B.S. in Environmental Science & Geography

The B.S. requires a minimum of 63 credits, including 39 credits in GES courses plus a minimum of 24 credits in courses from outside the department. Internship courses (GES 482, GES 483, GES 497, GES 498) and Independent Study courses (GES 491) cannot be used as electives or count toward the minimum number of credits required for the B. S. degree.

Interested in a particular career pathway or topic? See the optional GES undergraduate tracks for help in deciding which courses to take!

All students are required to complete the following:

Required Courses (24 credit hours)

  • GES 110 – Physical Geography (3)
  • GES 120 – Environmental Science and Conservation (3)
  • GES 220 – Laboratory and Field Techniques for Environmental Science (4)
  • GES 286 – Exploring the Environment: A Geo-Spatial Perspective (4)
  • GES 386 – Introduction to GIS (4)
  • GES 308 – Ecology (3)
  • GES 310 – Geomorphology or GES 311- Weather and Climate (3)

GES Electives (minimum 15 credit hours)

1. Five (5) Physical Geography/Environmental Science courses at 300 and/or 400 level (GES 305 – GES 319, and GES 404 – GES 419), two of which must be at the 400 level (both have to be physical/environmental science courses).*

* Students can count one course from the Human Geography/Environmental Studies/Policy area (GES 320 – GES 369, and GES 420 – GES 469), and one course from an advanced techniques course (GES 380 – GES 389, and GES 480 – GES 489) as GES Electives.

* Selected topics courses (GES 302, GES 400) designated by faculty advisor as meeting the GES Electives requirement can be counted.

Requirements from outside of the department (24 credit hours)

Math 

  • MATH 151 – Calculus and Analytic Geometry I (4)

Statistics

  • STAT 350 – Statistics with Applications in Biological Sciences (4)
    or
  • STAT 351 – Applied Statistics for Business and Economics (4)
    or
  • STAT 355 – Introduction to Probability & Statistics for Science and Engineering (4)

Note: STAT 355 recommended for those seeking advanced training in statistics, physical sciences & fields employing probability & frequency distributions

Natural Sciences:

  • BIOL 141 – Foundations of Biology: Cells, Energy and Organisms(4)
  • CHEM 101 – Principles of Chemistry I (4)
  • CHEM 102 – Principles of Chemistry II (4)
  • PHYS 111 – Basic Physics I (4) (may be appropriate for students with an ecology focus) (4)
    or
  • PHYS 121 – Introduction to Physics I (calculus based) (4)
    (strongly recommended for hydrology, geomorphology and earth science)