Geoscience - Earth Science (GEEA) - BA Major

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geoscience students

56-59 credits

Minor (or additional major if non-dual degree seeking) required.

2.0 GPA required.

C grade or better required in GEOS 235 and above.

Letter grade required in all major courses unless otherwise noted.

Geoscience Major Map

Overview

The Geoscience: Earth Science major program provides students with the flexibility to build a personalized course of study while maintaining a strong foundation in geoscience. It is designed for students who wish to pursue careers in diverse areas related to geoscience such as adventure tourism, environmental law or justice, mass communication, scientific illustration, or sustainability. The program requires a second major or minor in addition to geoscience coursework. Students should speak with their academic advisor about their career goals so that this program can be tailored to best suit their needs.

Introduction to Geoscience (4-5 credits)

Choose one:

GEOS 101 - Minnesota’s Rocks and Waters with Lab (4 credits)
GEOS 110 - Oceanography with Laboratory (4 credits)
GEOS 113 - Natural Disasters with Laboratory (4 credits)
GEOS 114 - Climate, Catastrophes and Extinctions with Laboratory (4 credits)
GEOS 146 - Paleontology and Dinosaurs with Laboratory (4 credits)
GEOS 199 - Introductory Geoscience Laboratory (1 credit) & one of the following: GEOS 100 ,
103
,
104
,
105
,
106
,
107
,
111
or 145 (3-4 credits)
GEOS 215 - Earth System Science (4 credits)

Earth Talks Speaker Series

Enrollment with a P grade required six times prior to graduation - unless excused by department chair.

GEOS 090 - Earth Talks Speaker Series (0 credits)

Geoscience Core Courses (22 credits)

GEOS 235 - Earth and Life Through Time (4 credits)
GEOS 301 - Field and Analytical Methods I (4 credits)
GEOS 305 - Earth Materials (4 credits)
GEOS 309 - Watershed Science (4 credits)
GEOS 316 - Geographic Information Systems (3 credits)
GEOS 325 - Environmental Geoscience (3 credits)

College of Science Requirements (11-12 credits)

BIOL 242 - Organismal Diversity (4 credits)
CHEM 212 - Principles of Chemistry I (4 credits)
Choose one:
MATH 140 - Applied Calculus (3 credits)
MATH 212 - Calculus I (4 credits)
STAT 210 - Statistics (3 credits)
STAT 305 - Biometry (3 credits)

Geoscience Electives (7-8 credits)

Choose two; at least one 4 CH laboratory course is required.

GEOS 303 - Hawai’i: Hot Spot Geology (4 credits)
GEOS 345 - Dinosaur Field Paleontology (4 credits)
GEOS 360 - Structural Geology (4 credits)
GEOS 365 - Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (4 credits)
△ GEOS 375 - Planetary Geology (4 credits)
◎ GEOS 385 - Geology of North America (3 credits)
GEOS 399 - Internship (1-3 credits)
GEOS 401 - Geological Field-Research Methods (2-4 credits)
GEOS 405 - Current Topics in Geosciences (1-4 credits)
△ GEOS 415 - Advanced Geomorphology (4 credits)
◎ GEOS 416 - Advanced Geographic Information Systems (4 credits)
◆ GEOS 420 - Applied Hydrogeology (4 credits)
GEOS 435 - Optical Mineralogy and Petrology (4 credits)
△ GEOS 441 - Paleontology and Paleoecology (4 credits)
◆ GEOS 442 - Geophysics (4 credits)
◎ GEOS 443 - Global Water Resources (4 credits)
◆ GEOS 445 - Geochemistry (4 credits)
GEOS 499 - Directed Research-Geoscience (1-3 credits)

Interdisciplinary Electives (6 credits)

GEOG 212 - Physical Geography (3 credits)
◆ GS 433 - Global Societies and Climate Change (3 credits)
PHIL 232 - Environmental Ethics (3 credits)
POLS 240 - Global Environmental Problems and Policy (3 credits)
POLS 340 - Environmental Policy (3 credits)
SOC 300 - Climate Change and Society: An Interdisciplinary Approach (3 credits)
SUST 399 - Sustainability Internship (1-6 credits)
SUST 420 - Sustainability and Environmental Citizenship (3 credits)

Geoscience Professional Development (6 credits)

△ ENG 439 - Technical Writing (3 credits)
△ GEOS 470 - Geological Research Strategies (2 credits)
GEOS 475 - Geoscience Seminar (1 credit)

Minor or Second Major

An approved minor from the list below or a second major is required.

The chair may also grant permission for a minor that is not on this list.

Dual Degrees

Students wishing to complete two degrees concurrently, (example: Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science) must complete a minimum of an additional 30 credits above the required 120-128 credit hours. Students must complete all major requirements under both degrees, including separate minors if required.

Legend

◎ = Oral Intensive

◆ = Math/Critical Analysis Intensive

△ = Writing Intensive

✽ = Physical Development and Wellness Graduation Requirement