Geology, BS

Requirements for Students Matriculating in or before Academic Year 2024-2025. Learn more about University Academic Regulation 3.1.

Minimum Overall Grade Point Average: 2.00
Total Hours: 120

General Education Requirements
English Composition
See Academic Regulation 3.5
ENGL 1113Composition I3
or ENGL 1313 Critical Analysis and Writing I
Select one of the following:3
Composition II
Critical Analysis and Writing II
Technical Writing
American History & Government
HIST 1103Survey of American History3
or HIST 1483 American History to 1865 (H)
or HIST 1493 American History Since 1865 (DH)
POLS 1113American Government3
Analytical & Quantitative Thought (A)
MATH 2144Calculus I (A) 14
Humanities (H)
Courses designated (H)6
Natural Sciences (N)
Must include one Laboratory Science (L) course
CHEM 1314Chemistry I (LN) 14
Select four hours from the following:4
Introductory Biology (N)
and Introductory Biology Laboratory (LN) 1
Introductory Biology (LN) 1
Introduction to Natural History (LN)
Social & Behavioral Sciences (S)
Course designated (S)3
Additional General Education
Courses designated (A), (H), (N), or (S)7
Hours Subtotal40
Diversity (D) & International Dimension (I)
May be completed in any part of the degree plan
Select at least one Diversity (D) course
Select at least one International Dimension (I) course
College/Departmental Requirements
First Year Seminar
(Transfer students with 15 hours exempt)1
Arts & Humanities
See note 2.a.3
Natural & Mathematical Sciences
CHEM 1515Chemistry II (LN)5
PHYS 2014University Physics I (LN)4
or PHYS 1114 College Physics I (LN)
Foreign Language
See note 3.
0-6 hours
Upper-Division General Education
Select 6 hours outside major department
See note 2.c.
Hours Subtotal13
Major Requirements
Minimum grade of “C” in all Geology courses.
Core Curriculum
GEOL 1214Introductory Geological Processes (LN)4
or GEOL 1114 Physical Geology (LN)
GEOL 1224Evolution of the Earth (LN)4
GEOL 2464Rocks and Minerals4
GEOL 3014Structural Geology4
GEOL 3034Principles of Stratigraphy and Sedimentology4
GEOL 3546Field Geology6
MATH 2153Calculus II (A)3
PHYS 2114University Physics II (LN)4
or PHYS 1214 College Physics II (LN)
Related Curriculum
Select 21 hours of upper-division GEOL 221
Hours Subtotal54
Electives
Select 13 hours13
May need to include 6 hours of a foreign language. See note 3
May need to include 6 hours upper-division general education outside major department (see note 2.c.) and 8 additional upper-division hours
MATH 1513 and MATH 1813 required for students who do not place directly into MATH 2144
Recommended courses:
Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems
Statistical Methods I (A)
Hours Subtotal13
Total Hours120
1

College and Departmental Requirements that may be used to meet General Education Requirements.

2

Excluding GEOL 2013, GEOL 3413, and GEOL 3513.

Other Requirements

  • See the College of Arts and Sciences Requirements.
  • Upper-Division Credit: Total hours must include at least 40 hours in courses numbered 3000 or above.

