Majors Info
Geology Curriculum | Course Grid | Major Requirements | Course Sequence | Outside Credit/Study Abroad
Geology Curriculum
Most courses are field-oriented and include day-long field trips in the local Colorado Front Range and multiday, sometimes multi-week, trips through Colorado and into New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and Wyoming. We thus take advantage of the spectacular and varied geology of the Rocky Mountain, Basin and Range, and Colorado Plateau Provinces and from time-to-time travel further afield throughout the US and Canadian West. Courses use modern field technologies (including GPS, digital mapping and geophysical methods) as well as traditional field approaches. On campus they make use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other computer software.
Introductory geology courses spend a substantial amount of the class time studying natural outcrops, with students learning how the diverse rock types in our region form, and their stratigraphic and structural relationships. Students undertake guided research on a variety of topics.
Students start the major by taking GY 211 Earth as a Chemical System and GY 212 Earth as a Physical System. These courses cover mineralogy, petrology, surface processes, structure, tectonics and geophysics principles within the context of Rocky Mountain geology. The courses are project focused, involving both extensive fieldwork and on-campus data analysis and writing. They serve as prerequisites to the 300-level courses.
Stratigraphy, Sedimentation, Paleontology, and Historical Geology courses cover the nature of sediment and analysis of sedimentary structures to interpret modern and ancient depositional systems; marine invertebrate phyla, ecology, and evolution; and geological evolution of the Earth through time.
Surface processes examine surficial processes and landscape evolution in environments ranging from the desert Southwest to the Colorado alpine. Courses involve students in field project design, data collection and analysis, and GIS work.
Structural Geology and Geophysics explore the architecture of Earth's lithosphere, from near-surface through subsurface, including mantle depths. Emphasis is upon the application of field instrumentation and methods to investigate mountain-building processes and continental tectonics, using field sites in the nearby Rocky Mountains and beyond.
Petrology and Geochemistry of the Rock Cycle courses examine minerals and rocks in detail, the geochemical principles that govern how elements are partitioned between earth reservoirs, and the conditions of their formation.
Major Requirements
- Printable Major Requirements pdf -
GEOLOGY COURSES -- All Geology majors must complete the courses listed in categories A through E, below, and receive a grade of C–/S or higher in those courses.
- Entry to the Geology Major: 1 unit at the introductory level
- GY140 Introduction to Earth Systems - or - GY150 Environmental Geology
- Breadth courses: 3 units at the 200 level
- GY211 Earth Materials
- GY212 Investigating Earth as a Physical System
- and one elective at the 200-level (GY207 excluded)
- Earth Cycles and Earth Materials — 4 units at the 300 level, selected from:
- GY305 Stratigraphy and Sedimentation
- GY310 Origins & Petrology of Earth’s Crust
- GY315 Rock Deformation and the Structure of Mountains
- GY320 Landscape Processes and Evolution
- GY335 Earth System Chemistry
- GY360 Resource Geology in the Age of Green Energy
- **Advanced Methods — 1 unit, selected from:
- GY316 Field Analysis of Geological Structures
- GY350 Analytical methods in Geochronology
- GY301 Numerical Modeling in Earth Science
- **Advanced Elective — 2 units, selected from:
- GY345 Regional Studies in Geology
- GY370 Advanced Studies in Geology [Topics vary]
- GY400 Collaborative Research Seminar (if not used to satisfy category F)
- Upper-level course(s) from another institution or from a Department in the Natural Sciences at CC, provided the course is directly related to the geoscience skill set. A written request and rationale must be provided in order to receive consent from the academic advisor or department Chair.
- Any 300 or 400 level course in the Geology Department (GY 405 excluded), provided it is not used to satisfy the Category C, D, or F requirement
- Capstone Research — 1 unit of:
- GY400 Collaborative Research Seminar — or —
- GY405 Research Topics in Geology [ Senior project or Senior thesis ]
- Foundational courses in the Natural Sciences, one course from each of the following. AP test scores of 4 or 5 (if recorded on CC transcript) may be applied toward 2 of these 4 courses, with consent of Geology advisor or Chair. AP test score of 4 or 5 may be used for only one of: Probability and Statistics OR Calculus 1 (not both). Students must receive a course grade of C–/S or above for each course taken at CC, for it to count toward the Geology major. (Courses at a higher level in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics may satisfy this requirement, with the consent of the advisor.)
- PC 141– Physics for the Life Sciences I — or — PC 241 – Physics for the Physical Sciences I
- CH 107 – General Chemistry I
- MA 117 — or — BE 220 — or — EV228 – Probability and Statistics
- MA 126 – Calculus I
=12 GEOLOGY UNITS TOTAL
**Note: a single course may not be used to satisfy both D and E.**
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Further specifications:
All majors must pass courses listed in categories A through G below with a grade of C–/S or above.
Students with AP credit or who have tested out of foundational courses in PC, CH, BE, or MA (in addition to the two AP credits that may be accepted) may select the next higher course in the department's sequence.
Up to two courses taken off-campus may substitute for one required and one elective Colorado College units/courses that count toward completion of the requirements of the Geology major. Students must submit a written request and justify the substitution(s) to the Department Chair. Requests for substitution are considered by the Geology Faculty and must be approved before the course substitution(s) will be accepted.
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Geology majors, and especially those intending to pursue a professional certification or graduate degree, are strongly urged to take additional courses in geology, environmental science, mathematics & computer science, chemistry, physics, and biology, and/or the GY 400 Collaborative Research Seminar in Geology. In summer, important academic and professional opportunities include a geology field camp offered by a university program, an internship that offers career and employment experiences, and/or a field or laboratory research opportunity with a CC Geology professor or an off-campus program.
Course Sequence
- Printable Major Flowchart pdf -
Specializations
Surface Geology GY305, GY315, GY320, GY335
Subsurface Geology GY305, GY310, GY315, GY360
Physical Geology GY305, GY315, GY320, + one
Geochemical GY310, GY335, GY360, + one
Additional Information
All majors must pass courses listed in categories A through G below with a grade of C–/S or above
Outside Credit
AP Credit
- AP credit (score 4 or 5) is accepted as a replacement for up to two of the Natural Science Breadth courses (CH107, MA117, MA126, PC241)
- 1 AP credit can be applied to MA117 OR MA126, not both
- One needs the consent of their Geology Advisor or Chair
- While additional AP credit cannot cover the remaining Natural Science Breadth courses, students may select the next higher course in the department's sequence.
Study Abroad
- Off-campus may substitute for one required and one elective major course
- Students must submit a written request that justifies the substitution to the department chair
- Requests will be considered by the Geology Faculty and must be approved before course substitution(s) are accepted
Study Abroad Options
New Zealand Frontiers - 5 week field program + Campus semester at the University of Canterbury
ACM Spring semester in Costa Rica (Spanish Required)
Edinburgh, DIS Denmark, Study Abroad in Scandinavia
Are You Thinking About Grad School?
The department strongly urges students to take additional courses in geology, environmental science, mathematics & computer science, chemistry, physics, and biology, and/or the GY400 Collaborative Research Seminar in Geology.
In summer, important academic and professional opportunities include a geology field camp offered by a university program, an internship that offers career and employment experiences, or/and field or laboratory research opportunities with a CC Geology professor or off-campus program.