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Geology Degree Requirements

Complete these requirements for a bachelor's degree in Geology.

Bachelor of Science in Geology

Required 125 credits (36 of which must be numbered 300 or above) including:

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

II. Geology required courses 

Course List
Code Title Credits
GEOL 101
& 101L
Introduction to Geology
and Introduction to Geology Laboratory
4
GEOL 102
& 102L
The Earth Through Time
and The Earth Through Time Laboratory
4
GEOL 256Critical Thinking in the Geosciences2
GEOL 311Geomorphology4
GEOL 318
& 318L
Mineralogy
and Mineralogy Lab
3
GEOL 320
& 320L
Petrology
and Petrology Lab
3
GEOL 330Structural Geology3
GEOL 356Geoscience Lectures1
GEOL 411Sedimentology and Stratigraphy5
GEOL 420Geology Capstone3
GEOL 421Seminar I1
GEOL 422Seminar II1
GEOL 487Research I1
GEOL 488Research II2
GEOL 494Senior Thesis1
GEOL 410 Field Geology (Summer Camp) 16
Select two of the following:6-7
GEOL 321
Geochemistry
GEOL 414
Applied Geophysics
GEOL 415
Introduction to Paleontology
GEOE 417
Hydrogeology
Total Credits50-51

III. Program Required Electives 

Course List
Code Title Credits
Elective course options 222-24
Atmospheric science - any courses greater than ATSC 100
Biology - any course greater than BIOL 150
Chemistry - any course greater than CHEM 200
Engineering - any course within any Engineering department
Earth System Science and Policy - any courses within ESSP
Entrepreneurship - any ENTR courses
Geography - any courses greater than GEOG 134
Languages - any LANG courses
Math - any courses greater than MATH 207
Physics - any courses greater than PHYS 252
Space Studies - any courses greater than SPST 200

IV. Requirements outside of the College of Engineering and Mines 

Course List
Code Title Credits
CHEM 121
& 121L
General Chemistry I
and General Chemistry I Laboratory
4
CHEM 122
& 122L
General Chemistry II
and General Chemistry II Laboratory
4
MATH 165Calculus I4
MATH 166Calculus II4
PHYS 211College Physics I4
or PHYS 251 University Physics I
PHYS 212College Physics II4
or PHYS 252 University Physics II
Select one of the following3-4
MATH 265
Calculus III
MATH 321
Applied Statistical Methods
ECON 210
Introduction to Business and Economic Statistics
Total Credits27-28
1

GEOL 410 Field Geology is a summer 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.

2

Other courses may be petitioned by student and approved by the advisor that cater to the student's interest and career plans. 

3

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

Concentration in Petroleum Geology

Geology is a critically important discipline in the exploration for and extraction of petroleum. These activities require skills in visualizing and understanding the sedimentary rocks especially those in the subsurface. The range of typical applications is wide and the methods used are diverse. Expertise provided by this concentration include aspects of sedimentary geology, stratigraphy, structural geology and geophysics. This expertise is highly sought after by industries and government agencies that find and produce the oil that fuels today’s economies. Furthermore, it has become equally important to train replacements for an aging workforce in this important technological area. The concentration in Petroleum Geology is designed to prepare students for careers as petroleum geologists.  

Students must complete a minimum of 16 credits from the following list:

Course List
Code Title Credits
GEOE 301
& 301L
Petrophysics
and Petrophysics Laboratory
4
GEOL 321Geochemistry3
GEOL 407Petroleum Geology3
GEOL 415Introduction to Paleontology4
GEOL 500Sedimentary Geology3
GEOL 518Topics in Advanced Stratigraphy2-4
PTRE 401Well Logging3

Concentration in Water Resources

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.  

Students must complete a minimum of 16 credits from the following list:

Course List
Code Title Credits
GEOL 321Geochemistry3
GEOL 342Conservation and Environmental Hydrology3
GEOL 540Water Sampling and Analysis3
GEOE 417Hydrogeology3
GEOE 419Groundwater Monitoring and Remediation3
GEOE 421Cold Region Hydrologic Modeling3

Teacher Certification

Students seeking secondary teacher certification in Geology must complete the Department of Teaching and Learning Requirements in Secondary Education. Students seeking certification should follow the curriculum for the B.S. in Geology and select Statistics (PSYC 241 Introduction to Statistics, MATH 321 Applied Statistical Methods) rather than MATH 265 Calculus III or Computer Science. The 24 additional hours in science, computer science, statistics, engineering, mathematics, or a foreign language must include each of the following: at least one course in Biology with lab equaling 4 credits, Atmospheric Sciences, and Astronomy.

Geology majors seeking secondary certification must have an adviser both in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering and in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Formal admission to Teacher Education is required and is normally sought while the student is enrolled in T&L 250 Introduction to Education (see Department of Teaching and Learning listing).

Geology Degree Requirements Disclaimer

The requirements on this page are pulled from UND’s academic catalog and may not reflect future terms. Updates are published annually in April.

General Education Courses

Essential Studies (ES) is UND’s program in general education. Along with your required major courses, it helps form the core of your UND undergraduate education. Your ES courses focus on essential skills employers require including communication, critical thinking and problem solving.

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