The B.S. degree in Geology within the Environmental Science curriculum is designed to provide the student with a very strong technical background in Earth Sciences, along with multidisciplinary education in Biology and cognate sciences. Details of your program should be worked out with your faculty advisor.

INTRODUCTORY COURSES
14 or 15 credits.

• GOL 242: Environmental Geology - or - GOL 101: Intro to Geology - or - GOL 103: Earth System Science
• GOL 102: History of Earth and Life
• BIO 121-123: General Biology I and II

CORE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MAJOR
13 + 6 credits. ALL ARE REQUIRED.

• GOL 314: Mineralogy
• GOL 325: Introduction to Paleobiology
• GOL 333: Structural Geology
• GOL 517: Sedimentology
• GOL 470: Field Experience (6 credits, by transfer)

ELECTIVE COURSES WITHIN THE MAJOR
18 credits required, at least 9 of which must be in courses numbered 400 or above, to be chosen from the following list. Appropriate substitutions may be made, by petition to the Earth Sciences Department's Undergraduate Studies Committee.

• GOL 242: Environmental Geology (if not used as an Introductory course above)
• GOL 345: Global Change: The Geologic Record
• GOL 395: Oceanography and Limnology
• GOL 477: Geochemistry
• GOL 400: Mass Extinctions
• GOL 495: Marine Geology
• GOL 525: Principles of Paleobiology
• GOL 541: Hydrogeology
• GOL 542: Geomorphology
• GOL 544: Quaternary Environments and Climatic Change
• GOL 485/BIO 485: Geology and Ecology of Regional Environments
• BIO 345: Population Biology
• BIO 355: Genetics
• BIO 409: General Microbiology
• BIO 415: Conservation Biology
• BIO 451: Ecology, w/ - or - w/o BIO 453 (Lab)
• CIE 327: Principles of Fluid Mechanics
• CIE 352: Hydraulic Engineering
• CIE 471: Environmental Chemistry and Analysis
• EFB 220: Global Change
• EFB 524: Limnology
• ERE 552: Fundamentals of Remote Sensing
• FOR 341: Watershed Hydrology and Water Quality
• FOR 345: Soils

CAPSTONE COURSE
3 credits. REQUIRED in the senior year.

• GOL/BIO 428: Environmental Seminar (Two sections will meet together and will be taught jointly by Geology and Biology faculty)

RELATED SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS
22 credits. ALL ARE REQUIRED.

• CHE 106/116 (- or - 109/119): General Chemistry and Lab
• CHE 107/117 (- or - 129/139): General Chemistry and Lab
• PHY 211/221: General Physics and Lab
• PHY 212/222: General Physics and Lab
• MAT: 285 - or - MAT: 295 Calculus I
• MAT: 286 - or - MAT: 296 Calculus II

GEOLOGY FIELD EXPERIENCE
One of the highlights of your undergraduate experience (required for the B.S. degree) is the Geology Field Experience. This requirement is unique, in that it consists of 6 or more credit hours of transfer credit brought in as GOL 470. The requirement is usually satisfied by participation in an approved 6-week summer "field camp." Field camps are run by numerous universities that routinely accept students from other institutions. Activities typically involve one or more geologic mapping projects in geologically (and scenically!) interesting terrain, together with field trips ranging somewhat more widely from the base camp.

Most Earth Sciences majors take field camp in the summer between their junior and senior years, but one can also receive a B.S. degree at commencement, pending completion of the requirement in the summer following graduation. An important consideration in timing is your own background--courses in Structural Geology and Sedimentology or Stratigraphy may be required.

It is necessary to apply for acceptance by a particular field camp. You can examine brochures advertising many such programs in the Earth Sciences departmental office. Among the factors you will want to consider when choosing a field camp are: geography (our general advice: West is Best); geology (structural complexity and style, principal bedrock types); ruggedness (some "rough it" all the way; others are tamer); and reputation (best judged by talking with seniors and grad students who have had recent, first-hand experience).

Occasionally, by petition, GOL 470 may be satisfied by some other activity more suitable to the particular student. However, the traditional field camp experience is so central to the training of geologists, that substituting an alternative should be done only with the prior approval of the Department.

MISCELLANEOUS FIELD TRIPS
Field experience is so important to geology that we incorporate field trips into many of our courses. But we urge that you take advantage of other opportunities to get in the field. Sometimes you can go along on trips in courses other than those in which you are enrolled (or intend to enroll). Or someone may informally organize a departmentally sponsored trip completely separate from any course. Watch bulletin boards.

Also watch for announcements of trips sponsored by regional or special-interest organizations. Every fall, a wide selection of field trips are offered by the New York State Geological Association (NYSGA) and the New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference (NEIGC). Similar trips are run each spring by the Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists. Undergraduates are very welcome on all of these, and the cost is minimal. Watch bulletin boards. Often, a van will be going from Syracuse.

PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
Participation in meetings of professional organizations may seem like something you are not ready for, but that is not necessarily true! Such meetings consist of all-day "technical" sessions, each dedicated to a particular theme or subject area, in which a series of 20-minute presentations are given by individuals who have research results to report. One can pick and choose the particular "papers" and sessions one attends. If you attend such meetings, you will be astonished by how much you understand, you will learn a lot, and you will gain perspective on your field that is obtainable in no other way.

Among the best are the annual (spring) meetings of the Northeastern Section of the Geological Society of America (NEGSA). The host city changes from year to year. Usually it is within reasonable driving distance, and almost always there will be a van of SU people, some of them attending as presenters.

Even this early in your career, you might want to consider joining a professional organization - the Geological Society of America (GSA), Society of Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), American Geophysical Union (AGU), or some other. Journals, newsletters, and meeting-registration discounts come with membership, and most such professional organizations offer reasonably priced student memberships.

INFORMAL FIELD/LAB EXPERIENCE
Often, individual professors may have projects that can involve undergraduates in field or laboratory work, but without the formal structure that would be required if you were to register for GOL 490. Although such participation would not involve academic credit and would not appear on your official transcript, it can provide enjoyable opportunities for you to get involved in research activities in your chosen field. Such projects are usually discovered through the departmental grapevine, or by directly approaching a professor whose interests you share.

For more information such as course descriptions, admissions procedures, etc., we invite you to visit the Earth Sciences Department website.

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This page last updated on January 3, 2003.