Curriculum

The Department of Geological Sciences offers a bachelor of science (B.S.) or a bachelor of arts (B.A.) degree with a major in geological sciences. The information found below is also available in the University's Course Catalog.

Course descriptions are available in the Course Catalog. Course offerings for a particular term are linked below.

• Winter 2008
• Spring 2008
• Summer 2008
• Projected Course Offerings Subject to change

The department offers two introductory sequences. The recommended sequence for majors is Earth’s Interior Heat and Dynamics (GEOL 201), Earth Surface and Environmental Geology (GEOL 202), Evolution of the Earth (GEOL 203). The 100-level sequence—Earth’s Dynamic Interior (GEOL 101), Environmental Geology and Landform Development (GEOL 102), The Evolving Earth (GEOL 103)—may be substituted if the three courses are passed with grades of mid-B or better.

Undergraduate majors must take for letter grades (the pass/no pass option is not acceptable) all the courses required in their degree program. Required courses must be completed with grades of C– or better. Exceptions for honors students are noted under Honors in Geological Sciences.

Application for graduation with honors in geological sciences must be made no later than spring term of the student’s junior year. To be eligible for graduation with honors, a student must

1. Maintain either a 3.50 grade point average (GPA) or better in geological sciences courses or a 3.00 GPA or better in all science courses

2. Submit and orally present an acceptable honors thesis written under the supervision of a department faculty member and evaluated by a committee consisting of three faculty members including the supervisor. The thesis should be presented no later than three weeks before final examinations during the term the student plans to graduate

Honors students should register for 3 credits of Research: Thesis (GEOL 401) the term before they intend to graduate, and for 3 credits of Thesis (GEOL 403) the term of graduation. These 6 credits may be applied toward the option electives.

Up to 4 credits of research can be counted toward electives in any of the tracks. To receive such credit, students must (1) submit a short letter, written by the faculty research adviser and addressed to the head undergraduate adviser in geological sciences, stating the nature of the research and asserting that there is faculty supervision; and (2) submit a final written report to the faculty adviser describing the results of the research. Students may earn credit in this category by registering for any of the following: Research (GEOL 401), Field Studies (GEOL 406), Laboratory Projects (GEOL 408). Students who complete an honors thesis may not apply this option toward elective credits.

Earth science is an unusually broad subject. It addresses everything from the chemical processes that make rocks and minerals to the physics behind plate tectonics and the travel of earthquake shock waves through the planet. It explores the history of the evolution of life revealed in fossils, and it probes the earth processes that affect how humans can survive on the surface of the planet. To address this breadth, the department offers four curricular tracks for a major in geological sciences: geology, geophysics, environmental geoscience, and paleontology.

All of the tracks require a common core of general chemistry, calculus, general geology, and physics, except that paleontology-option students may take biology in place of physics.

Every track includes an introductory geology sequence. See Introductory Sequences above. The courses in each track are divided into three categories: core, additional requirements, electives.

Up to 15 credits may be selected from the following courses outside of geological sciences:

Biology Biology courses numbered 306 or greater

Chemistry General Chemistry Laboratory (CH 227, 228, 229) or Advanced General Chemistry Laboratory (CH 237, 238, 239), Organic Chemistry I,II,III (CH 331, 335, 336), Physical Chemistry (CH 411, 412, 413), Inorganic Chemistry (CH 431, 432, 433), Chemical Thermodynamics (CH 444), Statistical Mechanics (CH 445)

Computer and Information Science Introduction to Programming and Algorithms (CIS 122), Computer Science I,II,III (CIS 210, 211, 212), Introduction to Algorithms (CIS 315)

Geography Climatology (GEOG 321), Geomorphology (GEOG 322), Introductory Geographic Information Systems (GEOG 416), Advanced Climatology (GEOG 421), Advanced Geomorphology (GEOG 422), Hydrology and Water Resources (GEOG 425), Fluvial Geomorphology (GEOG 427), Long-Term Environmental Change (GEOG 430)

Mathematics Introduction to Differential Equations (MATH 256), Several-Variable Calculus I,II (MATH 281, 282), Elementary Linear Algebra (MATH 341, 342), Functions of a Complex Variable I,II (MATH 411, 412), Differential Equations and Fourier Analysis I,II (MATH 420, 421), Statistical Methods I,II (MATH 425, 426)

Physics Introductory Physics Laboratory (PHYS 204, 205, 206), Foundations of Physics Laboratory (PHYS 290), Foundations of Physics II (PHYS 351, 352, 353), Mechanics, Electricity, and Magnetism (PHYS 411, 412, 413), X-ray Crystallography (PHYS 427)

Requirements are the same as for the geology option, except that GEOL 311 may be substituted for GEOL 331 and 332

Requirements are the same as for the geology track, except Phys 201, BI 211, and BI 212 or 213 may be substituted for that track’s physics requirement. GEOL 311 may be substituted for GEOL 331 and 332

Geological Sciences Courses numbered 414 and higher

Biology Courses numbers 306 and higher

Chemistry General Chemistry Laboratory (CH 227, 228, 229) or Advanced General Chemistry Laboratory (CH 237, 238, 239), Organic Chemistry I,II,III (CH 331, 335, 336), Physical Chemistry (CH 411, 412, 413), Inorganic Chemistry (CH 431, 432, 433), Chemical Thermodynamics (CH 444), Statistical Mechanics (CH 445)

Computer and Information Science Introduction to Programming and Algorithms (CIS 122); Computer Science I,II,III (CIS 210, 211, 212), Introduction to Algorithms (CIS 315)

Geography Climatology (GEOG 321); Geomorphology (GEOG 322); Watershed Science and Policy (GEOG 360); Introductory Geographic Information Systems (GEOG 416), Advanced Climatology (GEOG 421), Advanced Geomorphology (GEOG 422), Hydrology and Water Resources (GEOG 425), Fluvial Geomorphology (GEOG 427), Long-Term Environmental Change (GEOG 430), Climatological Aspects of Global Change (GEOG 432), Environmental Alteration (GEOG 461), Advanced Geographic Information Systems (GEOG 472)

Mathematics Introduction to Differential Equations (MATH 256), Several-Variable Calculus I,II (MATH 281, 282), Elementary Linear Algebra (MATH 341, 342), Functions of a Complex Variable I,II (MATH 411, 412), Differential Equations and Fourier Analysis I,II (MATH 420, 421), Statistical Methods I,II (MATH 425, 426)

Physics Introductory Physics Laboratory (PHYS 204, 205, 206), Foundations of Physics Laboratory (PHYS 290), Foundations of Physics II (PHYS 351, 352, 353), Mechanics, Electricity, and Magnetism (PHYS 411, 412, 413), X-ray Crystallography (PHYS 427)

OSU engineering courses, by permission of a departmental adviser

Students with majors in other departments who want a minor in geological sciences must begin with either of the introductory sequences: GEOL 201–203 or GEOL 101–103. In addition, a minimum of 15 credits must be earned in other geological science courses numbered 213 or 300–499. Any such geological science courses listed in the UO Catalog may be used to meet this requirement, except that no more than 8 credits in GEOL 213, 304, 305, 306, 307, or 308 may be applied to the minor. Undergraduate minors must take all required courses for letter grades and complete them with grades of C– or better.

Fourteen geological sciences courses satisfy university science group requirements. See the Group Requirements section of this catalog under Registration and Academic Policies.

Students who complete a degree with a major in geological sciences are eligible to apply to the College of Education’s fifth-year licensure program in middle-secondary teaching or the fifth-year licensure program in elementary teaching. More information is available in the College of Education section of this catalog.