Environmental Geoscience 1 Environmental Geoscience Degrees Offered Bachelor of Arts Nature of Program The B.A. in environmental geoscience is a joint program in the Department of Geology and Geography for students interested in geological and geographical approaches to environmental issues. Emphasis is placed on the physical, human, and spatial aspects of Earth and its environment. The broad and interdisciplinary nature of the degree program is designed to produce geoscientists who can identify environmental problems, apply a variety of approaches to their remediation, and be conversant among the wide range of disciplines for which the environment is of special concern. The course requirements for the degree reflect the diversity of environmental problems that we face today from the atmosphere (air pollution), to the hydrosphere (water pollution), to the lithosphere (ground pollution), and how these problems affect our quality of life. The courses required for the degree also reflect the increased demands placed upon modern environmental scientists that include being able to recognize and understand the sources and impacts of various pollutants within the physical environment, being able to compile and analyze environmental data, understanding the regulatory aspects of environmental protection, and being able to effectively communicate issues of importance with other environmental scientists and with the general public. Graduates of this program will find employment in a wide array of fields including the assessment and remediation of environmental problems, landuse planning, geographic information systems, involvement in the legislative process by which laws are formulated to protect the environment, the application of such laws as part of a federal or state regulatory agency, or as a member of the journalistic community using the various methods of mass communication to increase the public awareness of situations that adversely affect the environment. Students who earn a degree in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences must complete the University requirements, the College requirements for their specific degree program, and their major requirements. Minors All students have the possibility of earning one or more minors; please check the list of all available minors and their requirements (http:// catalog.wvu.edu/undergraduate/minors). Please note that students may not earn a minor in their major field. Certificate of Global Engagement Students in the Eberly College, regardless of their major, can earn a Certificate of Global Engagement. Completion of the Certificate demonstrates the student s knowledge of diverse cultures, as well as the ability to communicate and interact effectively with people of different cultural backgrounds. Students will be required to apply their knowledge of contemporary issues and global social contexts to their course work and their broader citizenship. For details regarding Certificate requirements, please visit the Eberly College page (http://catalog.wvu.edu/undergraduate/ eberlycollegeofartsandsciences/#otherdegreestext). FACULTY CHAIR J. Steven Kite - Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin) PROFESSORS Robert E. Behling - Ph.D. (Ohio State University) Geomorphology Timothy Carr - Ph.D. Sedimentary & Petroleum Geology Joseph J. Donovan - Ph.D. Hydrogeology Gregory Elmes - Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University) GIScience Trevor M. Harris - Ph.D. (University of Hull) Eberly Professor, Geographic Information science Amy E. Hessl - Ph.D. (University of Arizona) Biogeography, Forest ecosystems Thomas W. Kammer - Ph.D. (Indiana University) Centennial Professor of Paleontology Henry W. Rauch - Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University)
2 Environmental Geoscience Hydrogeology, geochemistry John J. Renton - Ph.D. Geochemistry Timothy A. Warner - Ph.D. (Purdue University) Remote Sensing Thomas H. Wilson - Ph.D. (West Virginia University) Geophysics ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS Kathy Benison - Ph.D. (University of Kansas) Sedimentology and low-temperature geochemistry Dengliang Gao - Ph.D. (Duke University) Geophysics Helen M. Lang - Ph.D. Mineralogy and Metamorphic Petrology Jaime Toro - Ph.D. Structural Geology, Tectonics Dorothy J. Vesper - Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University) Aqueous geochemistry, Hydrogeology ASSISTANT PROFESSORS Jonathan Hall - Ph.D. (Ohio State) Conservation Ecology, Biogeography Joseph Lebold - Ph.D. Geology education Eungul Lee - Ph.D. (University of Colorado) Climate, Physical Geography Brenden McNeil - Ph.D. (Syracuse University) GIScience, Environmental Modeling Shikha Sharma - Ph.D. Isotope Geochemistry Amy Weislogel - Ph.D. (Stanford University) Sedimentary geology PROFESSORS EMERITI Kenneth C. Martis - Ph.D. (University of Michigan) Electoral Geography Richard Smosna - Ph.D. (University of Illinois) Oceanography & Carbonate Rocks CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR Rick Landenberger - Ph.D. Remote Sensing the Environment PROF-DOC Jonathan Hall - Ph.D. Ecology, Arid systems Maria Perez - Ph.D. (University of Michigan) Human Geography, Science & Society, Speleology, Latin America Admission Incoming Freshmen are admitted directly into the Environmental Geoscience major. Students coming from the Center for Learning, Advising, and Student Success or another unit must be in good standing (2.00 overall GPA).
