College of Science

Department of Geosciences

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• For more information about Geology, see the Geosciences Department.
• Following is a sample four-year plan. Please note that student-specific plans may differ.
• Admitted students must meet with an advisor. Current students should also meet with an advisor and log on to Degree Works  to check student-specific program progress.

 

Minimum University Requirements
Total Credits	120			Grade Point Average (most majors require higher GPA)	2.00 GPA
Credits of C- or better	100			Credits of upper-division courses (#3000 or above)	40
Total USU Credits	30			Upper-division USU Credits	20
USU Credits within the Major	10			Credits in Minor (if required)	12
Credits in Major	see below			Credits in American Institutions	3
General Education Requirements	see link			University Studies Depth Requirements	see link
NOTES: The highest math requirement for this degree is MATH 1210: Calculus I (QL) .

 

Admissions Requirements for this Program
New freshmen	Admitted to USU in Good Standing			Transfer students from other institutions or other programs at USU	2.75 GPA

First Year
Fall Semester	Credits	General Education Info and Notes:		Spring Semester	Credits	General Education Info and Notes:
GEO 1110: Physical Geology (BPS)	3			GEO 2200: The Earth Through Time	3
GEO 1115: Physical Geology Laboratory	1			GEO 2205: Earth Through Time Laboratory	1
CHEM 1210: Principles of Chemistry I	4			GEO 2800: Minerals and Rocks	4
CHEM 1215: Chemical Principles Laboratory I	1			GEOG 2800: Introduction to Geographic Information Sciences	4
MATH 1210: Calculus I (QL)	4			ENGL 1010: Introduction to Writing: Academic Prose (CL1)	3
Comments				Comments

Second Year
Fall Semester	Credits	General Education Info and Notes:		Spring Semester	Credits	General Education Info and Notes:
GEO 3550: Sedimentation and Stratigraphy	4			GEO 3400: Communicating Geoscience (CI)	3
CHEM 1220: Principles of Chemistry II (BPS)	4			STAT 3000: Statistics for Scientists (QI)	3
CHEM 1225: Chemical Principles Laboratory II	1			GEO 3700: Structural Geology	4
ENGL 2010: Intermediate Writing: Research Writing in a Persuasive Mode (CL2)	3			PHYS 2210: Physics for Scientists and Engineers I (BPS/QI)	4
Breadth American Institutions (BAI) Course	3			PHYS 2215: Physics for Scientists and Engineers Lab I	1
Comments				Comments

Third Year
Fall Semester	Credits	General Education Info and Notes:		Spring Semester	Credits	General Education Info and Notes:
GEO 3600: Geomorphology	4			BIOL 1620: Biology II (BLS)	3
GEO 4700: Geologic Field Methods (CI)	3			BIOL 1625: Biology II Laboratory	1
BIOL 1610: Biology I	3			Breadth Life Sciences (BLS) Course	3
BIOL 1615: Biology I Laboratory	1			Breadth Social Sciences (BSS) Course	3
Breadth Humanities (BHU) Course	3			Breadth Creative Arts (BCA) Course	3
Comments				Comments

Summer Semester
Fall Semester	Credits	General Education Info and Notes:		Spring Semester	Credits	General Education Info and Notes:
GEO 5200: Geology Field Camp	5
Comments				Comments

Fourth Year
Fall Semester	Credits	General Education Info and Notes:		Spring Semester	Credits	General Education Info and Notes:
GEO 5630: Geologic Image Analysis  or WATS 4930: Advanced GIS and Spatial Analysis  or WATS 5003: Remote Sensing of Land Surfaces  or WILD 5750: Applied Remote Sensing	3  or 3  or 4  or 3			GEO 5600: Geochemistry	4
PSC 3000: Fundamentals of Soil Science  or WATS 3700: Fundamentals of Watershed Science (CI)	4  or 3			PSC 5130: Soil Genesis, Morphology, and Classification  or WATS 4490: Small Watershed Hydrology (QI)	4  or 4
BIOL 2220: General Ecology  or CHEM 3650: Environmental Chemistry (DSC)  or PSC 4810: Climate and Climate Change (DSC/QI)	3  or 3  or 3			Depth Social Sciences (DSS) Course	3
Depth Humanities and Creative Arts (DHA) Course	3			Electives	6
GEO 5XXX Elective	3
Comments				Comments

 

Graduation Requirements:

Students must complete the Minimum University Graduation and General Education Requirements : 

• GEO 1110  will fulfill the Integrated Studies requirement.
• MATH 1210  will fulfill the Quantitative Literacy (QL) requirement.
• CHEM 1220  will fulfill the Breadth Physical Sciences (BPS) requirement.
• ENGL 1010  and ENGL 2010  will fulfill the Communications Literacy requirement.
• Three credits of approved courses in: Breadth American Institutions (BAI) , Breadth Creative Arts (BCA) , Breadth Humanities (BHU) , Breadth Life Sciences (BLS)  and Breadth Social Sciences (BSS) .

Students must also complete the University Studies Depth Requirements : 

• GEO 3400  and GEO 4700  will fulfill the Communications Intensive (CI) requirement.
• PHYS 2210  will fulfill the Quantitative Intensive (QI) requirement.
• Two credits of approved 3000-level or above course in: Depth Humanities and Creative Arts (DHA) , Depth Life and Physical Sciences (DSC)  and Depth Social Sciences (DSS) .

Students must receive a grade of C- or higher in GEO courses for them to count toward the major.