Major Requirements

 

Geology – Classes of 2022 and 2023

Major Requirements. The major requirements include eight core courses, four elective courses, and a one- or two-semester thesis.

Core Courses.

One of the following:
GEO 103. Earth Surface Environments and Environmental Change/Lab.
GEO 104. Plate Tectonics and Tectonic Hazards.
GEO 107. Katahdin to Acadia: Field Geology in Maine/Lab.
GEO 109. Global Change/Lab.
FYS 476. Coastal Hazards.

All of the following:
GEO 210. Sedimentary Processes and Environments/Lab.
GEO 223. Earth Materials/Lab.
GEO 230. Earth Structure and Dynamics/Lab.
GEO 240. Environmental Geochemistry/Lab.

Two 300-level geology courses.

One geology Short Term course.

Elective Courses. Students must take two courses from List A and two courses from List B.

List A:
ES/GE 217. Mapping and GIS
GE/PH 220. Dynamical Climate
ENVR 220 GIS Across the Curriculum
ES/GE 226. Hydrogeology
ENVR 310 Soils
GEO 360. Independent Study
GEO 458. Senior Thesis (taken in addition to GEO 457, creating a yearlong thesis)
A second Short Term geology course
A third 300-level geology course
One or two 200- or 300-level courses transferred from an off-campus study program as electives with prior approval of the department.

List B:
GE/PH 111. Polar Environment, Climate and Ecosystems.
BI/GE 113. Marine Science.
BIO 190. Organismal Biology, or BIO 195. Lab-Based Biological Inquiry.
BIO 244. Biostatistics.
BIO 270. Ecology and Evolution, or BIO 206. Evolution and Interactions of Life
CHEM 107A. Atomic and Molecular Structure.
CHEM 108A. Chemical Reactivity.
ENVR 203. Scientific Approaches to Environmental Issues.
ENVR 240. Water and Watersheds.
ENVR 310. Soils.
FYS 274. Physics in the Twentieth Century.
MATH 105. Calculus I.
MATH 106. Calculus II.
PHYS 107. Classical Physics/Lab.
PHYS 108. Modern Physics/Lab.

Senior Thesis.

In academic year 2019-20, seniors may choose to complete a one-semester thesis (GEO 457) or a two-semester thesis (GEO 457 and 458). The two-semester option is normally reserved for honors candidates, those students who plan to pursue a career in the geological or environmental sciences, and/or those planning to attend graduate school in geological or environmental sciences. Beginning in academic year 2020-21, the two-semester thesis option will be reserved primarily for honors thesis students.

To qualify for doing an honors thesis in Geology, students must meet the following criteria:
Support of their thesis advisor
A GPA of 3.5 or better in the major, prior to the start of EACS 457
An A- or better in EACS 457

B.S. or B.A. Degree for EACS or Geology Majors. Students may get either a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) or a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in EACS or Geology.  Students planning careers or graduate school in the geological or environmental sciences are encouraged to complete a two-semester thesis (GEO 457 and 458), and to complete the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree requirements (2 semesters of introductory chemistry and physics and calculus.  See details in the Academic Program section of the catalog.)  All others are encouraged to complete a B.A. degree.

Pass/Fail Grading Option. Pass/fail grading may not be elected for any course used to fulfill the major requirements.

Interdisciplinary Interests. The departmental course offerings allow a maximum of flexibility to meet individual interests. Students with environmental science interests are encouraged to choose a major in EACS or Environmental Studies with a concentration in Ecology and Earth Systems or a double major involving EACS and another natural science such as biology, chemistry, physics, or mathematics. Students contemplating a major in EACS or an interdisciplinary major or double major are strongly encouraged to consult with the EACS faculty during their second year to plan an appropriate program of study. All programs are subject to departmental approval.

Double Majors.  The connections between Geology and other fields of study within the sciences and  outside of the sciences are exciting.  Recent students have double majored in Geology and Biology, Politics, American Studies, French, and English, to name a few.  Students completing a major in Geology and environmental studies (Ecology and Earth Systems concentration) may count no more than one course toward both majors.

Study Abroad: Guidelines for Geology and Earth and Climate Sciences Majors Regarding Off-Campus Study.

“Whoever sees the most rocks, wins.”  the late Bates GEO Professor, John Creasy.

1) The department encourages students to spend time abroad and recommends that majors do so for only one semester.
2) The department expects that majors will have completed the following major requirements prior to the semester abroad: one 100-level course; a minimum of three 200-level courses and one geology Short Term course.
3) The department expects that majors take all four 200-level courses at Bates.
4) The department expects that majors will have completed the following major requirements prior to their senior year: all four 200-level core courses and one 300-level course.
5) All applications for off-campus study require approval of the major advisor and the department chair.
6) Applications that involve exceptions to the above guidelines require a petition review and approval by the department.
7) The department accepts only two non-Bates courses toward the major. These two courses are counted as electives in the major requirements.

EACS – Classes of 2024 and beyond

Major Requirements. The major requirements for the class of 2024 and beyond consist of 11 courses (9 core courses plus 2 electives) and a one- or two-semester thesis.  The major is somewhat flexible; students may design their major by choosing from a suite of courses at all levels of the curriculum.

Core Courses.

