Available as a major or minor on the B.A. and B.S. degrees.
Requirements for the B.S. degree with a major in Geology.
Thirty-six semester hours in Geology including 10113, 10143, 30133, 30143,
30213, 30223, 30243, 30423 and 40516. Associated Requirements: MATH 10524,
and either 20524, or 10123; PHYS 10153, 10151, 10163, and 10161 (or PHYS 20473,
20471, 20483, and 20481); CHEM 10113, 10123, 10122 (or Chemistry 10114, 10124);
COSC 10403 or MATH 10043 or DESC 20153. Approved Electives: Twelve semester
hours of science electives, selected with regard to the interest of the student.
Students planning to pursue technical jobs or qualify for
graduate work in geology are strongly advised to satisfy the requirements for
the B.S. degree. Some Geology courses required for the B.S. degree require off-road
field trips (particularly 40516, which requires a high degree of physical fitness
and mobility). Some required courses in Geology involve intensive microscope
work. A total of 132 semester hours is required for graduation with the B.S.
degree.
Requirements for the B.A. degree with a major in Geology.
Twenty four semester hours in Geology consisting of 10113, 10143, 30133,
30143, 30213, 30223, 30243 and 30423. Associated requirements: CHEM 10113.
Some Geology courses required for the B.A. degree require off-road field trips
and involve intensive microscope work. Minor: Any minor approved for
the B.A. degree is acceptable.
The B.A. degree with a major in Geology is devised primarily
for the student seeking a curriculum combining geology with another field of
study. A total of 124 semester hours is required for graduation with the B.A.
degree.
Pass/No Credit Option. Courses to be applied toward
the major may not be taken on the Pass/No Credit basis.
Requirements for a minor in Geology: A total of
18 semester hours in geology of which 9 semester hours must be at the 20000
level or above.
Honors Program. Geology majors who plan to pursue
Departmental Honors must be members of the Honors Program and should enroll
in GEOL 30003 during their junior year and GEOL 40013 during the fall semester
of their senior year.
Sigma Xi. The department is a sponsor of Sigma XI,
the Honor Society for Research in the Natural Sciences.
Sigma Gamma Epsilon. The department is a sponsor
of Sigma Gamma Epsilon, the Honor Society for Research in the Earth Sciences.
The following is a complete list of courses offered by this department. Go
to Class Search on Registrar's Page to see which courses are being taught this
semester.
Courses of Instruction
Grades of C or better in GEOL 30213 (Mineralogy), GEOL
30223 (Petrology) and 30423 (Structural Geology) are a prerequisite for admission
to courses at the 40000 level or above.
10113 UNDERSTANDING THE EARTH. Two hours of lecture
and two hours of laboratory per week. A study of the physical environment of
the planet Earth, its makeup, the processes that mould its surface features
and an introduction to the resources that it provides.
10123 EARTH HISTORY. Prerequisite GEOL 10113.
Two hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week. The earth's
evolution, covering both its history of shifting continents and spreading oceans
and the origin and evolution of life. Field Trip required.
10143 EARTH RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT. Two hours
lecture and two hours of laboratory per week. The earth provides an objective
treatment of the state of our environment. Specifically the course seeks to
develop a fundamental scientific knowledge and understanding of the concepts
and principles that underlie current environmental problems, and to engage in
critical and reflective thinking about our resources, the environment and our
place within it. Field Trip required.
20213 OUR GEOLOGICAL LEGACY. Prerequisite: GEOL
10113. Three hours of lecture per week. For the non-science major. Places
society's relationship to geological phenomena within a scientific framework.
Evaluates the apparent immutability of the earth. Field Trip required.
30003 HONORS SEMINAR. Reading assignments and discussions
on topics of great importance in geology.
30103 SCIENCE, SCIENTISTS AND SOCIETY. Three hours
of lecture per week. A cross-disciplinary course in the natural sciences. The
workings of science and scientists studied by examining recurring themes and
selected episodes in the history of science. The scientific enterprise considered
within the changing intellectual, cultural and social milieu in which it was
practiced from Epicurus and Aristotle through Einstein and Heisenberg.