College of Arts and Sciences Requirements

  1. Hours in One Department: For B.A. and B.S. degrees, no more than 54 hours in one department may be required to meet degree requirements. Courses used to satisfy the General Education English Composition, U.S. History, American Government, and Mathematics or Statistics requirements will not count toward the 54-hour maximum required from one department.
  2. A&S College/Departmental Requirements
    1. Arts and Humanities are defined as any course carrying an (H) designation or courses from AMST, ART, DANC, ENGL (except ENGL 3323 Technical Writing) HIST, MUSI, PHIL (except PHIL 1313 Logic and Critical Thinking (A), PHIL 3003 Symbolic Logic (A) and PHIL 4003 Mathematical Logic and Computability), REL, TH, and foreign languages.
    2. Natural and Mathematical Sciences are defined as any course from the following prefixes: ASTR, BIOC, BIOL, CHEM, CS (except CS 4883 Social Issues in Computing), GEOL, MATH, MICR, PBIO, PHYS, and STAT; or courses from other departments that carry an (A) or (N) general education designation.
    3. Six upper-division hours are required from General Education or any CAS courses outside the student’s major department. This requirement may be satisfied by courses also used to satisfy any part of a student’s degree program (i.e., in General Education, College Departmental Requirements, Major Requirements or Electives).
    4. Non-Western Studies Requirement for B.A. and B.F.A.; One course in Non-Western Studies (N.W.). This requirement may be satisfied by courses also used to satisfy any part of a student's degree program (i.e., in General Education, College Departmental Requirements, Major Requirements or Electives).
    5. The College of Arts & Sciences requires a minimum 2.0 GPA in all major requirements and a minimum 2.0 GPA in all major-prefix courses applied to the degree.
  3. Foreign Language Proficiency
    1. The foreign language requirement for the B.A. may be satisfied by 9 hours college credit in the same language, which must include 3 hours at the 2000-level, or equivalent proficiency (e.g., passing an advanced standing examination; TOEFL exam; presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates the high school was primarily conducted in a language other than English; etc.). Computer Science courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement. Currently Arabic and Mvskoke are not offered at the 2000-level at OSU.
    2. The foreign language requirement for the B.S., B.M. and B.F.A. may be satisfied by presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates two years of study of a single foreign language (passing grades at second-year level of study). It may also be satisfied by 6 hours college credit in the same language, which must include language courses 1713 and 1813, or equivalent proficiency (e.g., passing an advanced standing examination; TOEFL exam; presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates the high school was primarily conducted in a language other than English; etc.). Computer Science courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement.
    3. In addition to a. and b., students pursuing teacher certification must meet novice-high foreign language proficiency by presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates two years of study of a single foreign language with no grade below B. Or, students may complete 3 hours college credit in a single language with no grade below C (or pass an advanced standing examination, College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam, or Oral Proficiency Interview developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, equivalent to 3 hours of college credit.) Or, students may meet the requirement by transfer of documentation of meeting the foreign language competency from one of the teacher education programs in the State of Oklahoma approved by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
  4. Exclusions. Courses with ATHL or LEIS prefixes and leisure activity courses may not be used for degree credit.

Additional State/OSU Requirements

  • At least: 60 hours at a four-year institution; 30 hours completed at OSU; 15 of the final 30 or 50% of the upper-division hours in the major field completed at OSU.
  • Limit of: one-half of major course requirements as transfer work; one-fourth of hours earned by correspondence; 8 transfer correspondence hours.
  • Students will be held responsible for degree requirements in effect at the time of matriculation and any changes that are made, so long as these changes do not result in semester credit hours being added or do not delay graduation.
  • Degrees that follow this plan must be completed by the end of Summer 2030.

Finish in Four Plan of Study

The plan below is an example of how students can successfully complete degree requirements in four years. This suggested class schedule plan may be used as a guide and can be adjusted based on individual needs. Students are required to meet with an academic advisor prior to enrollment each semester to plan their class schedule, and students are ultimately responsible for completing all degree requirements.

Plan of Study Grid
Freshman
FallHours
GEOL 1214 Introductory Geological Processes (LN) 4
NREM 1014
Introduction to Natural History (LN)
or Introductory Biology (N) and Introductory Biology Laboratory (LN)
4
MATH 2144 Calculus I (A) 4
General Education courses 3
 Hours15
Spring
MATH 2153 Calculus II (A) 3
CHEM 1314 Chemistry I (LN) 4
GEOL 1224 Evolution of the Earth (LN) 4
General Education courses 3
 Hours14
Sophomore
Fall
GEOL 2464 Rocks and Minerals 4
General Education courses 12
 Hours16
Spring
GEOL 2403
Chemistry of Earth Systems
or Chemistry II (LN)
3
PHYS 1114
College Physics I (LN)
or University Physics I (LN)
4
GEOL 3034 Principles of Stratigraphy and Sedimentology 4
Major, College, or Elective courses 3
 Hours14
Junior
Fall
GEOL 3014 Structural Geology 4
Major, College, and Elective courses 11
 Hours15
Spring
GEOL 2103
Fundamentals of Geophysics
or College Physics II (LN)
3
Major, College, and Elective courses 10
 Hours13
Summer
GEOL 3546 Field Geology 6
 Hours6
Senior
Fall
Major, College, and Elective courses 15
 Hours15
Spring
Major, College, and Elective courses 12
 Hours12
 Total Hours120
1

Speak with your Academic Advisor about pairing General Education Humanities (H) and Social Sciences (S) with International (I) and Diversity (D) dimensions.