Students are required to complete all departmental requirements and supporting coursework as detailed below.
COURSEWORK
Fundamental Coursework:
| GEO 105 | Earth: Our Environment | 4 units |
| GEO 225 | Earth: A field perspective | 4 units |
| GEO 245 | Earth's Climate: Past and Future | 4 units |
| GEO 315 | Sedimentary Geology | 4 units |
| GEO 324 | Advanced Field Mapping | 2 units |
| GEO 325 | Structural Geology | 4 units |
| GEO 345 | Mineralogy and Petrology | 4 units |
| GEO 391 | Research Methods | 2 units |
| GEO 491 | Senior Seminar | 2 units |
Electives
Students must select an additional four courses from the list below, two of which may be a 200-level course. Note: Geo 390 (Special Topics) may be taken multiple times as course content varies.
| GEO 210 | Water in a Changing World | 4 units |
| GEO 215 | Evolution of the Earth | 4 units |
| GEO 230 | Geologic Hazards | 4 units |
| GEO 235 | Global Geophysics and Tectonics | 4 units |
| GEO 255 | Remote Exploration of Earth | 4 units |
| GEO 342 | Geomorphology | 4 units |
| GEO 380 | Integrative Topics in Geology | |
| GEO 390 | Special Topics in Geology | 4 units |
Supplemental Coursework:
Students are required to complete two additional courses to complete the major: one in Statistical Analysis and the other in Quantitative Literacy.
Statistical Analysis
Select one course from the list below:
| COMP 146 | Statistics | 4 units |
| GEO 160 | Spatial Analysis with Geographic Information Science | 4 units |
| BIO 268 | Biostatistics | 4 units |
Quantitative Literacy
Select one course from the list below. Note: students who pass out of MATH 110 are required to take an additional quantitative literacy course at the college level.
Major with Environmental Science Concentration
Fundamental Geology Coursework:
| GEO 105 | Earth: Our Environment | 4 units |
| GEO 210 | Water in a Changing World | 4 units |
| GEO 225 | Earth: A field perspective | 4 units |
| GEO 245 | Earth's Climate: Past and Future | 4 units |
| GEO 315 | Sedimentary Geology | 4 units |
| GEO 324 | Advanced Field Mapping | 2 units |
| GEO 342 | Geomorphology | 4 units |
| GEO 391 | Research Methods | 2 units |
| GEO 491 | Senior Seminar | 2 units |
Geology Electives
Students must select an additional two courses from the list below. Note: Geo 390 (Special Topics) may be taken multiple times as course content varies.
| GEO 215 | Evolution of the Earth | 4 units |
| GEO 230 | Geologic Hazards | 4 units |
| GEO 235 | Global Geophysics and Tectonics | 4 units |
| GEO 255 | Remote Exploration of Earth | 4 units |
| GEO 325 | Structural Geology | 4 units |
| GEO 345 | Mineralogy and Petrology | 4 units |
| GEO 380 | Integrative Topics in Geology | |
| GEO 390 | Special Topics in Geology | 4 units |
Biology Component:
Students must complete two courses from the following list:
One course from:
| | |
| BIO 105 | Marine Biology | 4 units |
| BIO 110 | Introductory Biology: Ecology, Evolution, and the Environment | 4 units |
| BIO 215 | Invertebrate Form and Function | 4 units |
| | |
And one course from:
| | |
| BIO 250 | Plant Form and Function | 4 units |
| BIO 260 | Biodiversity and Organization of Marine Ecosystems | 4 units |
| BIO 270 | Ecology | 4 units |
| BIO 275 | Flora of Southern California | 4 units |
| BIO 280 | Evolutionary Biology | 4 units |
Supplemental Coursework:
Students are required to complete two additional courses to complete the major: one in Statistical Analysis and the other in Quantitative Literacy.
Statistical Analysis
Select one course from the list below:
| COMP 146 | Statistics | 4 units |
| GEO 160 | Spatial Analysis with Geographic Information Science | 4 units |
| BIO 268 | Biostatistics | 4 units |
Quantitative Literacy
Select one course from the list below. Note: students who pass out of MATH 110 are required to take an additional quantitative literacy course at the college level.
Honors in the Major
Students with a GPA of at least 3.25 are eligible to graduate with honors in geology. For these students, a larger senior thesis is planned, and students start their research earlier than the fall of their senior year. For this extra work, the honors student receives additional course credit (GEO 499) beyond credit for comprehensives.
Geology Minor
Fundamental Coursework
| GEO 105 | Earth: Our Environment | 4 units |
| GEO 225 | Earth: A field perspective | 4 units |
| GEO 245 | Earth's Climate: Past and Future | 4 units |
Electives
In addition to the required Fundamental Coursework, students must complete two additional GEO courses.