Undergraduate Programs

Major Study Requirements

For the degree of Bachelor of Science: EPS required courses: 101, 105L (or ENVS 101 and 102L), 201L, 301, 302L, 303L, 304L, 307L, 319L, 401, 490 and 12 additional hours in Earth and Planetary Sciences above 299 (excluding 300, 491–492, 493 and 495).
Total credits for the Earth and Planetary Sciences sequence=43.

Non-Earth and Planetary Sciences Required Courses: CHEM 121, 123L, 122 and 124L; MATH 162 and 163, and either STAT 345 or EPS 433; PHYC 160 and 161: and 7 additional hours from Chemistry, Math or Physics above the required levels, or BIOL 123/124L or higher, or ASTR 270 or above, or (with permission from the EPS Undergraduate Committee) from selected Anthropology, Engineering (including Computer Science) or Geography courses.
Total Credits of Supporting Science=32.

ENGL 219, 220 or 290 is required as an A&S Group Requirement.

Students completing the B.S. program will fulfill the requirements for a distributed minor, although an alternative minor or second major may be selected.

For the degree of Bachelor of Arts: EPS required courses: 101, 105L (or ENVS 101 and 102L), 201L, 301, 302L, 303L 304L, 307L, 310L (or 319L), 401, 490 and 6 additional hours in Earth and Planetary Sciences above 299 (excluding 491-492, 493 and 495).
Total credits for the Earth and Planetary Sciences sequence=37.

Non-Earth and Planetary Sciences required courses: CHEM 121 and 123L and either PHYC 151 or 160; and 9 additional hours from Chemistry or Physics above the required levels, or from MATH 162 or above, BIOL 123/124L or higher, or ASTR 270 or above, or (with permission from the EPS Undergraduate Committee) from selected Anthropology, Engineering or Geography courses.
Total Credits of Supporting Science=16.

Minor Study Requirements

The minor in Earth and Planetary Sciences will consist of 20 credit hours, of which 12 must be above the 299 level (excluding 401, 493 and 495). No more than 3 credit hours of problems (491–492) may be applied to the Earth and Planetary Sciences minor.

Departmental Honors

Students seeking honors in Earth and Planetary Sciences should consult with the department honors advisor no later than two full semesters prior to graduation. EPS 493 and 495 are required, as is a written senior thesis that will be orally defended.

Environmental Science

B.S. in Environmental Science

The B.S. in Environmental Science synthesizes quantitative studies of the interactions between the solid earth, oceans, atmosphere and biological processes taking place therein. The degree provides scientific training for environment-related occupations, including environmental sciences per se as well as peripheral fields such as Law and Medicine. Environmental Science covers a vast sweep of applied Earth science. Students, therefore, have considerable flexibility in tailoring the major to their individual interests while pursuing a common core of supporting math and science. By taking courses from four out of seven subdisciplinary groups, a wide variety of approaches to environmental science can be accommodated, including preparation for graduate study in the subdisciplines. Students pursuing this degree are strongly encouraged to consult the Environmental Science undergraduate advisor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at an early stage in their program in order to design their curriculum in the disciplinary groups. All majors are encouraged to pursue an undergraduate thesis (493 and 495) in collaboration with a faculty advisor.

Required Environmental Science Core Courses:
ENVS 101 or EPS 101, ENVS 102L or EPS 105L, ENVS 330, ENVS 430, EPS 401, EPS 433 or STAT 345 or higher, and EPS 490

Thirty credits, of which at least 26 credits must be above 299, are to be selected from the following seven groups including at least 6 credits each from four of the groups:

Spatial analysis: EPS 455L; GEOG 381L, 487L, 488L
Geochemistry: EPS 203, 407L, 410, 415, CE 437L
Geoscience: EPS 201L, 301, 302L, 310L, 333
Earth Surface Processes: EPS 304L, 333, 481L, 485L
Hydroscience: EPS 462 or CE 441. EPS 443, 476
Climate: EPS 251, 352, 436, 439
Ecology: BIO 203L, EPS 310L, 405, 451, 461L, 463L, 475, 494, 495, 496L

Supporting Science required courses:
MATH 162, 163; BIOL 123/124L or higher; CHEM 121 and 123L; PHYC 160.

Students can satisfy the requirements for a distributed minor completing CHEM 122 and 124L, PHYC 161, and 7 additional hours from Chemistry (above 122 and 124L), MATH (above 163), Physics (above 161), Biology above 124L (not including courses counted in the Ecology subdisciplinary group) or Astronomy 270 or above or, with permission, from selected Anthropology, Engineering or Geography courses.

A student may also choose to complete a minor outside of the EPS Department. Six credits from courses in subdisciplinary group (g), all of which require additional Biology courses as prerequisites, will satisfy the requirements for a Minor in Biology (if taken separately from requirements for the B.S. in Environmental Science).

Undergraduate Minor in Environmental Science

A total of at least 20 hours distributed as follows:

ENVS 101 and 102L (or EPS 101 and 105L), and ENVS 330.
Plus at least 13 additional hours selected from ENVS 430, EPS 433 (or STAT 345 or higher) and from at least two of the Environmental Science subdisciplinary groups. Only one course numbered 299 or below may count toward this requirement.