Program Description

The bachelor of science in Earth sciences is offered through the Department of Earth Sciences. The program represents a strong concentration in the Earth sciences, built upon a solid formation in mathematics, physics and chemistry. The B.S. degree is especially well-suited for students who wish a strong foundation for secondary teaching or plan to continue their studies in graduate school. Beyond a central core of courses, there are several possible specializations (climate, geology, geophysics, oceanography) from which students must chose in order to develop depth in a particular area of Earth sciences. Students are encouraged to participate in research, field or internship experiences to round out their experiences in the degree program.

Degree Plan

Climate Track

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall		Credits
ESCI 400	Freshman Field Seminar	1
ESCI 401	Dynamic Earth	4
MATH 425	Calculus I	4
CHEM 403	General Chemistry I	4
ENGL 401	First-Year Writing	4
	Credits	17
Spring
ESCI 402	Earth History	4
MATH 426	Calculus II	4
CHEM 404	General Chemistry II	4
Inquiry Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Second Year
Fall
ESCI 501	Introduction to Oceanography	4
ESCI 530 or ESCI 534	Geological Field Methods or Techniques in Environmental Sciences	4
PHYS 407	General Physics I	4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI 512	Principles of Mineralogy	4
ESCI 514	Introduction to Climate	3
PHYS 408	General Physics II	4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	15
Third Year
Fall
ESCI 561	Landscape Evolution	4
ESCI 758 or ESCI 760	Introductory Physical Oceanography (or 6/7__) or Paleoceanography	3
ESCI ___ or Free Elective		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
Seminar or Research Experience		1
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI 654 or ESCI 701	Fate and Transport in the Environment or Quantitative Methods in Earth Sciences	4
ESCI 762 or ESCI 765	Glacial Geology (or 6/7__) or Paleoclimatology	4
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery course		4
	Credits	16
Fourth Year
Fall
ESCI 6/7__		4
ESCI 758 or ESCI 760	Introductory Physical Oceanography (or 6/7__) or Paleoceanography	3
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
Seminar or Research Experience		1
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI 762 or ESCI 765	Glacial Geology (or 6/7__) or Paleoclimatology	4
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
Senior Capstone		4
	Credits	16
	Total Credits	128

Geology Track

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall		Credits
ESCI 400	Freshman Field Seminar	1
ESCI 401	Dynamic Earth	4
MATH 425	Calculus I	4
CHEM 403	General Chemistry I	4
ENGL 401	First-Year Writing (or pass placement test)	4
	Credits	17
Spring
ESCI 402	Earth History	4
MATH 426	Calculus II	4
CHEM 404	General Chemistry II	4
Inquiry Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Second Year
Fall
ESCI 530	Geological Field Methods	4
ESCI 561	Landscape Evolution	4
PHYS 407	General Physics I	4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI 501	Introduction to Oceanography	4
ESCI 512	Principles of Mineralogy	4
PHYS 408	General Physics II	4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Third Year
Fall
ESCI 614	Introduction to Petrology	4
ESCI 631	Structural Geology	4
ESCI #652	Paleontology	4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI 654 or ESCI 701	Fate and Transport in the Environment (or 6__) or Quantitative Methods in Earth Sciences	4
Free Elective		4
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Fourth Year
Fall
ESCI 7__		4
Free Elective		4
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI 7__		4
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
Senior Capstone		4
	Credits	16
	Total Credits	129

