Approved by: Undergraduate Course and Curriculum Committee
Implementation Date: Spring 2014
Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.
Catalog Copy
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN EARTH SCIENCES
A major in Earth Sciences leading to a B.S. degree consists of a minimum of 30 64 hours of required and elective coursework. The General Degree consists of 22 hours of required Earth Science (ESCI), Geography (GEOG) and Geology (GEOL) courses, 24 hours of elective courses and 18 hours of required extra departmental coursework. The Atmospheric Sciences Concentration consists of a minimum of 39 hours of required Earth Science (ESCI), Geography (GEOG), Meteorology (METR) and Geology (GEOL) courses, 7 hours of elective courses and 18 hours of required extra departmental coursework. The Environmental Sciences Concentration consists of a minimum of 38 hours of required Earth Science (ESCI), Geography (GEOG) and Geology (GEOL) courses, 3 hours of elective courses and 23 hours of required extra departmental coursework. The Hydrologic Sciences Concentration consists of a minimum of 43 hours of required Earth Science (ESCI), Geography (GEOG), Meteorology (METR) and Geology (GEOL) courses, 4 hours of elective courses and 17 hours of required extra departmental courses. 15 hours of elective courses and 21 hours of required extra departmental courses. Students considering a career as a licensed professional soil scientist should complete the Bachelor of Science degree with 15 hours of soil science course work as well as meet the work experience and examination requirements of the NC licensure board.
Required Departmental Courses All Options (30 22 hours)
- ESCI 1101 Earth Science-Geography (3)
- ESCI 1101L Earth Science-Geography Lab (1)
- GEOL 1200 Physical Geology (3)
- GEOL 1200L Physical Geology Lab (1)
- ESCI 2101 The Environmental Dilemma (3)
- ESCI 2210 Field Methods in the Earth Sciences (3)
- ESCI 3101 Global Environmental Change (3)
- GEOG 4120 Fundamentals of GIS (4)
GEOL 3115 Mineralogy (4)ESCI 3140 Intro to Meteorology and Climatology (3)GEOL 3190 Environmental Geology (3)ESCI 4210 Soil Science (4)**GEOL 4105 Geomorphology (3)ESCI 4140 Hydrologic Processes (4)- ESCI 4600 Earth Sciences Seminar (1)
** Courses approved for NC Soil Scientist licensure
Additional Out of Department Required Courses General Degree (18 hours)
- CHEM 1251 Principles of Chemistry (3)
- CHEM 1251L Principles of Chemistry Lab (1)
- PHYS 1101 Introductory Physics I (3)
- PHYS 1101L Introductory Physics I Lab (1)
- MATH 1241 Calculus I (3)
- MATH 1242 Calculus II (3) or
- STAT 1220 Elements of Statistics I (BUSN) (3) or
- STAT 1221 Elements of Statistics I (3) or
- STAT 1222 Introduction to Statistics (3)
- CHEM 1252 Principles of Chemistry (3) and
- CHEM 1252L Principles of Chemistry Lab (1) or
- PHYS 1102 Introductory Physics II (3) and
- PHYS 1102L Introductory Physics II Lab (1)
*******
ELECTIVE COURSES (15 hours) Elective Courses General Degree Option (24 hours)
Students can choose a minimum of 15 hours of earth sciences, geology and pre-approved geography courses numbered 3000 or above from the areas below. Twenty four hours from Earth Sciences electives listed below or other required courses from the Atmospheric, Environmental or Hydrological Sciences Concentrations of this Degree.
Hydrology Electives
ESCI 3105 Oceanography (3)ESCI 4155 Fluvial Processes (4)ESCI 4222 Watershed Science (3)GEOL 4145 Fundamentals of Hydrogeology (4) (W)GEOL 4165 Aqueous Geochemistry (4)
Surficial Materials Electives
ESCI 4233 Geoenvironmental Site Characterization (4)GEOL 3 124 Sedimentology (4)GEOL 4105L Geomorphology Laboratory (1)GEOL 4115 Applied Geophysics (4)GEOL 4120 Geochemistry (3)GEOL 4410 Applied Soil Science (3)
Atmospheric Sciences Electives
METR 3220 Physical Meteorology (3)METR 3240 Boundary-Layer Meteorology (4)METR 3245 Synoptic Meteorology (4)METR 3250 Dynamic Meteorology (4)METR 3252 Weather Analysis Lab (1)METR 4150 Applied Climatology (3)
Environmental Information Systems Electives
ESCI 2101 Environmental Dilemma (3)ESCI 3170 Environmental Quality Management (3)ESCI 4170 Fundamentals of Remote Sensing (4)ESCI 4180 Digital Image Processing in Remote Sensing (4)GEOG 3215 Environmental Planning (3)GEOG 4120 Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems (4)GEOG 4130 Adv Geographic Information Systems (4)
ADDITIONAL REQUIRED COURSES (21 hours)
CHEM 1251 Principles of Chemistry (3)CHEM 1251L Principles of Chemistry Lab (1)PHYS 1101 Introductory Physics I (3)PHYS 1101L Introductory Physics I Lab (1)MATH 1241 Calculus I (3)MATH 1242 Calculus II (3)STAT 2122 Introduction to Probability & Statistics (3)
AND:
CHEM 1252 Principles of Chemistry (3)CHEM 1252L Principles of Chemistry Lab (1)
OR:
PHYS 1102 Introductory Physics II (3)PHYS 1102L Introductory Physics II Lab (1)
Atmospheric Sciences Concentration
Additional Required Departmental Courses (17 hours)
- METR 3140 Introduction to Meteorology and Climatology (3)
- METR 3210 Atmospheric Thermodynamics (3)
- METR 3220 Physical Meteorology (3)
- METR 3245 Synoptic Meteorology (4)
- ESCI 4170 Fundamentals of Remote Sensing (4)
Required Out of Department Courses (18 hours)
Same course requirements as the General Degree option with the exception that Math 1242 Calculus II is required for this concentration.
