Program Overview

Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree with a Major in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences

The Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree with a Major in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the Earth system and its various components. The program aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to address complex environmental and planetary issues.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completing the BS degree with a major in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of how the Earth system operates over geologic and modern timescales.
2. Demonstrate the ability to make and record observations in the field, and to analyze and interpret these data in the context of the geologic history.
3. Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills.
4. Demonstrate the ability to apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to evaluate published research in the Earth, Environmental and Planetary sciences.
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method and its application to the study of Earth, Environmental and Planetary sciences.

Requirements for the BS Degree

For general university requirements, see Graduation Requirements. Students pursuing the BS degree with a major in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences must complete:

• A minimum of 22-24 courses (68-71 credit hours), depending on course selection, to satisfy major requirements.
• A minimum of 120 credit hours to satisfy degree requirements.
• A minimum of 10-12 courses (30-36 credit hours), depending on course selection, taken at the 300-level or above.
• The requirements for one area of specialization (see below for areas of specialization).

Areas of Specialization

The BS degree with a major in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences offers three areas of specialization:

• Environmental Earth Science
• Geoscience
• Planetary Science

Course Requirements

The following courses are required for the major:

• Core Requirements:
  • MATH 101: SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS I
  • MATH 102: SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS II
  • MATH 211: ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS AND LINEAR ALGEBRA
  • CHEM 121: GENERAL CHEMISTRY I
  • CHEM 123: GENERAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY I
  • CHEM 122: GENERAL CHEMISTRY II
  • CHEM 124: GENERAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY II
  • PHYS 101: MECHANICS (WITH LAB)
  • PHYS 102: ELECTRICITY & MAGNETISM (WITH LAB)
  • EEPS 101: THE EARTH
  • EEPS 102: HISTORY OF THE EARTH: FORMATION TO LIFE
  • EEPS 106: INVESTIGATING EARTH'S SURFACE
  • EEPS 107 / ENST 201: CLIMATE CHANGE AND EXTREME WEATHER
  • EEPS 108: NATURAL DISASTERS
  • EEPS 109: OCEANOGRAPHY
  • EEPS 110: THE EARTH SYSTEM, ENVIRONMENT, AND SOCIETY
  • EEPS 111: INHABITING PLANET EARTH
  • EEPS 115: THE PLANETS
  • EEPS 116: THE EARTH AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM
  • EEPS 220: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTATION IN THE EARTH, ENVIRONMENTAL AND PLANETARY SCIENCES
• Areas of Specialization:
  • Select 1 from the following Areas of Specialization:
    • Environmental Earth Science
    • Geoscience
    • Planetary Science

Area of Specialization: Environmental Earth Science

To fulfill the remaining Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences major requirements, students pursuing the Environmental Earth Science area of specialization must complete a minimum of 7 courses (21-23 credit hours, depending on course selection) as listed below.

• Breadth in Environmental Science:
  • CEVE 310: PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
  • CEVE 414: COASTAL HAZARDS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE
  • CEVE 421: CLIMATE RISK MANAGEMENT
  • CEVE 434: FATE AND TRANSPORT OF CONTAMINANTS IN THE ENVIRONMENT
  • CEVE 444: ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY AND MICROBIAL ECOLOGY
  • CEVE 518: ENVIRONMENTAL HYDROGEOLOGY
  • EEPS 307 / CEVE 307 / ENST 307: ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
  • EEPS 437: EARTH'S NATURAL RESOURCES FOR THE ENERGY TRANSITION
  • EEPS 457: CARBON CAPTURE, UTILIZATION AND STORAGE
• Climate, Atmosphere, and Water:
  • CEVE 411: ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND CLIMATE
  • CEVE 412: HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING
  • EEPS 325: OCEANS, ATMOSPHERES AND CLIMATE
  • EEPS 432: FLUID FLOW IN FRACTURED ROCKS
  • EEPS 433: CLIMATE DYNAMICS
  • EEPS 434: PALEOCLIMATE
  • EEPS 543: EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE
• Elective Requirements:
  • Select a minimum of 2 courses from the following:
    • Any course from Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences departmental (EEPS) course offerings between course numbers EEPS 407:480, EEPS 482:490, EEPS 492:499
    • BIOS 201: INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY I
    • BIOS 202: INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY II
    • CHEM 211 & CHEM 213: ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY DISCUSSION I
    • EEPS 390: GEOLOGY FIELD CAMP
    • EEPS 391: PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IN EARTH, ENVIRONMENTAL AND PLANETARY SCIENCE
    • MATH 212: MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS
    • PHYS 201: WAVES, LIGHT, AND HEAT
    • STAT 280: ELEMENTARY APPLIED STATISTICS
    • Any course at the 300-level (or above) from the following subject codes: BIOS, CEVE, CHEM, CMOR, ENVS, MATH, MECH, PHYS, or STAT

