| Total Credits | 69-76 | |
Concentration Options
Environmental Geosciences Concentration
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOS 101 | Introductory Geology | 3 |
| GEOS 106 | Great Lakes Water Resources | 3 |
| or ENVS 109 | Fundamentals of Climate Change | |
| GEOS 331 | Introduction to Geochemistry | 3 |
| GEOS 345 | Geophysics | 3 |
| GEOS 361 | Hydrogeology | 3 |
| GEOS 431 | Aqueous and Contaminant Geochemistry | 4 |
| GEOS 470 | Remediation Science and Technology | 3 |
| GEOS 465 | Applied Hydrogeology | 4 |
| MATH 112 & MATH 113 | College Algebra II and Trigonometry | 5-6 |
| or MATH 114 | College Algebra II/Trigonometry | |
| MATH 221 | Calculus and Analytic Geometry I | 5 |
| CHEM 101 | General Chemistry I | 4 |
| CHEM 102 | General Chemistry II | 4 |
| CHEM 103 | General Chemistry Lab I | 1 |
| CHEM 104 | General Chemistry Lab II | 1 |
| PHYS 101 | Principles of Physics | 4 |
| Total Credits | 50-51 | |
Earth Science Concentration
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Earth in Perspective | ||
| Introductory Geology | ||
| Introduction to Environmental Studies | ||
| GEOS 106 | Great Lakes Water Resources | 3 |
| ENVS 109 | Fundamentals of Climate Change | 3 |
| GEOS 301 | Geomorphology | 4 |
| GEOS 320 | Soils, Weathering and Surficial Processes | 4 |
| GEOS 420 | Glacial Geology | 4 |
| ENVS 335 | Energy | 4 |
| CHEM 100 | The World of Chemistry | 3 |
| or ENVS 102 | Chemistry of the Environment | |
| MATH 102 | Quantitative Reasoning | 4 |
| or MATH 103 | Elementary Statistics | |
| Required Courses Subtotal | 32 | |
| Elective Courses | ||
| Select twelve credits of elective courses 1 | 12 | |
| Elective Courses Subtotal | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 44 | |
- 1
Supporting courses must be 300 and above and at least six credits must be geoscience credits.
General University Degree Requirements (Bachelor's Degree)
In addition to individual program requirements, students must also fulfill the following requirements:
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Skills | 7-8 |
| General Education | 36 |
| Foreign Language** | 6-8 |
| Ethnic Diversity | 3 |
| Total | 52-55 |
** Transfer students in sustainable management, and health information management and technology collaborative, online degree-completion programs, the business management online degree-completion program, and the flexible option degree-completion program will be exempt from the university’s foreign language requirement. See appropriate academic section for further information.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and Writing | ||
| ENGL 101 | Composition and Reading | 3 |
| Computational Skills | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4-5 | |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| Elementary Statistics | ||
| College Mathematics with Applications | ||
| College Algebra I | ||
| Total Credits | 7-8 | |
Degree Requirements
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Minimum Total Credits | 120 |
| Upper Level Credits (300 level or above) | 36 |
| Residency | 30 |
Cumulative Degree GPA: 2.0 minimum
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credits | |
| MATH 102 | Quantitative Reasoning | 4 |
| ENGL 100 | Fundamentals of English | 3 |
| Introductory Language | 4 | |
| COMM 107 | Communication and the Human Condition | 3 |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| ENGL 101 | Composition and Reading | 3 |
| COMM 105 or COMM 205 |
Public Speaking for the 21st Century or Oral Interpretation |
3 |
| COMM 108 | Media and Society | 3 |
| Introductory Language | 4 | |
| Credits | 13 | |
| Total Credits | 27 | |