Program
The
Department of Earth Sciences offers a multi-departmental program leading to the degree of Bachelor
of Science in Earth Sciences.
Six tracks are offered within this degree listed as follows:
General Geosciences (Department of Earth Sciences).
Life Resilience and Extinctions (Collaboration between the Department of Earth Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering).
Earth Sciences for Landscapes (Collaboration between the Department of Earth Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences).
Engineering Earth Sciences (Collaboration between the Department of Earth Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering).
Environmental Earth Sciences (Collaboration between the Department of Earth Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Faculty of Health Sciences).
Petroleum Geosciences (Collaboration between the Department of Earth Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering).
All the tracks are designed in a way to give students a robust knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology with an emphasis on conceptual modeling. The tracks also focus on enriching students with knowledge of numerical application. This provides a stepping stone for students to excel later on in both the academic and the industrial sectors and further specialize in their field of interest.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Explain concepts and processes in Earth sciences (Earth as a complex and dynamic system, Chronology, surface and subsurface processes, earth materials, Earth structure, water science, natural resources, and climate change).
- Apply laboratory, fieldwork, and quantitative/computational skills, required to collect, and analyze data for addressing geoscience problems, with emphasis on methodological limitations, accuracy, and uncertainty.
- Build conceptual models for geological processes in specific application areas, e.g. resource exploration, hazard assessment, and emerging environmental issues).
- Recognize Earth Sciences as an interdisciplinary field with a diversity of application tracks.
- Integrate acquired knowledge of earth science concepts and processes, and skills in a professional context.
- Communicate scientific knowledge and reasoning orally and in writing, through presentations, term papers, and scientific reports.
BS Degree-Undergraduate Program
The requirements for a BS degree in Earth Sciences are 90 credits for students entering the
department at the sophomore level, including 36 credits in the major. The distribution
of university requirements is as follows:
Core required Geology courses: GEOL 201, GEOL 203, GEOL 207, GEOL 213, GEOL 216, GEOL
216L, GEOL 219, GEOL 221, GEOL 223, GEOL 223L, GEOL 226, GEOL 297, and GEOL 298
which is a total of 30 credits, in addition to two required Geology elective courses (6 credits).
Students have to take three required Quantitative Reasoning (9 credits) - MATH 201
STAT 210 or STAT 231, and CMPS 203 or equivalent, in addition to two Understanding the
World courses (6 credits) from Chemistry and/ or Physics. Students may opt for MATH
202 or Understanding the World course to fulfill the 3 remaining mandatory credits.
Students are also required to take a total of 6 credits to be selected from a list of approved
departmental courses or interdepartmental courses A 0-credit mandatory internship
course GEOL 299 provides students with the opportunity to acquire professional
experience in the field of Earth Sciences.
No course may be taken without its prerequisite unless authorized by the department chair.