Area of Specialization: Geoscience

To fulfill the remaining Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences major requirements, students pursuing the Geoscience area of specialization must complete a minimum of 7 courses (21-23 credit hours, depending on course selection) as listed below.

• Deformation and Dynamics:
  • EEPS 323: EARTH AND PLANETARY STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS
  • EEPS 460: GLOBAL TECTONICS
  • EEPS 461: STRUCTURE AND EVOLUTION OF TECTONIC SYSTEMS
  • EEPS 462: TECTONOPHYSICS
  • EEPS 463: THE PHYSICS OF FAULTING AND EARTHQUAKES
  • EEPS 464: HEAT AND MASS TRANSPORT ON EARTH AND PLANETS
  • EEPS 465: ROCK DEFORMATION AND RHEOLOGY
  • EEPS 467: GEOMECHANICS
  • EEPS 468: VOLCANOES
• Geophysics:
  • EEPS 324: EARTH'S INTERIOR
  • EEPS 445: EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS
  • EEPS 446: SEISMOLOGY I
  • EEPS 448: EXPLORATION GEOPHYSICS
  • EEPS 450: GEOPHYSICAL DATA ANALYSIS: DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
  • EEPS 454: INTRODUCTION TO SEISMIC INTERPRETATION: STRUCTURAL STYLES AND SEISMIC STRATIGRAPHY
  • EEPS 458: ENVIRONMENTAL & APPLIED ROCK PHYSICS
  • EEPS 459: WELL LOGGING AND PETROPHYSICS
• Elective Requirements:
  • Select a minimum of 2 courses from the following:
    • Any course from Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences departmental (EEPS) course offerings between course numbers EEPS 407:480, EEPS 482:490, EEPS 492:499
    • BIOS 201: INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY I
    • BIOS 202: INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY II
    • BIOS 211: INTERMEDIATE EXPERIMENTAL CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES
    • CHEM 211 & CHEM 213: ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY DISCUSSION I
    • EEPS 390: GEOLOGY FIELD CAMP
    • EEPS 391: PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IN EARTH, ENVIRONMENTAL AND PLANETARY SCIENCE
    • MATH 212: MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS
    • PHYS 201: WAVES, LIGHT, AND HEAT
    • STAT 280: ELEMENTARY APPLIED STATISTICS
    • Any course at the 300-level (or above) from the following subject codes: BIOS, CEVE, CHEM, CMOR, ENVS, MATH, MECH, PHYS, or STAT

Area of Specialization: Planetary Science

To fulfill the remaining Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences major requirements, students pursuing the Planetary Science area of specialization must complete a minimum of 7 courses (21-23 credit hours, depending on course selection) as listed below.

