Guidebooks

A resource for Arts & Sciences students, the guidebook focuses on policies, the majors, experiential education, the core curriculum and major requirements. Copies are available in the dean's office, or as PDFs, below.

Geology/Environmental Geology
Department's Website

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences offers programs in both geology, the study of physical features, composition, history, and processes of the earth; and in the environmental fields, where a multidisciplinary knowledge of earth surface processes is used to address current environmental problems. Issues such as land use, groundwater quality and supply, flooding, land use planning, hazardous waste management, wetlands processes, or habitat preservation are within the realm of the environmental scientist. The Department also manages a program in Environmental Studies, which transcends a range of disciplines in the sciences and the social sciences to give a broad-based understanding of a range of social/environmental issues.

Since any environmental or physical scientist requires a knowledge of chemistry, physics, or biology, and mathematics; students should complete requirements in these areas, along with Dynamic Earth and Earth History, during the first two years of study. After completing Dynamic Earth, students should take Earth Materials, which provides an understanding of minerals, rocks, and soils that comprise the earth.

Students seeking a degree in geology must take the Geology Core sequence of Petrology, Structural Geology, and Sedimentary Basin Analysis before choosing up to four major electives. Students seeking an Environmental Geology degree would take Hydrogeology, Earth Landforms and Processes, and one Environmental Planning or Land Use course, followed by four major electives.

Additional electives must also be taken in the other sciences (or engineering), mathematics, humanities, and social sciences.