Bachelor of Science in Earth Sciences

The Department of Earth Sciences includes the disciplines of Geography, Geology, and Meteorology, and it offers a B.S. degree as well as a minor in each of these three majors. Students can also earn a GIS Certificate and/or a minor in Geographic Information Technology (GIT) Geography, which is both a natural and a social science, studies the location, spatial distribution, and spatial interaction of Earth's natural and human environments. Courses and research in the program encompass the broad subfields of Human Geography (for example, tourism, health, and social justice), Physical Geography (like climatology, natural hazards, and environmental geography), Regional Geography (International Economics and Relations), and Geographic Techniques, including Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIS/GIT) and Remote Sensing. Upon completing their degree, geography students are employed in government, industry, and nonprofits in multiple kinds of work environments (includes field, lab, computer, office and work).

Geology is an interdisciplinary physical science pertaining to the study of the Earth. Courses and research within the department address the chemical and physical properties of minerals, rocks, soils, sediments, and water; the processes that shape the Earth rsquo;s surface; the stratigraphic, paleobiological, and geochemical records of Earth history; and the processes associated with deformation in the Earth rsquo;s crust and mantle. Together an understanding is obtained of present-day, historical, and long-term feedbacks between global systems, as well as the origin and occurrence of our natural resources.

Meteorology is the study of atmospheric phenomena and the processes that cause weather. The science of meteorology is firmly rooted in basic physical laws governing mass, momentum, and energy. Many weather processes are simulated by complex computer models; however, accurate weather analysis and forecasting often requires meteorologists to identify and conceptualize weather patterns often missed by automated techniques.

The programs of the Department of Earth Sciences are designed to give the non-major a background in Earth and atmospheric science and the human impact on the landscape as part of a general education. Students pursuing a degree in Geography, Geology, or Meteorology must also have a minor in another discipline.

The Department of Earth Sciences offers a departmental honors program that allows exceptional students to pursue independent research. Students work with a faculty committee to choose an Earth Sciences research project (Geography, Geology, Meteorology), develop a prospectus, and complete a senior thesis. Students completing this program graduate with departmental honors.