Students must complete 51 credits of geology courses focusing on minerals, rocks, landforms, fossils, structural geology, geochemistry and field mapping, among others. Supplemental courses include introductory chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics. Students also select several upper-division geology electives that allow specialization in a variety of applied or theoretical areas of the science. The program features a 6-credit capstone summer field course in the Black Hills, South Dakota.

Career Opportunities

Geoscientists held about 33,600 jobs in 2008, while another 8,100 were employed as hydrologists. Many more individuals held geoscience faculty positions in colleges and universities, but they are classified as college and university faculty.