Geosciences, Geology Concentration (Geology), B.S.

Geosciences
Mark Abolins, program coordinator
615-594-4210
Mark.Abolins@mtsu.edu

Warner Cribb
615-898-2379
Warner.Cribb@mtsu.edu

This Geology career pattern is designed for students who plan to become professional geologists or who wish to pursue graduate study in geology.

Academic Map

Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:

Geoscience, Geology (Geology Career Pattern), B.S., Academic Map

Degree Requirements

General Education (41 hours)

General Education requirements (shown in curricular listings below) include courses in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences.

The following courses are required by the program and can satisfy the respective General Education requirement:

MATH 1910 (Math)
CHEM 1110/1111 (Nat Sci)
PHYS 2010/2011 or PHYS 2110/2111 (Nat Sci)

Major Requirements (53 hours)

GEOL 1030 - Introduction to Earth Science 3 credit hours AND
GEOL 1031 - Introduction to Earth Science Lab 1 credit hour
OR
GEOL 1040 - Physical Geology 4 credit hours AND
GEOL 1041 - Physical Geology Lab 0 credit hours
GEOL 1050 - Historical Geology 4 credit hours
GEOL 3000 - Mineralogy 5 credit hours
GEOL 3050 - Field Methods in Geology 3 credit hours
GEOL 3160 - Geologic Literature and Report Writing 2 credit hours
GEOL 4000 - Petrology and Petrography 5 credit hours
GEOL 4020 - Geomorphic Regions of the United States 4 credit hours
GEOL 4030 - Invertebrate Paleontology 5 credit hours
GEOL 4070 - Sedimentation and Stratigraphy 5 credit hours
GEOL 4080 - Structural Geology 5 credit hours
GEOL 4130 - Hydrogeology 5 credit hours
PGEO 4530 - Geographic Information Systems 3 credit hours
GEOL elective (Geosciences-mentor approved) 3 credit hours

Cognate 1 (18-19 hours)

CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (may be counted in General Education)
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours
MATH 1910 - Calculus I 4 credit hours (3 credit hours counted in General Education; 1 credit hour remaining)
MATH 1920 - Calculus II 4 credit hours OR
MATH 1530 - Applied Statistics 3 credit hours OR
MATH 2050 - Probability and Statistics 3 credit hours
MATH/SCI elective (Geosciences mentor-approved) 3 credit hours

Cognate 2 (18 hours)

PHYS 2010 - Non-Calculus-Based Physics I 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2011 - Physics Problems Laboratory I 4 credit hours (may be counted in General Education)
OR
PHYS 2110 - Calculus-Based Physics I 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2111 - Calculus-Based Physics Laboratory I 4 credit hours (may be counted in General Education)
BIOL 1110 - General Biology I 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 1111 - General Biology I Lab 0 credit hours
OR
PHYS 2020 - Non-Calculus-Based Physics II 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2021 - Physics Problems Laboratory II 4 credit hours
OR
PHYS 2120 - Calculus-Based Physics II 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2121 - Calculus-Based Physics Laboratory II 4 credit hours
GEOL or PGEO elective (Geosciences mentor approved) 3 credit hours
Geology Field Camp in Western U.S. (Geosciences chair approved) 4 credit hours
MATH/SCI elective (Geosciences mentor approved) 3 credit hours

Total hours in program: 120

Curriculum: Geoscience, Geology Concentration (Geology)

Curricular listings include General Education requirements in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.

Following is a suggested pattern of study for the first two years; however, consultation with the assigned advisor is necessary before registration.

Freshman

ENGL 1010 - Expository Writing 3 credit hours (Comm)
ENGL 1020 - Research and Argumentative Writing 3 credit hours (Comm)
COMM 2200 - Fundamentals of Communication 3 credit hours (Comm)
GEOL 1050 - Historical Geology 4 credit hours
PGEO 4530 - Geographic Information Systems 3 credit hours
Social/Behavioral Sciences 3 credit hours
GEOL 1030 - Introduction to Earth Science 3 credit hours AND
GEOL 1031 - Introduction to Earth Science Lab 1 credit hour
OR
GEOL 1040 - Physical Geology 4 credit hours AND
GEOL 1041 - Physical Geology Lab 0 credit hours
Choose 6 hours from:
HIST 2010 - Survey of United States History I 3 credit hours
HIST 2020 - Survey of United States History II 3 credit hours
HIST 2030 - Tennessee History 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 29 Hours

Sophomore

ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
ENGL 2030 - The Experience of Literature 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
HUM 2610 - Foreign Literature in Translation 3 credit hours (Hum/FA)
MATH 1910 - Calculus I 4 credit hours (Math)
GEOL major courses 10 credit hours
Social/Behavioral Sciences 3 credit hours
MATH 1920 - Calculus II 4 credit hours OR
MATH 1530 - Applied Statistics 3 credit hours OR
MATH 2050 - Probability and Statistics 3 credit hours
CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry I 4 credit hours (Nat Sci) AND
CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry I Lab 0 credit hours (Nat Sci)
CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry II 4 credit hours AND
CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry II Lab 0 credit hours

Subtotal: 32 Hours

Junior

BIOL 1110 - General Biology I 4 credit hours AND
BIOL 1111 - General Biology I Lab 0 credit hours
OR
PHYS 2020 - Non-Calculus-Based Physics II 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2021 - Physics Problems Laboratory II 4 credit hours
OR
PHYS 2120 - Calculus-Based Physics II 0 credit hours AND
PHYS 2121 - Calculus-Based Physics Laboratory II 4 credit hours
PHYS 2010 - Non-Calculus-Based Physics I 0 credit hours (Nat Sci) AND
PHYS 2011 - Physics Problems Laboratory I 4 credit hours (Nat Sci)
OR
PHYS 2110 - Calculus-Based Physics I 0 credit hours (Nat Sci) AND
PHYS 2111 - Calculus-Based Physics Laboratory I 4 credit hours (Nat Sci)
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 6 credit hours
GEOL required courses 19 credit hours

Subtotal: 33 Hours

Senior

MATH/SCI electives 6-7 credit hours
Geoscience electives 6 credit hours
GEOL required courses 10 credit hours
GEOL Field Camp 4 credit hours (GEOL 3401 may not be used for this requirement)