Geoscience Careers

Career Credentials

The credentials below are the cherries on top of your degree sundae to stand out to employers give your skills more credibility.

• OSHA HAZWOPER Certification: trains you to engage in hazardous waste operations and respond to emergencies related to hazardous waster spills.
• Licensed Professional Geologist: become licensed to improve your ability to protect your community and our environment.

Learning Outcomes

By completing all assignments, spending a minimum of 3 hours’ work (in and out of class) per credit per week and collaborating with professors if problems arise, you will:

• Develop a knowledge base in the principles of physical and historical geology with special emphasis on the unifying theory of plate tectonics and the linkage between geological processes and global biogeochemical cycles.
• Apply the scientific method to investigations of geological processes, Earth systems and interactions among the various physical and biological realms utilizing standard scientific field and laboratory methods.
• Apply their knowledge base and research skills to current Earth‑system-based issues such as mining and management of Earth resources with emphasis on related economic, social and public policy dimensions.
• Analyze, interpret and report on laboratory and field findings using appropriate statistical techniques and computer applications.
• Demonstrate knowledge in theories of the structure, origin and evolution of the universe and solar system.

Concepts

Understand a variety of concepts, including:

• Geologic time and major events in the evolution of Earth and its plant and animal life.
• Various landscape‑forming processes that act on the Earth's surface (agents of weathering and erosion) and those that act from the planet's interior (mountain building, volcanism, earthquakes).
• How knowledge of Earth system science aids in land‑use decisions and mitigation of natural hazards such as flooding, earthquakes and landslides.
• The functioning of hydrologic systems and the challenge of maintaining surface and ground water quality.
• The Genesis of Earth resources including fossil fuels, metals and non‑metallic minerals and in the way they will appreciate their finite nature.
• Fundamental processes of the atmosphere, the resulting weather and climate and the effects of the atmosphere on other aspects of the Earth's environments and on humans.