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Program Description

earth and environmental sciences

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Undergraduate Program Description

An undergraduate in the Department of Earth and Environmental Services will develop a major program in one of two majors: Geological Sciences or Environmental Geoscience. Within the constraints discussed below, programs can be individually designed to meet the interests and objectives of each student. Students may wish to major or to have a concentration in the earth sciences for a variety of reasons including: (1) a desire to work professionally in one of the earth sciences, (2) a desire to obtain an earth science foundation preparatory for post-graduate work in environmental studies, resource management, environmental law, or similar fields, (3) a desire to teach earth science in secondary schools, or (4) a general interest in the earth sciences.  Geoscientists study the earth’s complex systems and the interrelations among the solid earth, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. Students trained in the earth sciences can look forward to exciting and rewarding careers, as society continues to require ever greater amounts of energy and resources in the twenty-first century, and at the same time, will face increasing environmental problems and concerns. The department provides students with the skills and varied background needed to address these problems. Earth scientists are naturally interdisciplinary and use science to solve real-world problems. Today’s earth scientist can choose to work in the field in almost any area of the world, in ultramodern laboratories equipped with the latest scientific and computing equipment, or commonly in some combination of these. Whether understanding hazards and environmental challenges such as earthquakes, landslides, floods, sea level rise, and climate change, exploring for petroleum thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean, or working with governmental agencies or industry to analyze pollution problems, the earth sciences provide exciting possibilities for a rewarding career.

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Major Requirements: Environmental Geoscience

The field of Environmental Geoscience is new, interdisciplinary, and evolving. This program serves as an excellent major for students who wish to concentrate in the sciences, but who may not be looking toward professional careers as scientists, as well as for students planning graduate work in environmental law, environmental policy, or environmental studies. Students majoring in Environmental Geoscience should work out their programs closely with a departmental advisor to insure both breadth and depth in this subject area.

To provide students with training in the interdisciplinary nature of Environmental Geoscience, the major includes an introductory sequence in Environmental Systems (GE 201-208), consisting of eight 2-credit courses (plus associated labs, GE 211-208). These courses can be taken in any order and do not have prerequisites. They are recommended particularly for first-year students and sophomores. Students are required to take six of these eight courses. They are offered as two-course pairs, with one course meeting for the first half of the semester and another course (usually the next in the sequence) meeting for the second half of the semester, in the same time slot. Students are welcome to take one or both of the courses in each of these pairs in any given semester. In general, four Environmental Systems courses will be offered each fall semester, and two in the spring semester. Over any given two-year period, all eight courses will be offered at least once.

Students in this major must complete the following course requirements:

(A) 12 credits from GE 201-208 (2 credits each, plus laboratories GE 211-218)

  • Environmental Systems: The Human Footprint (GE 201)
  • Environmental Systems: Ecosystems (GE 202)
  • Environmental Systems: Water Resources (GE 203)
  • Environmental Systems: The Critical Zone (GE 204)
  • Environmental Systems: Climate Change (GE 205)
  • Environmental Systems: Oceans (GE 206)
  • Environmental Systems: Earthquakes (GE 207)
  • Environmental Systems: Quantitative Methods (GE 208)

Note: Some substitutions are possible, but each substituted course only counts as two credits toward this requirement, and remaining credits cannot count toward the elective requirement below. Approved substitutions include: GE 167 for GE 201, GE 170 for GE 203, GE 250 for GE 204, GE 174 for GE 205, and GE 157 for GE 206.

(B) GE 220 Earth Materials (+GE 221, 4 credits)

(C) At least 18 credits of elective courses. All GE courses count toward this requirement, with the following limitations:

  • Up to three credits can be from 100-level courses.
  • Up to six credits can be from 200-level courses.
  • Up to six credits can be from approved non-GE courses.
    (Approved courses: BI 401, BI 405, BI 407, BI 422, BI 436, BI 442, BI 456, BI 458, BI 486, BI 513, CH 231, CH 575, CS 127, EC 278, IN 260, MB145, MT 305, PH 301, PO 202, SC 348, SC 349, SC 350, SC 560, UN 256, or other courses, such as field camps, by permission of the Undergraduate Studies Committee.)
  • Up to three credits of independent study (GE 596-GE 598) can count toward this requirement.

(D) Senior research experience (at least four credits)

  • GE 582 and GE 583 Senior Capstone course (2 credits each), or
  • GE 595 Senior Thesis (at least six credits)

(E) Three co-requisite courses in Natural Sciences and Mathematics (12 credits)

  • Calculus II (MT 101, MT 103 or MT 105) and
  • Two semesters of Physics (PH 209-210 or PH 211-212 with labs PH 203-204), or
  • Two semesters of Chemistry (CH 109-110 with labs CH 111-112 or CH 117-118 with labs CH 119-120), or
  • Two semesters of Biology (BI 200 and BI 201 with lab BI 204)

AP credits cannot substitute for the Physics, Chemistry or Biology corequisite (E) above.

Information for First-Year Environmental Geoscience Majors

For those students who would like to explore the major in Environmental Geoscience, it is suggested that students take two to four of the Environmental Systems courses (GE 201-208, with laboratories GE 211-218) during their first year. The laboratory science requirement (E above) should be taken during the first or second year.

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Major Requirements: Geological Sciences

This major combines elements of traditional earth and environmental sciences programs and is considered excellent preparation for those working toward graduate school in the geosciences or employment in industry following graduation with a B.S. degree.