Electives for Atmospheric Sciences Concentration (7 hours)
Eight hours from Earth Sciences electives list below or other required courses from the Environmental or Hydrological Sciences Concentrations.
Environmental Sciences Concentration
Additional Required Departmental Courses (16 hours)
- GEOG 4215 Urban Ecology (3)
- GEOG 3190 Biogeography (3) W
- GEOG 4131 Environmental Modeling with GIS (4)
- GEOL 3190 Environmental Geology (3)
- GEOL 3105 The Earth’s Mineral Resources: Sustainability and the Environmental Impacts of Recovery (3) or
- ESCI 3205 Water Resources (3)
External Required Courses Environmental Sciences Concentration (23 hours)
- BIOL 2120 General Biology I (3)
- BIOL 2130 General Biology II (3)
- BIOL 2130L General Biology II Laboratory (2)
- BIOL 3144 Ecology (3)
- BIOL 3144L Ecology Laboratory (1) (W)
- CHEM 1251 Principles of Chemistry (3)
- CHEM 1251L Principles of Chemistry Lab (1)
- CHEM 1252 Principles of Chemistry II (3)
- CHEM 1252L Principles of Chemistry II Lab (1)
- CHEM 2130 Survey of Organic Chemistry (3) or
- CHEM 2131 Organic Chemistry I (3)
Electives for Environmental Sciences Concentration
Three hours from Earth Sciences electives list below or other required courses from the Atmospheric or Hydrological Sciences Concentrations.
Hydrological Sciences Concentration
Additional Required Departmental Courses (21 hours)
- ESCI 3105 Oceanography (3)
- ESCI 4140 Hydrologic Processes (4)
- ESCI 4222 Watershed Science (3)
- ESCI 4155 Fluvial Processes (4)
- GEOL 4145 Fundamentals of Hydrogeology (4) (W)
- ESCI 3205 Water Resources (3)
External Required Courses (17 hours)
Same course requirements as the General Degree Concentration with the exceptions that PHYS 1101 and PHYS 1101L is an option on the required course list and MATH 1241 and STAT 1220 or STAT 1221 or STAT 1222 along with MATH 1242 or STAT 2223 are required.
Electives for the Hydrological Science Concentration
Four hours from Earth and Environmental Sciences electives list below or other required courses from the Atmospheric or Environmental Sciences Concentrations of this Degree.
Earth and Environmental Sciences Elective Courses
Students are responsible for meeting all required prerequisites for elective courses.
- BIOL 3215 Economic Botany (3) (W)
- BIOL 4162 Environmental Biotechnology I (3)
- BIOL 4163 Environmental Biotechnology II (3)
- CEGR 3143 Hydraulics and Hydrology (3)
- ESCI 3170 Environmental Quality Management (3)
- ESCI 3180 Environmental Impact Analysis (3)
- ESCI 4210 Soil Science (4)
- ESCI 4160 Contaminant Transport (3)
- ESCI 4180 Digital Image Processing in Remote Sensing (4)
- ESCI 4233 Geoenvironmental Site Characterization (4)
- GEOG 3215 Environmental Planning (3) (W)
- GEOG 3250 World Food Problems (3)
- GEOG 4216 Landscape Ecology (3)
- GEOL 3120 Geochemistry (3)
- GEOL 3120L Geochemistry Lab (1)
- GEOL 3124 Sedimentology (4) (W)
- GEOL 4105 Geomorphology (3)
- GEOL 4105L Geomorphology Lab (1)
- GEOL 4120 Geologic Mapping and Interpretation (4)
- GEOL 4125 Geologic Summer Field Camp (6)
- GEOL 4140 Coastal Geology (3)
- GEOL 4165 Aqueous Geochemistry (4)
- GEOL 4410 Applied Soil Science
- METR 4240 Boundary-Layer Meteorology (3)
- METR 3250 Dynamic Meteorology (4)
- METR 3252 Weather Analysis Lab (1)
- METR 4150 Applied Climatology (3) (W)
Consult the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences for a suggested schedule to complete the B.S. degree with a major in Earth Sciences or see the Department website for further information.
ESCI 3205. Water Resources. (3) The distribution of fresh water and its relevance to society and ecosystems. Fundamentals of the science of water, human use and influence on water, and issues of water management, policy, and law will be discussed. Three hours of lecture per week. (Fall, On demand)
GEOL 3105: The Earth’s Mineral Resources: Sustainability and the Environmental Impacts of Recovery. (3) Prerequisite GEOL 1200 Physical Geology. This course will focus on the origin, distribution, consumption rates and environmental impacts of mining and processing the Earth’s mineral resources. A significant portion of the class lectures will promote a deeper understanding of the current oil, gas and coal industries and their relationship to the Worlds energy production and use. The long- term sustainability of these energy systems will also be discussed. (Yearly)