GEOGRAPHY

The geography option develops a unique understanding of the interaction and spatial relationships between people and their physical, cultural and socioeconomic environments. This option equips students for careers in hydrology, climatology, environmental analysis, resource and hazard assessment, cartography, remote sensing, marketing, policy analysis, and geographic information analysis.  Additional GIS course info can be found at the Geographical Information & Analysis Center (Spatial Sciences Center) website.

GEOHYDROLOGY

The geohydrology option is designed for students interested in the interrelationships between ground water, surface water, people and Earth. A graduate in this option is prepared for careers emphasizing pollution control, hazardous-waste disposal, environmental impact assessment, water resource development, and fundamental research insurface or ground water hydrology.

GEOLOGY

The geology option is designed for students who wish to apply the principles of field geology to the study of the Earth. This background can be used in a variety of careers, including exploration for and development of Earth's mineral and energy resources; environmental and engineering applications related to land use and development; and research into ground and surface-water hydrology, surficial processes and natural hazards, and climatic change.

PALEONTOLOGY

The paleontology option in the Department of Earth Sciences is designed for those students who have a strong interest in geology and biology, specifically vertebrate or invertebrate fossil organisms. The paleo-option builds on courses that form the core of the traditional geology option, while providing a strong background in paleontology through four required courses (including the paleontology summer field course) and two elective courses. All of the paleontology courses offered through the department provide upper division credits. The paleontology option provides the background needed for those seeking employment with natural history museums (fossil collections and curation). Graduate training beyond the bachelor's degree is considered essential for those seeking a career in teaching and/or research (typically a doctorate). Additionally, some job opportunities for paleontologists exist in the petroleum industry, normally for those with a master's degree.

Visit our Paleontology Page........

GIS/PLANNING

The GIS/Planning option is ideally suited to meet the complex, interdisciplinary demands of the twenty-first-century world.

SNOW SCIENCE

Snow. You can play in it, drive in it, shovel it, melt it to drink it or irrigate with it, be killed by it, or dig a cave and survive in it. The snow program in the Department of Earth Sciences provides a foundation for understanding the distribution of snow (geography), mechanics of snow (physics, engineering), composition of snow (chemistry), variability of snow (statistics) and effects of snow (ecology, hydrology). As such, the snow program is a strong technical undergraduate program for environmental scientists or lawyers. It is also one of the best preprofessional programs in the world for those who will carry their interest in snow into a professional career.

The Snow Science option is based on a solid and broad-based foundation of course work from geography, mathematics, statistics, chemistry and physics. There are two emphases in the option. One focuses on biology and geographic information systems. One focuses on snow mechanics. The program prepares you to work in a variety of snow-related areas including avalanche forecasting, water resource planning, snow-melt hydrology, land-use planning, and snow engineering. You are strongly encouraged to consider a graduate degree in snow science to prepare for professional jobs, but such training is not always required.

In the Snow Science Option, you progress through a broad-based core of courses that includes introductory geology and geography, calculus, chemistry, physics, statistics, weather and climate, geomorphology, glacial geology, and mountain geography. In addition, you focus on one of two areas which prepare you to work in snow. One is snow biology and geographic information systems which prepares you in the area of biogeography, ecology and spatial analysis of factors important to snow distribution, the interaction between snow plants and animals, snow melt, and the spatial analysis of factors which influence the spatial distribution of snow or snow avalanche factors. The other emphasis is related to snow mechanics and prepares you to study the mechanics of snow as it relates to transportation, avalanche release, and the impact of snow on buildings due to loading or avalanche impact. The capstone course is snow dynamics and accumulation. These courses are integrated to build scientific problem solving skills throughout the four-year program.