Geophysics Track

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall		Credits
ESCI 400	Freshman Field Seminar	1
ESCI 401	Dynamic Earth	4
MATH 425	Calculus I	4
CHEM 403	General Chemistry I	4
ENGL 401	First-Year Writing (or pass placement test)	4
	Credits	17
Spring
ESCI 402	Earth History	4
MATH 426	Calculus II	4
CHEM 404	General Chemistry II	4
Inquiry Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Second Year
Fall
ESCI 530	Geological Field Methods	4
ESCI 561	Landscape Evolution (or 6/7__)	4
PHYS 407	General Physics I	4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI 501	Introduction to Oceanography	4
ESCI 512	Principles of Mineralogy	4
PHYS 408	General Physics II	4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Third Year
Fall
ESCI 614	Introduction to Petrology (or 6/7__)	4
ESCI 631	Structural Geology	4
MATH 527	Differential Equations with Linear Algebra	4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI 701	Quantitative Methods in Earth Sciences	4
MATH 528	Multidimensional Calculus	4
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Fourth Year
Fall
ESCI 759	Geological Oceanography	4
Free Elective		4
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI #734	Geophysics (or ESCI 756)	4
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
Senior Captstone		4
	Credits	16
	Total Credits	129

Oceanography Track

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall		Credits
ESCI 400	Freshman Field Seminar	1
ESCI 401	Dynamic Earth	4
MATH 425	Calculus I	4
CHEM 403	General Chemistry I	4
ENGL 401	First-Year Writing (or pass placement test)	4
	Credits	17
Spring
ESCI 402	Earth History	4
MATH 426	Calculus II	4
CHEM 404	General Chemistry II	4
Inquiry Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Second Year
Fall
ESCI 501	Introduction to Oceanography	4
ESCI 530 or ESCI 534	Geological Field Methods or Techniques in Environmental Sciences	4
PHYS 407	General Physics I	4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI 512	Principles of Mineralogy	4
ESCI 514	Introduction to Climate	3
PHYS 408	General Physics II	4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	15
Third Year
Fall
ESCI 758	Introductory Physical Oceanography (or 6/7__)	3
ESCI 6/7__ or Free Elective		4
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
Seminar or Research Experience		1
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI 654 or ESCI 710	Fate and Transport in the Environment (or 6/7__) or Groundwater Hydrology	4
ESCI 6/7__ or Free Elective		4
MEFB 755	Biological Oceanography	4
Discovery Course		4
	Credits	16
Fourth Year
Fall
ESCI 6/7__		4
ESCI 759	Geological Oceanography (or 6/7__)	4
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
	Credits	16
Spring
ESCI 752	Chemical Oceanography (or 6/7__)	3
Science Elective ²		4
Discovery Course ¹		4
Senior Capstone		4
Seminar or Research Experience		1.0
	Credits	16
	Total Credits	128

¹: One course must be taken in each of the remaining Disciplinary Groups of the University Discovery Program (Biological Sciences; Environment Technology & Society; Historical Perspectives; World Culture; Fine & Performing Arts; Social Science; Humanities).
²: Three science electives must be approved in consultation with departmental advisor.

Requirements for the Program

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Requirements
Satisfy the Discovery Program requirements and the bachelor of science degree requirements
MATH 425	Calculus I ¹	4
MATH 426	Calculus II	4
CHEM 403	General Chemistry I ^1,2	4
CHEM 404	General Chemistry II ^1,2	4
PHYS 407	General Physics I ¹	4
PHYS 408	General Physics II ¹	4
Core Curriculum
ESCI 401	Dynamic Earth	4
or ESCI 409	Geology and the Environment
ESCI 402	Earth History	4
ESCI 501	Introduction to Oceanography	4
ESCI 512	Principles of Mineralogy	4
ESCI 530	Geological Field Methods ³	4
or ESCI 534	Techniques in Environmental Sciences
Select one of the following:		4
ESCI 654	Fate and Transport in the Environment
ESCI 701	Quantitative Methods in Earth Sciences ⁴
Specializations
Select one of the following approved specializations:
Climate
Geology
Geophysics
Oceanography
Science/Math Electives
Complete three additional approved science/math electives ⁵
Capstone
Complete the capstone requirement
Total Credits		48

¹: Some of these courses may also satisfy Discovery Program requirements.
²: Or CHEM 405 Chemical Principles for Engineers if applicable
³: ESCI 530 Geological Field Methods is required for the geology and geophysics specializations
⁴: Geophysics track must select ESCI 701 Quantitative Methods in Earth Sciences
⁵: The following should be considered: additional 700-level Earth sciences courses; additional chemistry, mathematics, and physics courses; courses in computer science, engineering, and the biological sciences; and an off-campus field camp.