30113 WEATHER AND CLIMATE. Three hours of lecture
per week. Introduction to the basic concepts and principles of atmospheric science
in a descriptive format; emphasizes the physics responsible for changes in weather
and climate complemented with popular treatment.
30123 BEACHES, COASTS AND OCEANS. Three hours of
lecture per week. Fundamental principles that govern the evolution and nature
of coastal environments. Examines the impact of natural oceanographic processes
and the role of humans on the coastal environment. Survey of U.S. and world's
beaches.
30133 HISTORICAL GEOLOGY I.Prerequisite GEOL
10113 or equivalent. This first semester of a two semester lab/lecture introduces
students to the general principles of earth history. Lab exercises and field
trips introduce students to the practical aspects of earth history. Microsope
work and field trips are mandatory.
30143 HISTORICAL GEOLOGY II. Prerequisite GEOL
30133 or equivalent. This second semester of a two semester lab/lecture
course continues with an in depth look at the details of the geological history
of North America and the history of life on earth. Lectures focus on historical
detail, while lab exercises and field trips focus on major groups of fossils
in the lab and field. Microsope work and field trips are mandatory.
30203 CATASTROPHES, CONTROVERSIES, GENESIS & GEOLOGY.
Three hours of lecture per week. The workings of science and scientists considered
by examining the emergence of geology as a science in the late 18th and early
l9th centuries and its development through the Victorian Age, including the
rise and demise of scriptural geology and the impact of geologic thought on
social mores and religious beliefs.
30213 MINERALOGY.Prerequisite GEOL 10113 or
permission of the instructor. Two hours of lecture and one three hour laboratory
period per week. A composite course consisting of an introduction to crystallography
and a study of the common minerals.
30223 PETROLOGY. Prerequisite: GEOL 30213. Two
hours of lecture and one three hour laboratory period per week. A basic course
in the origin and identification of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.
Field trip required.
30233 THE ROCK CYCLE.Prerequisite GEOL 10113
or permission of the instructor. Field seminar on the megascopic aspects
of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. Description and interpretation
of features seen at scales between that of the individual outcrop and that of
an entire basin.
30243 SEDIMENTOLOGY.Prerequisite GEOL 30223
or permission of the instructor. Two hours of lecture and one three hour
laboratory period per week. Principles and techniques of facies analysis, including
the description and origin of sedimentary textures and sedimentary structures,
and the collection and analysis of paleocurrent data. Field trips required
30323 INTRODUCTION TO MARINE SCIENCE. (BIOL 30323)
Prerequisite GEOL 10113, or permission of the instructor. Three hours
of lecture per week. A study of the oceans including physiography, chemical,
physical, biological, and geological processes and related products.
30393 ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH RESOURCES.Prerequisite:
one year of chemistry, GEOL 10143 or permission of the instructor. Two hours
of lecture and one three hour laboratory period per week. Chemical weathering,
chemical and physical properties of soils, clay mineralogy, sedimentary rocks,
ion exchange phenomena.
30423 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY.Prerequisite: permission
of the instructor. Two hours of lecture and one three hour laboratory period
per week. An introductory study of the deformation of the Earth's crust.
Field trips required.
30573 STRATIGRAPHY. Prerequisite Geol 10123 and/or
permission of the instructor. Three hours of lecture. An introduction to
the practical and theoretical aspects of stratigraphy and depositional systems.
This course uses practical examples and field- and literature-based projects
to familiarize students with the basic theoretical stratigraphic framework in
which geology exists. An off-road field trip will be required.
40013 HONORS RESEARCH. Prerequisite: permission
of the instructor. The student is required to do independent research on
a geologic problem, submit a paper and give an oral presentation of the findings.
A faculty supervisor will be appointed for each research problem.
40313 INVERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY.Prerequisite:
permission of the instructor. Two hours of lecture and one three hour laboratory
period per week. Major groups of invertebrate fossils, their morphology, classification,
paleoecology, geologic distribution and phylogeny. Field trips required.
40413 MAP INTERPRETATION. Prerequisite: permission
of the instructor. Two hours of lecture and one three hour laboratory period
per week. The construction and interpretation of geological maps
40493 GEOMORPHOLOGY. Prerequisite: permission
of the instructor. Two hours of lecture and one two hour laboratory per
week. Endogenic and exogenic processes and land forms; geologic control; short-term,
long term and human-imposed landscape development; morphometric analysis and
study of recent movements; environmental geomorphology.
