Major Description

The Earth and Environmental Sciences Department (E&ES) at Wesleyan University covers many aspects of the natural world, on Earth and on other planets. Course topics range from active volcanoes to climate change to eco-conservation. The E&ES major is designed to prepare students for graduate school, as well as provide a basis for a variety of careers in the private or public sectors. Courses in geology, environmental science/environmental chemistry, environmental science/ecology, and planetary geology lead to different areas of specialization and career options.

Many E&ES students work with faculty on research projects that range from climate studies to active volcanoes in the Andes, from the structure of the Grand Canyon to the structure of the planet Venus, from nearby coastal areas (Long Island Sound) to faraway lagoons (Vieques Island, Puerto Rico). The culmination of the major is a capstone course where students perform independent research in the field (Puerto Rico, Death Valley, the Connecticut River Valley, or Hawaii).

Admission to the Major

Gateway courses for the major

To declare E&ES as a major, students are required to have completed an E&ES gateway course (E&ES101, E&ES115, E&ES155, E&ES197, or E&ES199), and to have completed (or be currently taking) two gateway courses (or higher) in biology, chemistry, mathematics, or physics.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
E&ES101	Dynamic Earth	1.25
E&ES115	Introduction to Planetary Geology	1
E&ES155	Earth System Science	1.25
E&ES197	Introduction to Environmental Studies	1
E&ES199	Introduction to Environmental Science and Sustainability	1

Sophomore Seminar

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
E&ES195	Sophomore Field Course	0.5

Major Requirements

 The Department of E&ES does not require completion of Wesleyan's General Education Requirements to complete the major. Honors students are required to complete Wesleyan's General Education Requirements through stage II.

The following is a list of required courses for the major (14 credits total):

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
E&ES Gateway Course
E&ES101	Dynamic Earth	1.25
or E&ES115	Introduction to Planetary Geology
or E&ES155	Earth System Science
or E&ES197	Introduction to Environmental Studies
or E&ES199	Introduction to Environmental Science and Sustainability
Natural Science Courses *
BIOL181 & BIOL182	Principles of Biology I: Cell Biology and Molecular Basis of Heredity and Principles of Biology II	4
or CHEM141 & CHEM142	General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II
or CHEM143 & CHEM144	Honors General Chemistry I and Honors General Chemistry II
or PHYS111 & PHYS112	Introductory Physics I and Introductory Physics II
or PHYS113 & PHYS116	General Physics I and General Physics II
Upper-Level Electives **		7
E&ES195	Sophomore Field Course ***	.5
E&ES497	Senior Seminar #	1

*	E&ES majors are required to take one year (two semesters) of gateway courses from two of these disciplines for a total of four courses.
**	Students must complete seven upper-level courses.
***	This course is typically taken during the spring semester of the sophomore year.
#	This course is typically taken during the senior year.

Natural Science Courses

Upper-level courses in these disciplines can be substituted, as can statistics courses for mathematics. Students are urged to complete these introductory courses within their first two years. Students considering professional work in the sciences are encouraged to take gateways in more than two disciplines, including any associated lab courses, as well as upper-level coursework in other natural science and mathematics disciplines.

Upper-Level Electives

Students must complete seven upper-level courses. Five of these courses must cover the following thematic areas: two from "Earth and Planets" (numbered 201-233 and 301-333), two from "Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Atmosphere" (numbered 234-266 and 334-366), and one from "Methods" (numbered 267-299 and 367-399). Lab courses associated with the primary courses are required. The remaining two courses may come from any thematic area. Also, the following can be used: up to two upper-level natural science or math courses taken in other departments, and up to two pre-approved courses from study-abroad programs. At least four of the upper-level courses must be Wesleyan E&ES courses. Tutorials and the senior thesis do not count towards the requirement.