Specializations

Climate

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
ESCI 514	Introduction to Climate	3
ESCI 561	Landscape Evolution	4
Select at least two of the following:		6-7
ESCI 758	Introductory Physical Oceanography
ESCI 760	Paleoceanography
ESCI 762	Glacial Geology
ESCI 765	Paleoclimatology
Select three advanced-level approved electives		9-12
Total Credits		22-26

Geology

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
ESCI 561	Landscape Evolution	4
ESCI 614	Introduction to Petrology	4
ESCI 631	Structural Geology	4
ESCI #652	Paleontology	4
Two approved 700-level electives		6-8
Total Credits		22-24

Geophysics

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
MATH 527	Differential Equations with Linear Algebra	4
MATH 528	Multidimensional Calculus	4
ESCI 561	Landscape Evolution	4
or ESCI 614	Introduction to Petrology
ESCI 631	Structural Geology	4
Select at least two of the following:		8
ESCI #734	Geophysics
ESCI 756	Geotectonics
ESCI 759	Geological Oceanography
One approved 700-level elective		3-4
Total Credits		27-28

Oceanography

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
BIOL 411	Introductory Biology: Molecular and Cellular	4
ESCI 514	Introduction to Climate	3
Select at least three of the following:		10-11
ESCI 752	Chemical Oceanography
ESCI 758	Introductory Physical Oceanography
ESCI 759	Geological Oceanography
MEFB 755	Biological Oceanography
Complete three advanced-level approved electives		9-12
Total Credits		26-30

Capstone Experience

A capstone experience is required of all undergraduate Earth sciences majors during their senior year. All capstone experiences at UNH must meet one or more of the following criteria:

The capstone synthesizes and applies disciplinary knowledge and skills.
The capstone fosters reflection on undergraduate learning and experience.
The capstone demonstrates emerging professional competencies.
The capstone applies, analyzes, and/or interprets research or data or artistic expression.
The capstone explores areas of interest based on the integration of prior learning.

Suggested ways of meeting the capstone requirement in the Department of Earth Sciences include approved INCO 790 Advanced Research Experience, ESCI 795 Topics/ESCI 796 Topics, ESCI 799 Senior Thesis, URA/SURF/IROP projects, internships, environmental/geologic field camps, REU programs, or Earth Sciences education and outreach activities designed according to the above criteria. Capstone experiences must be equivalent to a minimum of 2 academic credits. Students should work closely with their faculty advisors to define the most appropriate capstone experience for their Earth Sciences degree program, although the capstone mentor can be someone other than their primary faculty advisor. All capstone experiences must be approved and certified by the faculty advisor and the capstone mentor. Presentation of projects or experiences developed for the capstone is encouraged at the annual UNH Undergraduate Research Conference or other appropriate venue.

Student Learning Outcomes

Recognize common Earth materials and structures.
Describe how Earth scientists construct the geological time scale and apply geochronologic dating techniques.
Describe the broad attributes of and interactions within the Earth System, as well as its geological history, how and why it is changing today, and how those changes impact society.
Understanding Earth processes and cycles.
Perform simple calculations to process and evaluate quantitative Earth science data.
Interpret a geologic map and cross section in terms of the sequence of geologic events and understand the processes that caused those events.
Collect, interpret, and synthesize basic field observations and measurements to develop and test multiple working hypotheses to explain them.
Become proficient in basic geological and Earth science laboratory skills.
Describe the basic dynamics governing the evolution of the Earth’s climate.
Successfully apply basic calculus and chemistry to Earth science problems.
Summarize, analyze, and evaluate student-generated scientific data and the primary Earth sciences literature.
Effectively communicate results of scientific inquiries orally, visually, and in writing.