• Breadth in Planetary Sciences:
  • ASTR 230: ASTRONOMY LAB PART 2: SPECTROSCOPY AND PROJECTS
  • ASTR 243: LIVING WITH A STAR: THE PHYSICS OF THE SUN-EARTH CONNECTION
  • EEPS 417: COSMOCHEMISTRY AND METEORITICS
  • EEPS 425: PLANETARY SURFACE PROCESSES
  • EEPS 445: EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS
  • EEPS 473: FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF PLANETARY SYSTEMS
  • EEPS 474: PLANETARY SYSTEMS: ORBITS, ATMOSPHERES, INTERIORS, AND MINOR BODIES
• Elective Requirements:
  • Select a minimum of 2 courses from the following:
    • Any course from Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences departmental (EEPS) course offerings between course numbers EEPS 407:480, EEPS 482:490, EEPS 492:499
    • EEPS 390: GEOLOGY FIELD CAMP
    • EEPS 391: PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IN EARTH, ENVIRONMENTAL AND PLANETARY SCIENCE
    • MATH 212: MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS
    • PHYS 201: WAVES, LIGHT, AND HEAT
    • PHYS 231: ELEMENTARY PHYSICS LAB
    • STAT 280: ELEMENTARY APPLIED STATISTICS
    • Any course at the 300-level (or above) from the following subject codes: ASTR, CHEM, CMOR, MATH, MECH, PHYS, or STAT

Policies for the BS Degree

• Program Restrictions and Exclusions:
  • Students pursuing the BS Degree with a Major in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences should be aware of the following program restrictions:
    • Students may not obtain both a BA and a BS in the same major.
    • Students may not major and minor in the same subject.
• Transfer Credit:
  • For Rice University's policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit.
  • Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit.
  • Requests for transfer credit must be approved for Rice equivalency by the designated transfer credit advisor for the appropriate academic department offering the Rice equivalent course.

Opportunities for the BS Degree

• Academic Honors:
  • The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate's academic history at Rice.
  • For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work.
• Undergraduate Independent Research:
  • The department encourages, but does not require, Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences (EEPS) undergraduate majors to pursue independent supervised research in EEPS 481.
• Honors Research:
  • Undergraduates are encouraged to embark on an undergraduate honors thesis.
  • The purpose of the honors thesis is for students to develop and demonstrate their creative and independent research potential.
  • Students are recommended to begin in the fall of their junior year to provide ample time for research projects to be developed, executed, and written.
  • However, honors theses must commence during the fall semester of senior year.
  • Students are expected to enroll in at least two semesters of the course EEPS 481, spanning their senior year.
  • Juniors who have identified a research project and mentor can also enroll in EEPS 481.
  • Students should sign up for EEPS 481 for 3 credit hours.

Requirements and Recommendations for Completing an Undergraduate Honors Thesis

• Fall Semester of Senior Year:
  • At the beginning of the fall semester, seniors interested in the honors thesis program must identify a thesis advisor, a thesis topic, and enroll in the required courses.
  • During the semester, students will participate in meetings with other honors thesis candidates to discuss basic research protocols and philosophies, and meet independently with their chosen scientific advisor, and generate data, experiments or models.
  • At the end of the semester, students must submit final versions of their proposals, describing motivation, hypothesis, methodology, and preliminary results.
  • The honors thesis committee will evaluate the proposals, and if approved, students can continue in the honors thesis program.
  • Required courses:
    • EEPS 401: SEMINAR: UNDERGRADUATE HONORS THESIS
    • EEPS 481: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN EARTH, ENVIRONMENTAL AND PLANETARY SCIENCES
• Spring Semester of Senior Year:
  • A mid-semester progress report must be submitted to the thesis committee for feedback.
  • At the end of the spring semester, students submit their final theses, and give public oral exit talks.
  • To complete the honors thesis program, student theses must be approved by the honors thesis committee.
  • Required courses:
    • EEPS 401: SEMINAR: UNDERGRADUATE HONORS THESIS
    • EEPS 481: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN EARTH, ENVIRONMENTAL AND PLANETARY SCIENCES

Other Points of Consideration

• Students who are accepted into the Rice Undergraduate Scholars Program (RUSP) can substitute EEPS 481 courses for semesters 2 and 3 with HONS 470 and HONS 471.
• However, the students will have to meet all other requirements of the honors thesis set by the department.