Environmental Geoscience 3 Benchmark Expectations By end of their 4th semester in the major, students should have successfully completed 8 hours of introductory GEOL sequences; GEOL 200; GEOG 106-107; MATH 128; and one of the following: CHEM 111 or CHEM 115. All majors must meet with a G&G department adviser each semester. Students who do no meet these benchmarks may be removed from their major. Click here to view the Suggested Plan of Study (p. 6) GENERAL EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement. (http://registrar.wvu.edu/gef) NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select. General Education Foundations F1 - Composition & Rhetoric 3-6 ENGL 101 & ENGL 102 or ENGL 103 Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research Accelerated Academic Writing F2A/F2B - Science & Technology 4-6 F3 - Math & Quantitative Skills 3-4 F4 - Society & Connections 3 F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past 3 F6 - The Arts & Creativity 3 F7 - Global Studies & Diversity 3 F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) 9 Total Hours 31-37 Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus. Degree Requirements Students must complete WVU General Education Foundations requirements, College B.A. requirements, major requirements, and electives to total a minimum of 120 hours. For complete details on these requirements, visit the B.A. Degrees tab on the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences (http:// catalog.wvu.edu/undergraduate/eberlycollegeofartsandsciences/#bachelorofartstext) page. Departmental Requirements for the B.A. in Environmental Geoscience All students wishing to obtain a degree in Environmental Geoscience must comply with the following: Capstone Requirement: The General Education Foundations requires the successful completion of a Capstone course. For Environmental Geosciences majors, GEOL 400 completes the requirement. Writing and Communication Requirement: Environmental Geoscience Bachelor of Arts students fulfill the Writing and Communication Skills requirement by completing ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 (or ENGL 103), and at least one additional SpeakWrite Certified Course TM : GEOG 205, and a 2 nd course selected from GEOG 243, GEOG 300, GEOG 307, GEOG 317, GEOG 393B, GEOG 412, GEOG 415, GEOG 443, GEOG 452, GEOG 454, GEOG 455, GEOG 462, GEOG 496., Calculation of the GPA in the Major: Students must have a 2.0 overall GPA in all GEOG and in all GEOL courses applied to major requirements. If a course is repeated, all attempts will be included in the calculation of the GPA unless the course is eligible for a D/F repeat. Credit Limit: No more than 50 credits of geology/geography can be used for the B.A. if the student has earned 120 credits overall. If a student has more than 50 credits, then those extra credits must be matched by an equal amount of non-geog or GEOL courses, and more than 120 credits will be required for graduation. For example, if a student has 51 credits in GEOG and GEOG, the student will need 122 credits to graduate (51 G&G, 71 non-g&g). 199 and 491 courses are excluded from the 50-credit count. Benchmarks Expectations: For details, go to the Environmental Geoscience admissions tab (p. 2).
4 Environmental Geoscience Curriculum Requirements UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS 16 WVUE 191 First Year Seminar GEF: Number of courses may vary depending on overlap ECAS B.A. Requirements 12 Foreign Language Global Studies & Diversity Requirement Fine Arts Requirement DEPARTMENTAL REQUIREMENTS Math and Science Requirement: 15 Biology Requirement: BIOL 105 & BIOL 106 Chemistry Requirement: CHEM 111 or CHEM 115 Math Requirement: MATH 128 MATH 129 MATH 150 MATH 153 MATH 154 Environmental Biology and Environmental Biology Laboratory Survey of Chemistry Fundamentals of Chemistry Plane Trigonometry Pre-Calculus Mathematics Applied Calculus MATH 155 Calculus 1 MATH 156 Calculus 2 Physics Requirement: PHYS 101 or PHYS 105 Calculus 1a with Precalculus Calculus 1b with Precalculus Introductory Physics Conceptual Physics Core Courses: 29 Complete all of the following: GEOL 101 & GEOL 102 GEOL 103 & GEOL 104 GEOG 149 & GEOG 150 GEOG 106 & GEOG 107 GEOL 200 GEOG 205 GEOG 207 GEOG 307 Planet Earth and Planet Earth Laboratory Earth Through Time and Earth Through Time Laboratory Digital Earth Lab and Digital Earth Physical Geography Laboratory and Physical Geography Geology for Environmental Scientists Natural Resources Climate and Environment Biogeography: Theory and Method Elective Geology and Geography Courses 9 Select three (3) courses from the following list: GEOG 300 GEOG 310 GEOG 317 GEOG 321 GEOG 350 GEOG 415 GEOG 452 GEOG 453 GEOG 454 Geographical Data Analysis Global Issues Climatological Analysis Geomorphology Geographic Information Systems and Science Global Environmental Change Geographic Information Science: Applications Geographic Information Science: Design and Implementation Environmental Geographic Information Systems
