{"id":237,"date":"2023-02-22T13:17:07","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T21:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/earth\/?page_id=237"},"modified":"2026-03-20T15:50:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T22:50:42","slug":"degrees","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/earth\/undergraduate\/degrees\/","title":{"rendered":"Undergraduate Degrees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/catalogue.usc.edu\/content.php?catoid=21&amp;navoid=8707\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Department of Earth Sciences<\/a> offers two major degrees and three minors. Current students interested in joining the Earth Sciences Department should review the below information and contact Dornsife Undergraduate Advising (advising@dornsife.usc.edu) or Director of Undergraduate Studies, Prof. David Bottjer (dbottjer@usc.edu) in order to learn more and declare a new major or minor in the department. We support USC\u2019s aims of interdisciplinary education, and many students pair an Earth Sciences degree with other majors.<\/p>\n<p>For undergraduate academic advising questions or support, please visit\u00a0<b><a id=\"OWA59e5729f-3fdf-b80f-7b35-b925fb11e6d1\" class=\"x_OWAAutoLink\" title=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/advising\/\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/advising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-linkindex=\"0\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\">USC Dornsife Advising<\/a><\/b>\u00a0for resources and assistance.<\/p>\n<p>For a list of when our courses are scheduled to be offered next through the Spring 2027 semester, please see <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1eDiA7SwN2uNoKDga3mjmMw20l9KBBGcnPrTEw2WYOwU\/edit?usp=sharing\">Future GEOL Course Offerings<\/a> (<em>USC-only access<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--accordions \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--accordions\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      <div class=\"header-container\">\n\n                  \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Majors\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      \n                  \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p>The department offers a BS and BA, catering to diverse career goals in <span class=\"acalog-highlight-search-1\">Earth<\/span>\u00a0and environmental\u00a0<span class=\"acalog-highlight-search-2\">sciences<\/span>. Undergraduate majors emphasize experiential learning through capstone courses and field training in locations such as Catalina Island, Greece, Spain, Alaska\u00a0and South America. Graduates pursue successful careers in academic research, industry, government, environmental consulting\u00a0and education.<\/p>\n<p>The BS degree prepares students for careers in geoscience industries, government agencies and graduate study, as well as business, law, medicine, teaching and public policy. The BA degree is suitable for students interested in geoscience and related careers in \u00a0business, law, medicine or public policy. Both degrees offer similar elective course work, but with additional technical coursework, research and a <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/earth\/senior-thesis-requirements-and-timetable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Senior Thesis (GEOL-494)<\/a> for the BS, as foundation for graduate degrees and some technical careers \u2013 our course work provides the necessary preparation, and analytical, research, and laboratory experience enhanced by a low student- to-faculty ratio.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/13EKdae60ohkOu0LrUCfH1fTgd5bfdHgA\/view?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">(B.S.) Bachelor of Science in Geological Sciences<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/12MStO3cxC-4nx6xRhxojUGGDis75eSAB\/view?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GEOL Sample 4 Year Plan<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1xBEdoesShDt1h2MDyQ3CqNWeM6Aj6epR\/view?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">(B.A.) Bachelor of Arts in Earth Sciences<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1nuYxM-vjOHj5B5BpO4oDylx5tbp1Gd1M\/view?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ERSC Sample 4 Year Plan<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n      \n      \n    <\/div>\n  \n  \n  \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--spacer \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--spacer\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--accordions \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--accordions\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      <div class=\"header-container\">\n\n                  \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Minors\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      \n                  \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p>Three minors are available. The Geohazards minor is recommended for those who wish to broaden their background in natural hazards, global change or environmental problems. It is accessible to both non-science and science majors. The Geobiology minor is recommended for those interested in interdisciplinary work in Earth and biological sciences. The Earth Sciences minor in Climate Change, Stewardship, and Resiliency is recommended for those interested in international relations, public policy, economics, business, management and\/or politics. In addition, the department works closely with the Dornsife Environmental Studies program, offering science-focused course work for students in this program and facilitating joint degrees (double-major or major\/minor combinations) for students seeking further scientific grounding in their study of the natural environment.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/catalogue.usc.edu\/preview_program.php?catoid=20&amp;poid=28347&amp;returnto=8205\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Geobiology<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/catalogue.usc.edu\/preview_program.php?catoid=20&amp;poid=28348&amp;returnto=8205\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Geohazards<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/catalogue.usc.edu\/preview_program.php?catoid=20&amp;poid=28973&amp;returnto=8205\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Climate Change, Stewardship and Resiliency<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n      \n      \n    <\/div>\n  \n  \n  \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"parent":188,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-237","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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