1. Introduction to Earth and Climate Sciences, 2 required

One of the following (“hard” rock introductory courses):

  • EACS 104. Plate Tectonics and Tectonic Hazards
  • EACS 107. Katahdin to Acadia: Field Geology in Maine/Lab 

And one of the following (“soft” rock introductory courses):

  • EACS 103. Earth Surface Environments and Environmental Change/La
  • EACS 114. Water in Maine
  • EACS 109. Earth’s Climate System/Lab
  • EA/PH 119. The Anthropocene
  • FYS 476. Coastal Hazards 

2. Intermediate-Level Courses, 4 required.  Choose 4 from the following list of 5 options:

  • EACS 210. Sedimentary Processes and Environments/Lab
  • EACS 223. Earth Materials/Lab
  • EACS 230. Earth Structure and Dynamics/Lab
  • EACS 240. Environmental Geochemistry/Lab
  • EA/PH 220. Dynamical Climate* or MAPH 255E, Nonlinear Models and Chaos; or PHYS 216 Computational Physics. (* For this option, the Department recommends EA/PH 220.)

3. Upper-Level Courses, 2 required.

One of the following (“hard” rock 300-level courses):

  • EACS 302. Paleoseismology
  • EACS 303*. Sedimentary Basins and Global Change
  • EACS 304. Planetary Geology
  • EACS 326. Igneous Petrology/Lab
  • EACS 383. The Lithosphere/Lab
  • EACS 391. Seminar in Appalachian Geology/Lab

And one of the following (“soft” rock 300-level courses):

  • EACS 303*. Sedimentary Basins and Global Change
  • EACS 307. Soils and Landscape Evolution
  • EACS 310. Quaternary Paleoclimatology/Lab
  • EACS 341. Stable Isotope Geochemistry
  • EACS 305 Current Topics in Climate and Environmental Change
  • ENVR 310. Soils

*EACS 303 can be used to fulfill either the “soft” or “hard” rock 300-level requirement, but not both.

4. Short Term EACS Course, 1 required.  Choose from any EACS short term.

Elective Courses (2 total). Choose two from the following list:

  • EACS 231. Paleoclimate and Climate Proxies
  • EA/ES 217. Mapping and GIS
  • EA/ES 226. Hydrogeology
  • ENVR 203. Scientific Approaches to Environmental Issues/Lab
  • ENVR 220 GIS Across the Curriculum
  • ENVR 240. Water and Watersheds/Lab
  • AST 109. Introduction to Astronomy
  • BI/EA 113. Marine Science
  • BIO 190. Organismal Biology/Lab
  • BIO 195. Lab-Based Biological Inquiry
  • BIO 244. Biostatistics
  • BIO 270. Ecology and Evolution/Lab
  • BIO 313. Marine Ecology
  • CHEM 107A. Atomic and Molecular Structure/Lab
  • CHEM 108A. Chemical Reactivity/Lab
  • CHEM 215. Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry
  • DCS 108. Introduction to Computation for Science and Mathematics
  • MATH 105. Calculus I
  • MATH 106. Calculus II
  • PHYS 107. Classical Physics/Lab
  • PHYS 108. Modern Physics/Lab
  • PHYS S10. Basic Computational Science Lab Skills
  • EACS 360. Independent Study
  • EACS 458. Senior Thesis (taken in addition to EACS 457, creating a yearlong thesis)
  • A second Short Term EACS course
  • A third 300-level EACS course

Senior Thesis.  A one-semester thesis (EACS 457) is required of all majors.  The two-semester thesis option (EACS 457 and EACS 458) is normally reserved for honors candidates and/or those students who plan to pursue a career or go to graduate school in the geological or earth and climate sciences. EACS 457 is offered in the fall semester and EACS 458 in the winter semester.  

To qualify for doing an honors thesis in EACS, students must meet the following criteria:
Support of their thesis advisor
A GPA of 3.5 or better in the major, prior to the start of EACS 457
An A- or better in EACS 457

B.S. or B.A. Degree for EACS Majors. Students may get either a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) or a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in EACS.  Students planning careers or graduate work in the geological or earth and climate sciences are encouraged to complete a two-semester thesis (GEO 457 and 458), and to complete the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree requirements (2 semesters of introductory chemistry and physics and calculus.  See details in the Academic Program section of the catalog.)  All others are encouraged to complete a B.A. degree.

Pass/Fail Grading Option. Pass/fail grading may not be elected for any course used to fulfill the major requirements.

Interdisciplinary Interests. The departmental course offerings allow a maximum of flexibility to meet individual interests. Students with environmental science interests are encouraged to choose a major in EACS or Environmental Studies with a concentration in Ecology and Earth Systems or a double major involving EACS and another natural science such as biology, chemistry, physics, or mathematics. Students contemplating a major in EACS or an interdisciplinary major or double major are strongly encouraged to consult with the EACS faculty during their second year to plan an appropriate program of study. All programs are subject to departmental approval.

Double Majors.  The connections between Earth and Climate Sciences and other fields of study within the sciences and  outside of the sciences are exciting.  Recent students have double majored in EACS and Biology, Politics, American Studies, French, and English, to name a few.  Students completing a major in Geology and environmental studies (Ecology and Earth Systems concentration) may count no more than one course toward both majors.

Study Abroad: Guidelines for Earth and Climate Sciences Majors Regarding Off-Campus Study.

“Whoever sees the most rocks, wins.”  the late Bates GEO/EACS Professor, John Creasy.

1) The department encourages students to spend time abroad and recommends that majors do so for only one semester.
2) The department expects that majors will have completed the following major requirements prior to the semester abroad: one 100-level course; a minimum of three 200-level courses and one EACS Short Term course.
3) The department expects that majors take all four 200-level courses at Bates.
4) The department expects that majors will have completed the following major requirements prior to their senior year: all four 200-level core courses and one 300-level course.
5) All applications for off-campus study require approval of the major advisor and the department chair.
6) Applications that involve exceptions to the above guidelines require a petition review and approval by the department.
7) The department accepts two non-Bates courses toward the major. These two courses are counted as electives in the major requirements.