Combined Geological Engineering Degree Requirements

Required 128 credits (36 of which must be numbered 300 or above) including: 

I. Essential Studies Requirements (see University ES listing).

II. Geological Engineering required courses 

III. Program Required Electives

IV. College of Engineering and Mines requirements

V. Requirements outside of the College of Engineering and Mines  

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GEOE 410 Field Camp is a course that is completed through South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Students should take the course through them and transfer the course back to UND.

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Students may petition the Geological Engineering Curriculum Committee (GECC) to use GEOE 397 Cooperative Education for up to three credits applied towards Technical Electives, based on the following requirements:

1. Students must get approval in advance from the GECC and the Department Cooperative Coordinator.
2. The first cooperative experience may receive up to one credit of technical elective credit.
3. The second cooperative experience may receive up to two credits of technical elective credit.

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Students must ensure all appropriate pre-requisites are met prior to registering for all courses in the curriculum. 

Geotechnical Engineering Concentration

Geotechnical Engineering is a branch of geological engineering and civil engineering that deals with the behavior of soils and rocks, and the design and analysis of natural and man-made soil structures. The classes of problems related to geotechnical engineering include foundations, slope stability, soil dynamics, soil improvement, geoenvironmental problems, geosynthetics, seepage, tunneling, mining and energy geotechnics. Many construction projects are conducted on less than ideal ground conditions that need to be improved by geotechnics. Construction of infrastructures and residential buildings may encounter unstable slopes or deep excavation. The retaining structures are often used to stabilize them. In some cases, modern reinforced soil technologies are used. Geotechnical engineers are today mandated to design foundations and soil structures that ensure stability and satisfactory performance under the impact of natural disasters, such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The concentration in geotechnical engineering is designed to prepare students for careers in geotechnical engineering.

This concentration requires students to complete all of the courses from the list shown below. 

Petroleum Concentration

The program has a petroleum option, that is designed to prepare students for possible employment in the petroleum industry, while continuing to provide a broad geological engineering background for career flexibility. The undergraduate pursuing this emphasis will have a B.S. in Geological Engineering and their transcript will show that they have completed the Petroleum Geology Concentration. 

This concentration requires students to complete at least 16 credits from the course list shown below:

Water Resources Concentration

Freshwater is a vital resource for economic growth, global ecosystems and well-being of human lives. Recently water resources are also severely under pressure across the world due to substantial population growth and migration, climate and land-use changes, and anthropogenic pollutions. Water security and quality are increasingly also recognized as a critical national security priority. Moreover, water management is becoming increasingly complex and complicated, demanding a thorough and sound understanding of hydrologic and hydrogeologic processes and their vulnerabilities to climate, land-use changes and anthropogenic usages. These interactions require the skills in visualizing and understanding water and contaminant transport through subsurface rocks (sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic) and surface waterways. The range of typical applications is wide and the methods used are diverse. Expertise provided by this concentration includes aspects of hydrogeology, groundwater contamination and remediation, water quality and lab analyses and cold region hydrology. This expertise is highly sought after by industries and government agencies that deal with critical water resources and environmental problems. Furthermore, it has become equally important to train replacements for an aging workforce in this important technological area. The concentration in Water Resources is designed to prepare students for careers such as hydrogeologist, hydrologist, environmental geologist and environmental engineer.  

This concentration requires students to complete 16 credits from the list shown below:

Admission Requirements

The applicant must meet the School of Graduate Studies' current minimum general admission requirements as published in the graduate catalog. Additionally:

1. To be admitted under "approved" status, the applicant must hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Geological Engineering from an ABET accredited or equivalent program. A Bachelor’s degree in another engineering discipline or in a science field, qualifies a student to be admitted to “qualified status”, with an obligation to acquire background undergraduate engineering and geology knowledge.
2. Applicants must submit a Graduate Record Examination General Test score if their B.S. degree is from a non-ABET accredited program. Other applicants are encouraged to submit GRE scores to support their application.
3. Applicants must have a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.75 or higher.
4. Applicants must satisfy the School of Graduate Studies' English Language Proficiency requirements as published in the graduate catalog.
5. For a Master of Science degree, students must have completed at least one semester of calculus while an undergraduate. Applicants are also generally expected to have completed at least one year of preparation in chemistry and one course in physics during their undergraduate preparation.