Thematic Areas

Earth and Planet Courses

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
E&ES201	Geology of Connecticut	1
E&ES213 & E&ES214	Mineralogy and Laboratory Study of Minerals	1.5
E&ES215 & E&ES216	Earth Materials and Earth Materials Laboratory	1.5
E&ES220 & E&ES221	Geomorphology and Geomorphology Laboratory	1.5
E&ES223 & E&ES224	Structural Geology and Field Geology	1.5
E&ES230 & E&ES231	Sedimentology and Sedimentology/Stratigraphy Techniques	1.5
E&ES313 & E&ES314	Petrogenesis of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks and Laboratory Study of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks	1.5
E&ES319 & E&ES320	Meteorites and Cosmochemistry and Meteorites Laboratory	1.5
E&ES321	Planetary Evolution	1
E&ES325	Geologic Field Mapping	1

Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Atmosphere Courses

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
E&ES234 & E&ES235	Geobiology and Geobiology Laboratory	1.5
E&ES238	The Forest Ecosystem	1
E&ES240	Invasive Species: Biology, Policy, and Management	1
E&ES244 & E&ES245	Soils and Soils Laboratory	1.5
E&ES246	Hydrology	1
E&ES248	Environmental Investigation and Remediation	1
E&ES250 & E&ES251	Environmental Geochemistry and Environmental Geochemistry Laboratory	1.5
E&ES254	Renewable Energy	1
E&ES257	Environmental Archaeology	1
E&ES260 & E&ES261	Oceans and Climate and Techniques in Ocean and Climate Investigations	1.5
E&ES329	Fire Ecology and Management	1
E&ES342	Ecological Resilience: The Good, the Bad, and the Mindful	1.25
E&ES350	Animals in Archaeology	1

Method Courses

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
E&ES270	Quantitative Methods for the Biological and Environmental Sciences	1
E&ES280 & E&ES281	Introduction to GIS and GIS Service-Learning Laboratory	1.5
E&ES368	Isotope Geochemistry	1
E&ES375	Modeling the Earth and Environment	1
E&ES380 Advanced GIS and Spatial Analyses		1
E&ES385 & E&ES386	Remote Sensing and Remote-Sensing Laboratory	1.5
E&ES399	Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing: Environmental Science Journalism	1
E&ES568	Isotope Geochemistry	1

Career Options and the E&ES Major

Earth and environmental sciences majors go on to pursue a wide range of careers, limited only by their own imaginations. E&ES courses can be selected to help prepare for a student’s long-term interests. The course listings below are not requirements, but suggested guidelines. Students interested in academic or research careers should consider involvement in research or producing a senior thesis.

Geology. These courses can help prepare students for academic careers or jobs in industry or government in natural resource or geohazard management (e.g., USGS, water resources, mining and energy industries).

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
E&ES101	Dynamic Earth	1.25
E&ES115	Introduction to Planetary Geology	1
E&ES155	Earth System Science	1.25
E&ES201	Geology of Connecticut	1
E&ES213 & E&ES214	Mineralogy and Laboratory Study of Minerals	1.5
E&ES220 & E&ES221	Geomorphology and Geomorphology Laboratory	1.5
E&ES223 & E&ES224	Structural Geology and Field Geology	1.5
E&ES230 & E&ES231	Sedimentology and Sedimentology/Stratigraphy Techniques	1.5
E&ES246	Hydrology	1
E&ES260 & E&ES261	Oceans and Climate and Techniques in Ocean and Climate Investigations	1.5
E&ES280 & E&ES281	Introduction to GIS and GIS Service-Learning Laboratory	1.5
E&ES313 & E&ES314	Petrogenesis of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks and Laboratory Study of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks	1.5
E&ES321	Planetary Evolution	1
E&ES385 & E&ES386	Remote Sensing and Remote-Sensing Laboratory	1.5
E&ES497	Senior Seminar	1

