• Students will traverse the spectrum of applied geology focusing upon its relation to human activities.  Included among relevant topics are water availability; geologic hazards such as earth quakes, landslides, and land subsidence; mineral and energy resources; engineering geology, waste disposal and pollution; land-use planning; coasts and coastal management; and medical and legal aspects of geology.
  Prerequisite: GEOS110 or permission of the instructor.

• A study of landforms and the factors involved in their formation including geologic processes, composition, structure, and climate.  The laboratory emphasizes the recognition of various landforms using topographic and aerial photographs.
  Prerequisite: GEOS110 or permission of the instructor.

• Guided field trips focusing upon various areas of geologic interest.  Successive trips have different emphases.  Pre-trip meeting required.  Participants should expect to incur expenses for meals and lodging.
  Prerequisite: GEOS130 or permission of the instructor. 

• Replaces GEOS 251-08

• An introduction to the study of invertebrate fossils including: system of classification, types of fossil preservation, nomenclature, characteristic structures, ecology and evolution of the paleontologically important invertebrate phyla.
  Prerequisite: GEOS210 or BIOL240 or permission of the instructor.

• An introduction to the origin, occurrence, crystallography, and chemical and physical properties of geologically important minerals.  Includes a study of the classification and interpretation of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
  Prerequisite: GEOS 110

• The study of sedimentary materials, processes, depositional environments, and the products of sedimentation.  Laboratories focus upon collection, analyses, and presentation of field data and the description and interpretation of both consolidated and unconsolidated sedimentary materials applying various petrologic and petrographic techniques.
  Prerequisites: GEOS210.

• The course looks at how scientists search for knowledge and try to gain an understanding of natural phenomena.  Students explore the roles science and technology play in human activities both locally and globally.  Specific topics vary and are based upon the expertise and interest of the faculty member responsible for teaching the course that semester. 
  Satisfies B.A. science seminar requirement
  Prerequisite:  None

• A course that emphasizes practical hydrogeologic principles, stressing interactions between geology and both surface and groundwater.  Topics include occurrence, production, and management of groundwater, water quality, flooding, and flood control, and sources of information for the practicing hydrogeologist.
  Prerequisites: GEOS130 and MATH114 or permission of the instructor.

• An upper-level course designed to help students develop in-depth knowledge of geochemical processes and factors controlling chemical composition and chemical reactions that impact the quality of both surface water and ground water in natural and anthropogenically disturbed/perturbed geological systems.  
  Prerequisites: GEOS130 and CHEM 121 or permission of the instructor.

• Students are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to gain practical experience in the geosciences.  Application for an internship must be approved prior to participating in the field experience.  See Geoscience faculty for details of this program.

• This course is offered to students with a background in any field of the natural sciences who wish to study a particular aspect of geology.  Independently gathered data derived from field work and laboratory investigations of a selected topic will be required.  A literature review of the topic, data synthesis, and conclusions based upon the study by the student will be included in the final formal presentation.  This research will be guided by the geology staff.

• The principles of lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy form the core of this course.  Geochronology and the recently developed techniques of seismic, magnetic, and isotopic stratigraphy supplement those classical principles.  Laboratories emphasize the field identification and interpretation of vertical and lateral relationships of sedimentary sequences.
  Prerequisite: GEOS315 or permission of the instructor.

• Geologic occurrence and methods of locating, mining, evaluating, and processing fossil fuels and industrial and ore minerals. Geology of major, world-wide fuel and mineral deposits and environmental problems associated with their exploitation.
  Prerequisite: GEOS305 or permission of the instructor.

• The constant movements of lithospheric plates relative to one another throughout the immensity of geologic time account for the regional and local displacement and deformation of the Earth's outer layers. These deformational processes along with the changes in the size and shape of the coherent rock masses and the internal arrangement of their constituent elements are the focus of this area of geological investigation.
  Prerequisite: GEOS131.

• Geophysical methods used to study the Earth and other planetary bodies, including geophysical foundations of plate-tectonic theory. The course includes geophysical techniques used in mineral-resource exploration, engineering, and characterization of waste-disposal sites.
  Prerequisite: GEOS131.

• The purpose of independent study is to permit outstanding students the opportunity to undertake advanced study in a specialized area not normally provided by regularly scheduled courses.  To qualify, a student must be a junior or senior and have a minimum grade point average of 2.50. 

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