Earth Science
The earth science minor is designed for students who would like to gain significant experience in the geological sciences. This minor is suitable for students from every division on campus, including humanities, social sciences, arts, business and policy studies. For instance, an English major might go on to become a technical writer or editor; an art major might be interested in clay and glaze mineralogy or gemology; social scientists may wish to study GIS and mapping techniques; and pre-law students could go on to study environmental law.
Majors in the other sciences, including physics, chemistry and biology, could all find the skills learned in the minor useful to their future careers. The most important and rapidly growing fields of science are those that are appearing at the intersections of scientific disciplines.
The minor in earth science is not available to geology and earth sciences majors.
Minor Requirements
The minor requires a minimum of 16 credit hours (four courses).
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOL 121 | Geology and the Environment | 4 |
| or GEOL 141 | Oceanography | |
| Select two of the following: | 8 | |
| Historical Geology | ||
| Hydrology | ||
| Natural Science Seminars. (variable credits) | ||
| Optical Mineralogy | ||
| Petrology | ||
| Images of the Earth: GIS and Remote Sensing | ||
| Paleontology | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| Structural Geology | ||
| Sedimentology and Stratigraphy | ||
| Environmental Planning | ||
Other advanced geology or geology-related IDS courses may also be approved | ||
| Total Credits | 16 | |
Total credit hours required for earth science minor is 16 credits
The minor’s entry point is GEOL 121 Geology and the Environment or GEOL 141 Oceanography. Then students may select from a number of geology lab courses and finally take a specially designated capstone course.