College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
B.A. in Geoscience
B.A. in Geoscience
The Bachelor of Arts in Geoscience requires a minimum of 120 s.h., including at least 51 s.h. (17-18 courses) of work for the major (35 s.h. in Earth and Environmental Sciences courses and at least 16 s.h. in supporting disciplines). The program is designed to provide students with a varied background in geology and a broader choice of electives than is practical in the B.S. program. The B.A. is intended for students who are interested in the fundamentals of geology or earth science teaching (see Teaching and Learning), College of Education, in the Catalog). Completing the minimum requirements for this degree may not adequately prepare a student for an entry-level professional job in geology.
Students must complete the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences General Education Program. The department recommends that they fulfill the foreign language requirement with French, German, Russian, or Spanish and the social sciences requirement with an approved course in Economics, Geography, or Anthropology.
Transfer students must complete a minimum of 15 s.h. of course work in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
B.A. Degree Course Requirements
| Course Number | Course Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EES:2410 | Mineralogy | 4 s.h. |
and ONE of these:
| Course Number | Course Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EES:1030 | Introduction to Earth History | 4 s.h. |
| EES:1050 | Introduction to Geology | 4 s.h. |
and ONE or BOTH of these:
| Course Number | Course Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EES:1040 | Evolution and the History of Life | 4 s.h. |
| EES:3210 | Principles of Paleontology | 3 s.h. |
and
| Course Number | Course Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EES: 2200 | Historical Geology | 4 s.h. |
and at least THREE of these:
| Course Number | Course Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EES:3300 | Sedimentary Geology | 4 s.h. |
| EES:3360 | Soil Genesis and Geomorphology | 3 s.h. |
| EES:3380 | Fluvial Geomorphology | 3 s.h. |
| EES:3500 | Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology | 4 s.h. |
| EES:3840 | Structural Geology (previously 012:092) | 4 s.h. |
| EES:4630 | Hydrogeology | 3 s.h. |
and
| Course Number | Course Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| various | Geoscience electives numbered 3000 and above | 12 s.h. |
B.A. students must complete the following course work in Mathematics and Chemistry (these are minimum requirements).
| Course Number | Course Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| College-level Mathematics (may include Computer Science and Statistics) | 10 s.h. |
At least 6 s.h. of college-level Chemistry is required, including the following, equivalent courses, or more advanced courses; Chemistry courses numbered below CHEM:1070 General Chemistry I cannot be used to satisfy the chemistry requirement for the B.A. in Geoscience.
| Course Number | Course Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM:1070 / CHEM:1080 | General Chemistry I / General Chemistry II | 6 s.h. |
| CHEM:1110 / CHEM:1120 | Principles of Chemistry I / Principles of Chemistry II | 8 s.h. |
Field Requirement
To complete the major, students must have field experience. They may take two semesters of EES:1180 Geology Field Trip: Selected National Parks or EES:3160 Field Trip, or one semester of each of these courses (total of 4 s.h.). Or they may take one semester of EES:2831 Geologic Field Methods or the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory session.
| Course Number | Course Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EES:1180 | Geology Field Trip: Selected National Parks | 2 s.h. |
| EES:2831 | Geologic Field Methods (previously 012:093) | 3 s.h. |
| EES:3160 | Field Trip | 2 s.h. |
| One natural science session at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory | 3-4 s.h. | |
Independent Research Option for Earth and Environmental Science Majors
A junior or senior who is ready to pursue independent research for credit in Earth and Environmental Sciences may assist a faculty member or graduate student with a current research project in EES:2190 Directed Study or may initiate a small-scale project involving a combination of field, laboratory, and library investigation with EES:3190 Directed Study. Independent study is encouraged and may result in an honors thesis with EES:4999 Honors Thesis in Geoscience or a senior thesis with EES:4990 Senior Thesis in Geoscience that may be published subsequently.