Environmental Science/Environmental Chemistry. These courses can help prepare students for jobs in consulting, government, or nonprofit organizations (e.g., EPA, NOAA, USGS, state agencies), or for academic careers in climate science and water resources.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
E&ES155	Earth System Science	1.25
E&ES197	Introduction to Environmental Studies	1
E&ES199	Introduction to Environmental Science and Sustainability	1
E&ES213 & E&ES214	Mineralogy and Laboratory Study of Minerals	1.5
E&ES220 & E&ES221	Geomorphology and Geomorphology Laboratory	1.5
E&ES223 & E&ES224	Structural Geology and Field Geology	1.5
E&ES234 & E&ES235	Geobiology and Geobiology Laboratory	1.5
E&ES244 & E&ES245	Soils and Soils Laboratory	1.5
E&ES248	Environmental Investigation and Remediation	1
E&ES250 & E&ES251	Environmental Geochemistry and Environmental Geochemistry Laboratory	1.5
E&ES260 & E&ES261	Oceans and Climate and Techniques in Ocean and Climate Investigations	1.5
E&ES270	Quantitative Methods for the Biological and Environmental Sciences	1
E&ES280 & E&ES281	Introduction to GIS and GIS Service-Learning Laboratory	1.5
E&ES380		1
E&ES368	Isotope Geochemistry	1
E&ES497	Senior Seminar	1
BIOL216	Ecology	1

Planetary Geology. These courses can help prepare students for jobs in government and industry (e.g., NASA, remote sensing, and GIS contractors) or for academic careers in space science and remote sensing.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
E&ES101	Dynamic Earth	1.25
E&ES115	Introduction to Planetary Geology	1
E&ES155	Earth System Science	1.25
E&ES213 & E&ES214	Mineralogy and Laboratory Study of Minerals	1.5
E&ES220 & E&ES221	Geomorphology and Geomorphology Laboratory	1.5
E&ES223 & E&ES224	Structural Geology and Field Geology	1.5
E&ES280 & E&ES281	Introduction to GIS and GIS Service-Learning Laboratory	1.5
E&ES313 & E&ES314	Petrogenesis of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks and Laboratory Study of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks	1.5
E&ES321	Planetary Evolution	1
E&ES385 & E&ES386	Remote Sensing and Remote-Sensing Laboratory	1.5

General Education

Candidates for honors in E&ES are required to complete the University’s General Education Expectations through stage II.

Student Learning Goals

Students graduating with a BA degree in earth and environmental sciences should be able to:

• Decipher the structure, composition, and dynamics of the earth system. The student should understand the structure and composition of earth’s spheres (geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere), and how these spheres interact with one another and change over time.
• Apply the scientific method. The student should be able to develop and test scientific hypotheses.
• Understand data. The student should understand how earth and environmental sciences data are produced, interpreted, and applied.
• Apply quantitative tools. The student should be able to select and apply appropriate quantitative techniques to earth and environmental sciences questions (e.g., calculus, statistics, spatial analysis).
• Use the primary literature. The student should be able to search for and understand publications from the primary scientific literature.
• Critically evaluate scientific claims. The student should be able to critique arguments made in the earth and environmental sciences literature.
• Communicate. The student should be able to present earth and environmental sciences data and their interpretation in a variety of written, visual, and oral formats.
• Conduct research. The student should be able to carry out an original research project, including: the identification of a research problem; the formulation of a hypothesis; the design of the methodology; the collection, processing, and interpretation of data; and the presentation of findings in written, visual, and oral formats.

Related Programs or Certificates

• The College of the Environment, which includes the environmental studies-linked major and Environmental Studies Certificate, provides a linkage between the sciences, public policy, economics, and the arts and provides a wide variety of career options.
• The Planetary Science Group and the Planetary Science Course Cluster seek to understand the origin and evolution of the solar system in which we live and the other solar systems that we have identified in our galaxy.
• The Service-Learning Center and Service-Learning Course Cluster seek to broaden students’ understanding of course content through activities that are, at the same time, of service to the community.

BA/MA Program

Wesleyan offers a BA/MA program for exceptional Wesleyan students. The E&ES Department requirements for the BA/MA degree are the same as those of the MA degree outlined above, however please note the expectations for BA/MA students in the timeline.

For details about the BA/MA program see: https://www.wesleyan.edu/grad/graduate-programs/bama_program.html

For additional information, please visit wesleyan.edu/ees/graduate

Honors

Candidates for honors in E&ES are required to complete the University's General Education Expectations through stage II.

Capstone Experience

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
E&ES409	Senior Thesis Tutorial	1
E&ES410	Senior Thesis Tutorial	1
E&ES497	Senior Seminar	1
E&ES498	Senior Field Research Project	.5