Geosciences Major (BS)
- To prepare students for professional certification and employment in areas of environmental and earth sciences.
- To promote scientific literacy on the campus and in the community, particularly with respect to principles and issues involving environmental awareness, quality, and protection.
- To contribute fundamental scientific research that enhances environmental quality and quality-of-life for members of the regional, state, local and campus communities
Requirements for the Geosciences Major
The geosciences major requires a selection of core courses and courses in a concentration. Students select one of two concentrations: environmental geosciences or earth science.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| College of Natural and Health Sciences requirement | ||
| New entering students, and transfer students with less than 30 college credits, choosing a major in the College of Natural and Health Sciences are required to take this course. | ||
| UWP 101 | First Year Seminar: Natural and Health Sciences | 1 |
| Required Core Courses | ||
| GEOS 102 | Origin and History of the Earth | 3 |
| GEOS 104 | Introductory Geology Laboratory | 2 |
| GEOS 200 | Minerals and Rocks | 4 |
| GEOS 330 | Environmental Geology | 4 |
| GEOS 355 | Stratigraphy and Sedimentation | 4 |
| GEOS 445 | Environmental Sampling, Monitoring, and Assessment | 4 |
| GEOS 495 | Senior Seminar | 1 |
| GEOS 496 | Geoscience Applications | 3 |
| Required Core Courses Subtotal | 26 | |
| Concentration Courses | ||
| Choose one concentration | 43-50 | |
| Concentration Courses Subtotal | 43-50 | |
| Total Credits | 69-76 | |
Concentration Options
Environmental Geosciences Concentration
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOS 101 | Introductory Geology | 3 |
| GEOS 106 | Great Lakes Water Resources | 3 |
| or ENVS 109 | Fundamentals of Climate Change | |
| GEOS 331 | Introduction to Geochemistry | 3 |
| GEOS 345 | Geophysics | 3 |
| GEOS 361 | Hydrogeology | 3 |
| GEOS 431 | Aqueous and Contaminant Geochemistry | 4 |
| GEOS 470 | Remediation Science and Technology | 3 |
| GEOS 465 | Applied Hydrogeology | 4 |
| MATH 112 & MATH 113 | College Algebra II and Trigonometry | 5-6 |
| or MATH 114 | College Algebra II/Trigonometry | |
| MATH 221 | Calculus and Analytic Geometry I | 5 |
| CHEM 101 | General Chemistry I | 4 |
| CHEM 102 | General Chemistry II | 4 |
| CHEM 103 | General Chemistry Lab I | 1 |
| CHEM 104 | General Chemistry Lab II | 1 |
| PHYS 101 | Principles of Physics | 4 |
| Total Credits | 50-51 | |
Earth Science Concentration
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Earth in Perspective | ||
| Introductory Geology | ||
| Introduction to Environmental Studies | ||
| GEOS 106 | Great Lakes Water Resources | 3 |
| ENVS 109 | Fundamentals of Climate Change | 3 |
| GEOS 301 | Geomorphology | 4 |
| GEOS 320 | Soils, Weathering and Surficial Processes | 4 |
| GEOS 420 | Glacial Geology | 4 |
| ENVS 335 | Energy | 4 |
| CHEM 100 | The World of Chemistry | 3 |
| or ENVS 102 | Chemistry of the Environment | |
| MATH 102 | Quantitative Reasoning | 4 |
| or MATH 103 | Elementary Statistics | |
| Required Courses Subtotal | 32 | |
| Elective Courses | ||
| Select twelve credits of elective courses 1 | 12 | |
| Elective Courses Subtotal | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 44 | |
- 1
Supporting courses must be 300 and above and at least six credits must be geoscience credits.
Degree Requirements (Bachelor's Degree)
In addition to individual program requirements, students must also fulfill the following requirements.
- Complete 120 credits of college work. This must include 36 credits in courses numbered 300 or above. Certain elementary courses are identified in the catalog and/or course schedule as not counting toward the 120 credits required for graduation. In addition, only the first 8 credits of physical education activity courses (100-level) may be counted toward graduation or grade point averages (GPA).
- Earn a minimum of 30 credits toward their undergraduate degree at UW-Parkside. Individual departments and programs may require that certain courses must be taken at UW-Parkside. Students must complete all course work to be counted toward graduation by the end of the semester/subscription period in which they graduate.
- Attain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale. Some programs have higher GPA requirements. Transfer students must also have a cumulative 2.00 GPA on the combination of transfer credits accepted and credits attempted at UW-Parkside.
- Complete an approved major program of study with the minimum major GPA as specified by the program or department. Usually, the minimum GPA is 2.00 on a 4.00 scale, but some majors require a higher GPA. Students who apply transfer credits to their majors must also meet the minimum major GPA requirement on the combination of transfer credits and UW-Parkside credits. At least 15 credits of upper level course work (courses numbered 300 or higher) must be completed at UW-Parkside. A student may not graduate with an incomplete grade in major course work if failure in that course would reduce the GPA in the major below the minimum GPA.
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Minimum Total Credits | 120 |
| Upper Level Credits (300 level or above) | 36 |
| Residency | 30 |
Cumulative Degree GPA: 2.0 minimum
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Skills | 7-8 |
| General Education | 36 |
| Foreign Language** | 6-8 |
| Ethnic Diversity | 3 |
| Total | 52-55 |
** Transfer students in sustainable management, and health information management and technology collaborative, online degree-completion programs, the business management online degree-completion program, and the flexible option degree-completion program will be exempt from the university’s foreign language requirement. See appropriate academic section for further information.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and Writing | ||
| ENGL 101 | Composition and Reading | 3 |
| Computational Skills | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4-5 | |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| Elementary Statistics | ||
| College Mathematics with Applications | ||
| College Algebra I | ||
| Total Credits | 7-8 | |