40516 SUMMER FIELD COURSE IN GEOLOGY.Prerequisite:
permission of the instructor. Field investigations and mapping. Those planning
to enroll should contact the Department of Geology by March 1 of the year in
which enrollment is contemplated. Field work in rough and robust terrain required;
a high degree of physical fitness recommended.
40893 SENIOR THESIS.Prerequisites: junior or
senior status, a grade point of at least 3.00, and/or permission of instructor.
Three hours of independent study with a focus on original research. The
student is required to produce a bound thesis in a form suitable for publication
in a scientific journal. Students are strongly recommended to enroll for this
course in the penultimate semester of their degree plan with the expectation
that the work may take more than a semester to complete.
40970 SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN GEOLOGY.Prerequisite:
permission of instructor. Field and laboratory problems for advanced undergraduate
students. Fifty clock hours of laboratory and field work for each semester credit
(1-6 semester hours.)
50113 SOILS. Two hours lecture and two hours laboratory
per week. This course covers the formation, distribution, and classification
of soils: major soil properties; field evaluation of soils; the use of soil
survey information; and soil hydrology. The emphasis is on the study of soils
as products of biophysical processes, and on soil properties of interest to
geoscientists and natural resource managers.
50233 OPTICAL MINERALOGY AND PETROGRAPHY. Prerequisite:
permission of the instructor. Two hours of lecture and one three hour laboratory
period per week. Analysis of the behavior of light in crystalline substances,
complete treatment of crystal optics and the identification of nonopaque, rock-forming
minerals using immersion media and thin section techniques. Intensive use of
the microscope required.
50251 SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY. Prerequisite:
Permission of the instructor. Use of the S.E.M. in geological applications.
50331 BASIC SEISMICS.Prerequisites: GEOL 40223.
Three hours of lecture per week for five weeks. An introduction to techniques
of gathering, processing and interpreting seismic data.
50341 INTERPRETING SEISMIC DATA.Prerequisites:
GEOL 50331 or equivalent. Three hours of laboratory per week for five weeks.
A practicum in interpreting seismic data.
50351 SEISMIC STRATIGRAPHY.Prerequisites: GEOL
50331 or equivalent. Three hours of lecture per week for five weeks. An
introduction to the principles of seismic stratigraphy and their application
in oil and gas exploration.
50361 BASIC WELL LOG INTERPRETATION.Prerequisite:
GEOL 40223. Three hours of lecture per week for five weeks. An introduction
to the use of borehole geophysical logs in formation evaluation, correlation
and subsurface facies analysis.
50413 GLOBAL TECTONICS AND BASIN ANALYSIS.Prerequisite:
permission of the instructor. Three hours of lecture per week. Explores
the relationship between plate motion and the evolution of sedimentary basins.
50423 PETROLEUM GEOLOGY. Prerequisite: permission
of the instructor. Origin, migration and entrapment of hydrocarbons, exploration
and production techniques used in the petroleum industry.
50433 COASTAL PROCESSES. Two hours of lecture and
one two-hour laboratory per week. Advanced study of waves, winds, water levels,
tides and currents and their interaction with shores, beaches, inlets, inner
continental shelves and coastal structures. Other topics include tectonic, physical,
climatic controls on coastline development, storms, and sediment transport in
the coastal zone. Involves computer modeling. Required field trip to the Texas
barrier islands.
50493 PHYSICAL HYDROLOGY.Prerequisite Math 10524
or permission of instructor. Two hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory
per week. A study of the occurrence, movement, and exploitation of water in
the hydrologic cycle including surface-atmosphere, groundwater, and surface
water processes.
50543 SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENT AND FACIES.Prerequisite:
permission of the instructor. Three hours of lecture per week. Facies analysis
and facies models applied to the problem of interpreting stratigraphic sequences
and reconstructing paleogeography.
50602 PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS.Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Two laboratory periods per
week. The methodology of environmental impact statement preparation from initial
collection of data to final report drafting is covered. The course offers problem
oriented exercises where students are trained to take the initiative in EIS
preparation. (Also offered as BIOL 50602).