Combined Bachelor and Master’s in Geological Engineering

To encourage undergraduate Geological Engineering students to extend their studies to include a graduate degree, the College of Engineering and Mines offers a Combined Program that permits students to earn both a Bachelor's (B.S.) and a Master's (M.S.) degree in Geological Engineering. This program allows students to designate six credits of graduate approved courses, at the time of admission, to count for both degrees.  

Students may be admitted to the Combined Degree Program if they have:

1. Completed 95 credit hours towards the Bachelor's degree.
2. Completed 30 credit hours of coursework and 8 credit hours of upper division coursework in the geological sciences.
3. Maintained an overall GPA of at least 3.0 in all geological sciences they took.
4. Completed an application to the UND Graduate School and been accepted for admission.

Once admitted to the Combined Degree Program, undergraduate students are eligible to take 500-level courses for graduate credit. Students must complete the petition titled, "Graduate Credit as an Undergraduate Student" prior to registering for the courses. Such courses could be included in the 30 credit hours for the degree and should appear in the program of study.

Students in the Combined Degree Program will be admitted to the School of Graduate Studies if they meet all requirements set forth by the School of Graduate Studies.

The time normally needed to complete the Combined Degree Program is 1 year, plus an additional summer after admission to the Graduate School.

Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's (ABM) 5-year Degree in Geological Engineering

The ABM degree program allows exceptional undergraduate students at UND an opportunity to complete the requirements for both the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at an accelerated pace. All requirements for both degrees must be met, and these students may double count up to 12 graduate approved credits towards the requirements for both their Bachelor in Geological Engineering and their Master of Science in Geological Engineering degree requirements. ABM students must obtain their Master of Science degree in Geological Engineering within 12 months of completing the Bachelor of Geological Engineering degree, provided that the degree requirements can be completed in that timeframe.

High-achieving high school students (GPA of at least 3.2/4.0 and an ACT score of 25 or higher) will initially be considered for “identified” status and become eligible for formal admission when they meet the same criteria that undergraduates must meet for admission into the ABM program. Admission is a competitive process. The following are minimum eligibility requirements for high-achieving high school students:  

1. Students must have completed a minimum of 60 credits, including credits earned from advanced placement and dual credit. Students must apply before completion of the undergraduate degree.
2. Transfer students with a minimum of 60 credits - whether from the transfer institution alone or in combination with UND credits - must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2/4.0 at the time of admission to the ABM program.
3. Students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2/4.0 at UND at the time of admission into the ABM program.
4. ABM program applicants must submit the standard application to the School of Graduate Studies, the application fee, a personal statement, and transcripts. ABM program applicants do not need to take the GRE or other standardized exams.
5. Additionally, ABM program applicants must submit a detailed Program of Study that describes the 12 credits of double-counted courses, the courses that will be taken after being accepted into the ABM program, the courses that will be taken before graduation from the Bachelor of Geological Engineering program, and the expected graduation date for each degree. The submitted Program of Study must be signed by the student, the student's undergraduate advisor, the student’s graduate advisor, and the Geological Engineering Graduate Coordinator.

Degree Requirements

Students seeking the Master of Science degree at the University of North Dakota must satisfy all general requirements set forth by the School of Graduate Studies as well as particular requirements set forth by the Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering.

Thesis Option

1. A minimum of 30 credit hours in a major field, including 4 to 6 credits specifically earned through taking GEOE 998 Thesis.

   Course List

   Code	Title	Credits
   Geology/Geological Engineering coursework		12
   Other Engineering and Science coursework		12
   Thesis		6
   Total Credits		30

2. At least one-half of the credit hours must be at or above the 500-level.
3. A maximum of one-fourth of the credit hours required for the degree may be transferred from another institution.
4. Completion of the thesis.

Non-Thesis Option (Independent Study)

1. Thirty (30) credit hours including credits required for the major.

   Course List

   Code	Title	Credits
   Geology/Geological Engineering coursework		15
   Research Project/Independent Study		3
   Electives		12
   Total Credits		30

2. At least one-half of the credit hours must be at or above the 500-level.
3. A maximum of one-fourth of the credit hours required for the degree may be transferred from another institution.
4. Preparation of a written independent study approved by the primary faculty advisor.
5. Comprehensive final examination.