(A) Three required courses (12 credits)

  • Exploring the Earth (GE 132) with laboratory GE 133, 4 credits
  • Earth Materials (GE 220) with laboratory GE 221, 4 credits
  • Geological Field Methods and Mapping (GE 288), 4 credits (or an approved field camp)

(B) At least 11 credits from the following courses

  • Stratigraphy and Sedimentation (GE 264) with laboratory GE 265, 4 credits
  • Introduction to Structural Geology (GE 285) with laboratory GE 286, 4 credits
  • Introduction to Geophysics (GE 391), 3 credits
  • Optical Mineralogy (GE 370) with laboratory GE 371, 2 credits
  • Igneous Petrology (GE 372) with laboratory GE 373, 2 credits
  • Sedimentary Petrology (GE 374) with laboratory GE 375, 2 credits
  • Metamorphic Petrology (GE 376) with laboratory GE 377, 2 credits

(C) At least 15 credits of elective courses, with the following requirements:

  • Electives include all GE courses and approved interdisciplinary options (below).
  • Up to three credits toward this requirement may be from a 100-level course
  • At least seven credits must be from GE courses numbered 300 or above.
  • Up to six credits from approved non-GE courses can count toward this requirement (approved courses: MT 305, PH 301, CH 231, CH 575, or others by permission of the Undergraduate Studies Committee).
  • Up to six credits from independent study or senior thesis (GE 595-GE 599) can count toward this requirement.

(D) Five corequisite courses in Natural Sciences and Mathematics (20 credits)

  • Calculus II (MT 103 or MT 105)
  • Two semesters of Physics (PH 209-210 with labs PH 203-204)
  • Two semesters of Chemistry (CH 109-110 with labs CH 111-112 or CH 117-118 with labs CH 119-120)

AP credits cannot substitute for the Physics and Chemistry corequisite (D) above.

Information for First-Year Geological Sciences Majors

The following courses are recommended for first-year Geological Sciences majors, if their schedules permit:

  • Exploring the Earth I (GE 132) with laboratory (GE 133)
  • Earth Materials (GE 220) with laboratory (GE 221)
  • Two semesters of Calculus (MT 102-103)
  • Two semesters of Chemistry (CH 109-110) with laboratories (CH 111-112)

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Minor in Geological Sciences

In addition to the two major programs, a student may choose to minor in Geological Sciences. The minor is designed to be flexible and to allow the interested student to explore an area of interest in the earth sciences without the formal commitment of a major. Students interested in declaring a minor in the department should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Prof. Alan Kafka) to ensure they receive advising about course selections.

A minor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences consists of a minimum of six courses in the department structured as follows:

(A) Two required courses (8 credits):

  • Exploring the Earth I (GE 132) with laboratory (GE 133)
  • Earth Materials (GE 220) with laboratory (GE 221)

(B) At least seven additional credits from departmental courses numbered 100 or higher
(C) At least three additional credits from a departmental course numbered 200 or higher
(D) At least three additional credits from a departmental course numbered 300 or higher

Each student's minor program must be approved in advance by a faculty advisor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Students should be aware that many upper-level courses have prerequisites in geoscience, mathematics, physics, or chemistry. Consult this catalog or a departmental advisor, and keep in mind that these prerequisites must be considered in designing a specific minor program. The minor program allows students flexibility in their choice of courses. Minor programs can be designed to emphasize specific areas of concentration within the broad range of subjects in Earth and Environmental Sciences.

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Senior Thesis and the Department Honors Program (all classes)

Students are encouraged to conduct research with professors in the department. A senior thesis is normally a two-semester project, often also involving work during the summer after your junior year (or before). To do a thesis, students register for Senior Thesis (GE 595) each semester of the senior year. To achieve Department Honors, majors in the department need to meet the GPA criteria (3.3 in major, 3.2 overall) and provide a thesis proposal to the Undergraduate Studies Committee by the drop-add date in the fall semester. In the spring, the completed thesis, signed by the faculty research advisor, is due to the committee by April 20. Students can also write a senior thesis under the Arts and Sciences Honors and Scholar of the College programs. Theses that meet these requirements would normally meet the Department Honors requirements. Honors will be awarded upon successful completion of a thesis based on the proposed research project as evaluated by the faculty advisor and approval of the thesis and the candidate’s academic record by the Undergraduate Studies Committee. In general, all students in the department are urged to fulfill at least one of the elective courses in any major program with a project-oriented research course during their senior year. Students may propose substitutes for particular course requirements by a petition, in writing, to the department Undergraduate Studies Committee.

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Fulfilling the Core Requirements

Core courses in the department are designed to give non-science majors an introduction to various aspects of the earth’s history and dynamics. The course offerings include a wide variety of subjects and approaches that reflect the breadth of the earth sciences. This variety of courses provides maximum freedom of choice for introductory students. All of these courses presume no prior knowledge beyond high school science and all fulfill the Natural Science Core requirement. They are designed to acquaint students with some exciting aspect of the world we live in while providing a background in the methods of analysis and reasoning common to all science. GE 125, 132, 134, 163, 167, 168, and 180 are courses that provide insight into the wide scope of geoscience subjects. The other Core offerings, GE 110, 146, 150, 157, 170, 172, 174, 177, 187, and 192, cover more specific sub-fields, such as oceanography, planetary, geology, astronomy, evolution, etc. Students wishing to find out more about department Core courses should contact the department at 617-552-3640 (Devlin 213) or see the department Director of Undergraduate Studies (Prof. Alan Kafka) (kafka@bc.edu).

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Information for Study Abroad

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences strongly encourages students to take advantage of study abroad opportunities. An Earth scientist can never see too much of our planet. We particularly encourage students to participate in programs that include field-based courses and research experiences. Depending upon the student's major, and the courses available at the foreign school, the department can be quite flexible. We typically allow one elective per semester abroad to count toward major requirements, or two courses in unusual circumstances. Students should work out their plan well in advance with a departmental advisor or the departmental Foreign Study Advisor (Professor Noah Snyder).

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