Program Overview

Program Overview

The Geosciences Major with Earth Science Education Option is a Bachelor of Science degree program offered by the College of Science at Virginia Tech.

Program Curriculum

The program curriculum includes the following courses:

• Degree Core Requirements:
  • GEOS 2004: Geosciences Career and Professional Development (3 credits)
  • GEOS 2024: Earth's Dynamic Systems (6 credits)
  • GEOS 2444: Geoscience Field Observations (3 credits)
  • GEOS 3204: Sedimentology-Stratigraphy (3 credits)
  • GEOS 3404: Elements of Structural Geology (3 credits)
  • GEOS 3504/MSE 3104: Mineralogy (3 credits)
• Major Requirements:
  • GEOS 4024: Senior Seminar 1 (3 credits)
  • GEOG 2084: Principles of Geographic Information Systems (3 credits)
  • CHEM 1035: General Chemistry 1 (3 credits)
  • CHEM 1045: General Chemistry Laboratory 1 (1 credit)
  • STAT 3005: Statistical Methods 1 (3 credits)
  • or STAT 3615: Biological Statistics (3 credits)
  • Select one of the following:
    • GEOS 3024: Computational Methods in the Geosciences (3 credits)
    • CS 1064: Introduction to Programming in Python (3 credits)
• Option Required Courses:
  • Select one of the following sequences:
    • Sequence 1:
      • MATH 1025: Elementary Calculus 3 (3 credits)
      • MATH 1026: Elementary Calculus 3 (3 credits)
      • PHYS 2205 and PHYS 2215: General Physics and General Physics Laboratory (3 credits)
    • Sequence 2 (preferred):
      • MATH 1225: Calculus of a Single Variable 3 (3 credits)
      • MATH 1226: Calculus of a Single Variable 3 (3 credits)
      • PHYS 2305: Foundations of Physics (3 credits)
• Additional Requirements:
  • BIOL 1105 and BIOL 1115: Principles of Biology and Principles of Biology Laboratory (4 credits)
  • GEOG 1514: Introduction to Meteorology (3 credits)
  • EDEP 2444: Motivating Yourself and Others (3 credits)
  • or HD 1004: Childhood and Adolescence (3 credits)
  • or PSYC 1004: Introductory Psychology (3 credits)
  • EDCI 3024: Issues of Schooling in the United States (3 credits)
  • PHYS 1055: Introduction to Astronomy (3 credits)
  • or GEOS 2014: Mission to the Planets (3 credits)
  • GEOS 1024: Earth Resources, Society, and Environment (3 credits)
  • or GEOS 1064: Climate History: Past, Present, and Future (3 credits)
  • GEOS 3034: Oceanography (3 credits)
  • GEOS 3014: Environmental Geosciences (3 credits)
  • GEOS 3044: Geosciences Outreach (2 credits)
• Elective Courses:
  • GEOS 3XXX-4XXX: Geosciences Elective (14-15 credits)
• Free Electives:
  • Complete remaining credit hours needed to satisfy degree requirements (10 credits)

Pathways to General Education

The program satisfies the following Pathways to General Education requirements:

• Pathways Concept 1 - Discourse: ENGL 1105 and ENGL 1106 (6 credits)
• Pathways Concept 2 - Critical Thinking in the Humanities: select six credits (6 credits)
• Pathways Concept 3 - Reasoning in the Social Sciences: completed by major/option requirements
• Pathways Concept 4 - Reasoning in the Natural Sciences: completed by major/option requirements
• Pathways Concept 5 - Quantitative and Computational Thinking: completed by major/option requirements
• Pathways Concept 6 - Critique and Practice in Design and the Arts: select three credits in Pathway 6a and three credits in Pathway 6d (6 credits)
• Pathways Concept 7 - Critical Analysis of Identity and Equity in the United States: completed by major/option requirements

Graduation Requirements

Graduation requires completion of a minimum of 120 credit hours with a GPA of 2.0 or greater for all hours attempted. In addition, students must have an in-major GPA of 2.5 or greater.

Satisfactory Progress Toward Degree

Students must complete the following courses by the specified hours attempted:

• By 45 hours attempted: GEOS 2004, GEOS 2024, GEOS 2444, GEOS 3504, MATH 1025 or MATH 1225, CHEM 1035, and CHEM 1045
• By 60 hours attempted: PHYS 2205 and PHYS 2215 or PHYS 2305
• Students must achieve an overall GPA of 2.0 and an in-major GPA of 2.5 upon attempting 15 GEOS credit hours

Prerequisites

There are no hidden prerequisites, although some of the courses listed are prerequisites for other courses. Please consult the University Catalog for current information.

Acceptable Substitutions

The following substitutions are acceptable:

• GEOS 1004, GEOS 1104, and GEOS 1014 for GEOS 2024
• GEOS 2104 and GEOS 1014 for GEOS 2024
• CHEM 1055 for CHEM 1035
• CHEM 1065 for CHEM 1045
• COMM 1015 for ENGL 1105
• COMM 1016 for ENGL 1106

Foreign Language Requirement

Students who did not successfully complete at least two years of a single foreign, classical, or sign language during high school must successfully complete six semester hours of a single foreign, classical, or sign language at the college level. Courses taken to meet this requirement do not count toward the hours required for graduation. Please consult the Undergraduate Catalog for details.