Geological Sciences

geology.csupomona.edu/

Jonathan A. Nourse, Chair

David Berry
David Jessey
John Klasik

Jeffrey S. Marshall
Stephen Osborn
Jascha Polet

The Geological Sciences Department offers diverse and modern BS and MS degree programs to produce graduates who understand the science behind active Earth processes and bring quantitative problem-solving skills to the table in an interdisciplinary work environment. The curriculum balances classroom theory, modern technology and laboratory application with field experiences that incorporate industry-standard equipment, and offers opportunities for faculty-mentored research. Our applied approach to learning and career training is directed by faculty who can provide personal guidance specific to each student. Future geoscientists will confront a rapidly changing world with regional, national, and global issues related to strained water resources, natural hazards mitigation, shortages of mineral and energy resources, and site evaluations of infrastructure or housing projects. Their endeavors must interface with the environmental challenge of maintaining quality of life while managing development in an increasingly populated world. Graduates of the Geology program have broad capabilities and are ready to confront these new challenges as professional geologists or in post-graduate educational settings.

Students entering the Geological Sciences Department are offered a choice between three emphases leading to a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology. Each emphasis presents a comprehensive curriculum in the Geosciences with support courses in mathematical, physical, chemical and biological sciences. Each has a different focus, enabling students to direct their own curriculum towards their main Geoscience interests. The Geology emphasis is strongly field-oriented and offers a hands-on, traditional, program focused on mineral resources and developing excellent field and mapping skills. The Geophysics/Earth Exploration emphasis takes a more global and quantitative approach to the Earth and Planetary Sciences, producing graduates who use modern technology to address another growth area in the Geosciences: natural hazard analysis and mitigation. The Environmental Resources emphasis, through its interdisciplinary coursework, addresses the important contemporary need for geoscientists able to tackle the challenges posed by the world’s demand for mineral, energy and water resources in the context of environmental change.

Students majoring in other disciplines can minor in Geology through appropriately directed GSC course work. The Geology Minor promotes student exposure to a broad range of GSC courses. This allows students from other disciplines to pursue interests in Geology or in-depth studies that compliment the student’s major. The Geology Minor program serves to enhance a student’s employment opportunities in a chosen profession or simply to provide formal recognition of an interest in the physical world. Students may obtain from the Geological Sciences Department office and/or website lists of suggested GSC classes to qualify for the Minor. Three specific course packages are particularly appropriate for students with an interest in “Geotechnical Engineering”, “Earth and Planetary Sciences” and “Hydrogeology and Water Resources”. The Minor is especially advantageous to students majoring in such fields as civil and aeronautical engineering, environmental biology, geography and science education, as well as students in the College of Environmental Design.

For those planning careers as secondary school science teachers, a single subject credential in Science is required. This credential is obtained by completing course work in Education and passing the National Teacher Examination. The latter can be waived by taking the courses listed in the Subject Matter Preparation Program for Prospective Teachers of Science with a concentration in Geology. This program is listed separately below after Geology Curriculum Requirements.

A new Master of Science degree program in Geology, inaugurated in September 2012, greatly enhances the job oppurtunities and career advancement for Earth scientists with BS degrees. We target both working professionals and traditional graduate students (i.e., those finishing BS degrees and perhaps seeking a stepping stone to a PhD program). Both cohorts would benefit equally from our thesis-based Master’s program with an affordable fee structure. Course scheduling will accommodate both groups; e.g., afternoon and evening classes with most laboratories and field trips offered on weekends.

Department Facilities

In addition to standard classroom, laboratory and office space, our facilities include a wide spectrum of modern equipment and instrumentation to facilitate the Geology teaching and research mission. The Department possesses seven digital velocity flow probes manufactured by Global Water Instrumentation, Inc., two Nikon total stations and four TruPulse laser rangefinders for precise surveying, nine field-deployable Guralp digital seismometers, a Seistronix 24-channel seismic refraction instrument with 3 dimensional mapping software, GSSI ground-penetrating radar with two antennas capable of imaging to depths to 10 meters, La Coste-Romberg gravity meter, magnetometer, separate Philips X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence instrumentation, a 14-station student computer lab with large format printer, Trimble Pro XRS GPS, Nikon petrographic microscopes with digital camera, fluid inclusion heating/freezing stage, atomic absorption spectrophotometer, and two field vehicles capable of transporting 18 persons and their gear to remote study sites. The endowed Bernard Lane Paleontology Laboratory houses a wide variety of fossil specimans. All students have access to hand-held geological mapping equipment to support field investigations (Brunton compasses, GPS data loggers and difital cameras).

Programs

Major

Geology, B.S.: 180 units

Minor

Geology Minor

Master

Geology, M.S.

Courses

Geological Sciences

NOTE: For all courses which have both a lecture component and a laboratory component (e.g., GSC 215/215L ), both components are corequisites; that is, they must be taken concurrently.

F, W, Sp and Su notations indicate the quarter(s) each course is normally offered. Unless otherwise specified, the course is offered each year during the indicated quarter(s). Parentheses signify that the course may be offered during the quarter(s) they enclose. Courses approved for CR/NC grading designated by a dagger (+) (non-majors only).

Field Trip Fee is required for various courses to cover transportation costs and varies according to type of transportation used.