Geosciences B.S.
General Degree Requirements
To earn a baccalaureate degree, all students must complete successfully, in addition to any other requirements, the University of Montana General Education Requirements. Please refer to the General Education Requirements page for more information.
Additional requirements for graduation can be found on the Degree/Certificate Requirements for Graduation page.
Unless otherwise noted in individual program requirements, a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in all work attempted at the University of Montana-Missoula is required for graduation. Please see the Academic Policies and Procedures page for information on how your GPA is calculated.
Courses taken to satisfy the requirements of a major, minor, or certificate program must be completed with a grade of C- or better unless a higher grade is noted in the program requirements.
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE - GEOSCIENCES
This major is designed for students who seek post-graduate employment as a professional geoscientist or preparation for graduate study in geosciences.
Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Lower-Division Core | ||
| Complete one of the following courses: | 3 | |
| Earth Systems Science | ||
| Introduction to Physical Geology | ||
| Oceanography | ||
| Natural Disasters | ||
| Complete one of the following courses: | 1 | |
| Earth Systems Science Lab | ||
| Introduction to Physical Geology Lab | ||
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| GEO 201 | The Rocky Planet | 4 |
| GEO 202 | The Water Planet | 4 |
| Electives | ||
| Complete 18 credits of the following courses. At least three of these courses must be at the 400-level. | 18 | |
| Mineralogy and Optical Mineralogy | ||
| Igneous & Metamorph Petrology | ||
| Sedimentation/Stratigraphy | ||
| Earth's Changing Climate | ||
| Earth Resources and Sustainability | ||
| Energy and the Environment | ||
| Computational Methods for Earth and Environmental Scientists | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Hydrogeology | ||
| Hydrology | ||
| Geophysics | ||
| Principles of Sedimentary Petrology | ||
| Process Geomorphology | ||
| Snow, Ice and Climate Change | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Senior Thesis /Capstone | ||
| Cognate Sciences 1 | ||
| Physics | ||
| Complete one of the following sequences: | 10 | |
Algebra- and Trigonometry-based Physics: | ||
| College Physics I and College Physics I Laboratory | ||
Calculus-based Physics: | ||
| Fundamentals of Physics with Calculus I and Physics Laboratory I with Calculus | ||
| Chemistry | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 3-5 | |
| Introduction to General Chemistry | ||
| College Chemistry I and College Chemistry I Lab | ||
| Mathematics | ||
| Complete the following course: | ||
| M 171 | Calculus I | 4 |
| Computer Science | ||
| Complete the following courses: | ||
| CSCI 150 | Introduction to Computer Science | 3 |
| GPHY 284 | Intro to GIS and Cartography | 3 |
| or STAT 216 | Introduction to Statistics | |
| Cognate Electives | ||
| Complete two of the following courses: | 6 | |
| Introduction to Public Speaking | ||
| Argumentation | ||
| Nature and Society | ||
| Earth Ethics | ||
| Environmental Politics & Policies | ||
| Water and Sustainability | ||
| Water Policy | ||
| Environment & Development | ||
| Intro Ethics and Environment | ||
| Ethics of Climate Change | ||
| Total Hours | 59 | |
- 1
Students must complete a minimum of 24 credits in cognate science courses. More advanced courses in Chemistry, Computer Science, Math, and Physics may be used to meet this requirement. Course substitutions for the 24 credit minimum in cognate sciences must be approved by a departmental advisor.