Environmental Geoscience 5 GEOG 455 GEOG 462 GEOL 203 GEOL 300 GEOL 302 GEOL 365 GEOL 463 GEOL 466 GEOL 484 GEOL 486 GEOL 488 Introduction to Remote Sensing Digital Cartography Physical Oceanography Geology of West Virginia Geology of the National Parks Environmental Geology Physical Hydrogeology Cave and Karst Geology Minerals and the Environment Environmental Isotopes Environmental Geochemistry Electives Non-Geology/Geography 12 Select four (4) courses from the following list: AGRN 202 & AGRN 203 AGRN 455 ARE 187 ARE 220 ARE 382 ART 380 BIOL 101 & BIOL 103 BIOL 102 & BIOL 104 BIOL 115 BIOL 117 BIOL 221 BIOL 302 BIOL 353 BIOL 361 BIOL 363 BIOL 463 CHEM 231 CS 101 CS 110 FMAN 212 FMAN 222 FMAN 433 ENVP 119 ENVP 155 ENVP 355 ENVP 401 ENVP 412 ENVP 415 ENVP 420 ENVP 425 ENVP 451 ENVP 455 ENVP 460 FHYD 444 FHYD 454 LARC 105 PHIL 310 Principles of Soil Science and Principles of Soil Science Laboratory Reclamation of Disturbed Soils Energy Resource Economics Introductory Environmental and Resource Economics Agricultural and Natural Resources Law Art and Environment General Biology and General Biology Laboratory General Biology and General Biology Laboratory Principles of Biology Introductory Physiology Ecology and Evolution Biometry Flora of West Virginia Plant Ecology Plant Geography Global Ecology Organic Chemistry: Brief Course Intro to Computer Applications Introduction to Computer Science Forest Ecology Forest Mensuration Forest Management Soil in the City Elements of Environmental Protection Environmental Sampling and Analysis Environmental Microbiology Pest Management Hazardous Waste Training Soil Microbiology Environmental Soil Management Principles of Weed Science Reclamation of Disturbed Soils Environmental Impact Assessment Watershed Management Field Watershed Hydrology Introduction to Landscape Architecture Philosophy of Science
6 Environmental Geoscience POLS 338 RPTR 142 RPTR 239 RESM 140 RESM 480 STAT 211 STAT 312 WMAN 150 WMAN 160 WMAN 313 WMAN 314 WMAN 421 WDSC 100 WDSC 223 Environmental Policy Introduction to Recreation, Parks and Tourism Sustainable Tourism Development Sustainable Living Environmental Regulation Elementary Statistical Inference Intermediate Statistical Methods Principles of Conservation Ecology Ecology of Invading Species Wildlife Ecosystem Ecology Marine Ecology Renewable Resources Policy and Governance Forest Resources in United States History Wood Anatomy and Structure Capstone 4 GEOL 400 Environmental Practicum GENERAL ELECTIVES 23 Number of electives may vary depending on overlap Total Hours 120 Suggested Plan of Study First Year WVUE 191 1 ENGL 101 (GEF 1) 3 Foreign Language 101 3 Foreign Language 102 3 GEOL 101 & GEOL 102 (GEF 2) GEOG 150 & GEOG 149 (GEF 8) 4 GEOL 103 & GEOL 104 (GEF 8) 4 MATH Requirement (GEF 3) 3 General Elective 3 General Elective 2 Second Year ENGL 102 (GEF 1) 3 GEF 5 3 Foreign Language 203 3 Foreign Language 204 3 GEOL 200 4 Non-GEOL / GEOG Elective 1 3 GEOG 107 & GEOG 106 4 CHEM Requirement (GEF 8) 4 General Elective 1 General Elective 2 Third Year BIOL 105 & BIOL 106 4 ECAS Fine Arts Requirement (GEF 6) 3 GEOG 205 (GEF 4) 3 ECAS Global Studies & Diversity Requirement (GEF 7) 3 GEOG 207 3 GEOG 307 3 GEOG/ GEOL Elective 1 3 GEOG/ GEOL Elective 2 3 General Elective 2 GEOG/ GEOL Elective 3 3 Fourth Year GEOL 400 (Capstone) 4 Non-GEOL / GEOG Elective 3 3 4
Environmental Geoscience 7 PHYS Requirement 4 Non-GEOL / GEOG Elective 4 3 Non-GEOL / GEOG Elective 2 3 General Elective 3 General Elective 3 General Elective 3 General Elective 1 General Elective 3 Total credit hours: 120 Major Learning Goals ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE Upon successful completion of the B.A. degree, Environmental Geoscience majors will be able to: 1. Identify the presence of conditions that create natural environmental problems/hazards. 2. Identify the activities of humans that create environmental problems/hazards. 3. Understand the potential economic and social costs of remediation of natural and man made environmental problems. 4. Critically access reports, news articles, news reports, and debates and analyze the arguments so they can come to form an opinion on what is being debated. 5. Recognize that sources of information on environmental issues may be biased and that additional opinions must be sought in order to set forth conclusions which have merit. 6. Communicate clearly and effectively in writing and the spoken word about environmental issues to audiences of diverse backgrounds and formal education levels. 7. Demonstrate an understanding of content terminology required to communicate information regarding natural and manmade environmental problems/hazards.