Environmental Geoscience, 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 1513College Algebra (A)3
Humanities (H)
Courses designated (H)6
Natural Sciences (N)
Must include one Laboratory Science (L) course
CHEM 1314Chemistry I (LN)4
Select 4 hours from the following:4
Introductory Biology (N)
and Introductory Biology Laboratory (LN)
Introductory Biology (LN)
Introduction to Natural History (LN)
Social & Behavioral Sciences (S)
Course designated (S)3
Additional General Education
Courses designated (A), (H), (N), or (S)8
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
GEOL 1214Introductory Geological Processes (LN)4
or GEOL 1114 Physical Geology (LN)
or GEOL 1014 Geology and Human Affairs (LN)
PHYS 1114College Physics I (LN)4
GEOL 4300Geology Colloquium1
Foreign Language
0-6 hours. See note 3.
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.
GEOL 2103Fundamentals of Geophysics 13
or PHYS 1214 College Physics II (LN)
GEOL 2403Chemistry of Earth Systems 13
or CHEM 1515 Chemistry II (LN)
GEOL 2464Rocks and Minerals4
GEOL 3503Environmental Geology (N)3
GEOL 4453Hydrogeology3
GEOG 4073Climate Change: Past, Present, and Future3
GEOG 4203Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems3
GEOG 4343Geographic Information Systems: Resource Management Applications3
NREM 3013Applied Ecology and Conservation 13
or BIOL 3034 General Ecology
or ENVR 3113 Environmental Sampling and Analysis
SOIL 2124Fundamentals of Soil Science (N)4
POLS 4363Environmental Law And Policy3
Select 18 hours from the following:18
Evolution of the Earth (LN)
Structural Geology
Principles of Stratigraphy and Sedimentology
Geomorphology
Paleontology
Introduction to Oceanography (N)
Marine Geology
Physical Hydrogeology
Environmental Data Analytics
Critical Earth Materials
Volcanology
Spatial Analysis (A)
Biogeography, Biodiversity, and Humankind
Remote Sensing
Geospatial Applications for Unmanned Aerial Systems
Elements of Environmental Science (N)
Forest Health and Disturbance Ecology
Limnology
Hours Subtotal53
Electives
Select 14 hours 114
Hours Subtotal
Total Hours120
1

Elective credit hours will be reduced accordingly if PHYS 1214 or CHEM 1515 or BIOL 3034 are selected.

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
NREM 1014
Introduction to Natural History (LN)
or Introductory Biology (N) and Introductory Biology Laboratory (LN)
4
GEOL 1214
Introductory Geological Processes (LN)
or Physical Geology (LN)
or Geology and Human Affairs (LN)
4
MATH 1513 College Algebra (A) 3
General Education courses 4
 Hours15
Spring
CHEM 1314 Chemistry I (LN) 4
General Education, College, and Major courses 12
 Hours16
Sophomore
Fall
GEOL 2464 Rocks and Minerals 4
PHYS 1114 College Physics I (LN) 4
General Education courses 6
 Hours14
Spring
GEOL 2403
Chemistry of Earth Systems
or Chemistry II (LN)
3
GEOL 2403 offered every even Spring semester
GEOL 4300 Geology Colloquium 1
SOIL 2124 Fundamentals of Soil Science (N) 4
Major, College, or Elective courses 7
 Hours15
Junior
Fall
GEOG 4073 Climate Change: Past, Present, and Future 3
GEOG 4203 Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems 3
NREM 3013
Applied Ecology and Conservation
or General Ecology
or Environmental Sampling and Analysis
3
Major, College, and Elective courses 6
 Hours15
Spring
GEOL 2103
Fundamentals of Geophysics
or College Physics II (LN)
3
GEOL 2103 offered every odd Spring semester
GEOL 3503 Environmental Geology (N) 3
Major, College, and Elective courses 9
 Hours15
Senior
Fall
GEOG 4343 Geographic Information Systems: Resource Management Applications 3
GEOL 4453 Hydrogeology 3
NREM 4043 Natural Resource Administration and Policy (if needed) 3
Major, College, and Elective courses 6
 Hours15
Spring
POLS 4363 Environmental Law And Policy 3
Major, College, and Elective courses 12
 Hours15
 Total Hours120