50603 INTRODUCTION TO GEOCHEMISTRY.Prerequisite:
CHEM 10114-10124 or permission of the instructor. Three hours of lecture
per week. Application of basic chemical principles to understanding the origin,
distribution and migration of chemical elements in the earth's lithosphere,
hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.
50613 IGNEOUS AND METAMORPHIC PETROLOGY.Prerequisite:
GEOL 50233 or permission of the instructor. Two hours of lecture and one
three hour laboratory period per week. Petrogenesis of igneous and metamorphic
rocks based on field, petrographic, chemical and isotopic data. Conferences
on the evolution and dynamics of the crust and mantle. Involves use of microscope.
50623 VOLCANOLOGY. Prerequisite: GEOL 50233 or
permission of instructor. Two hours of lecture and one three hour laboratory
period per week. Types and processes of volcanic eruptions; characteristics
of modern volcanic products; recognition and significance of ancient volcanic
deposits in the stratigraphic record. Involves use of microscope. Field trip
required.
50712 ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY. Prerequisite: permission
of the instructor. Three hours of lecture per week for ten weeks. Geologic
processes, earth resources and engineering properties of crystal materials in
the activities of society.
50721 GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS.Prerequisite:
permission of the instructor. Three hours of lecture per week for five weeks.
An introduction to computer systems for creating and managing large data bases
and to techniques for displaying and interpreting layered environmental geologic
data.
50731 REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGY.Prerequisite:
Permission of the instructor. Three hours of lecture per week for five weeks.
An introduction to the technology used in remote sensing, including MSS, TM
and SPOT, thermal scanners and radar imaging.
50741 IMAGE PROCESSING. Prerequisite: permission
of the instructor. Three hours of lecture per week for five weeks. An introduction
to processing techniques used to enhance the display of remote sensing images
with emphasis on those techniques useful in resource mapping.
50751 IMAGE INTERPRETATION.Prerequisite: permission
of the instructor. Three hours of lecture per week for five weeks. Geologic
and resource mapping and environmental monitoring using satellite images
50762 ADVANCED GIS.Prerequisite: GEOL 50721.
Hands-on computer use to demonstrate advanced computer techniques for mapping.
Introduction to Mapfactory, ERDAS and ArcView software programs to conduct raster
and vector database layering projects for geological and environmental map production.
50773 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL LAW.Prerequisite:
Enrollment in Environmental Sciences, Master of Science Program, or senior standing
with appropriate major (biology, geology, chemistry or other science; engineering;
pre-law; business management.) Three hours lecture per week. Introduction
to and analysis of selected federal statures regulating environmental degradation
and environmental clean-up, including the National Environmental Policy Act
and regulation of air quality, water quality, wastes, hazardous and toxic substances
and enforcement.
50783 ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY.Prerequisites:
CHEM 10113-10123 and CHEM 10122, or CHEM 10114-10124 or permission of the instructor.
Three hours of lecture per week. Chemistry of water, soil, energy, and air as
related to environmental problems. Subjects include: nutrients and eutrophication,
fluorocarbons, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, Eh-pH relationship, natural carbonate
reactions, and cation exchange phenomena. Cross listed with CHEM 50783.
50883 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY.
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Introduction to fundamentals
of pollution control technology; impact of federal and state legislation on
the construction, modification and control of industrial plants. Other topics
include hazardous pollutants, modification to ambient quality, and basic pollution
modeling. (Also cited as BIOL 50883.)
50901 COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN GEOLOGY.Prerequisites:
COSC 10403 or equivalent and permission of the instructor. Three hours of
lecture per week for five weeks. The use of microcomputers in Geology.
50912 STATISTICAL APPLICATIONS FOR MICROCOMPUTERS.Prerequisite: GEOL 50901. Three hours of lecture per week for ten weeks.
Statistical treatment of directional data and the use of multivariate and special
regression techniques analysis of variance, discriminate function analysis and
factor analysis in solving geologic problems.
50922 MAPPING APPLICATIONS FOR MICROCOMPUTERS.Prerequisite:
GEOL 50901. Three hours of lecture per week for ten weeks. Selecting and
using mapping and drafting software.