Geological Sciences Minor
The minor in geological sciences is designed for students who would like to acquire a basic knowledge of geology in addition to their major area of study. The minor requirements can be satisfied with a wide variety of course work that will provide students with an understanding of earth resources, structure, processes, and history. These topics are particularly valuable to students who are interested in natural resources, including energy and water, and environmental hazards.
Requirements
In addition to the program requirements listed below, students must:
- take at least nine hours of their minor "core" requirements at UNC–Chapel Hill
- earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the minor core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for minor or specific courses.
For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| Four EMES courses from the list of options below. 1 | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 12 | |
- 1
Only one course may be numbered less than 200.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EMES 68 |  First-Year Seminar: Soundscape of Our Planet | 3 |
| EMES 72H | First-Year Seminar: Field Geology of Eastern California | 3 |
| EMES 76 | First-Year Seminar: Energy Resources for a Hungry Planet | 3 |
| EMES 77 | First-Year Seminar: Volcanoes and Civilization: An Uneasy Coexistence | 3 |
| EMES 79 | First-Year Seminar: Coasts in Crisis | 3 |
| EMES 89 | First-Year Seminar: Special Topics 1 | 3 |
| EMES 101 & 101L | Planet Earth and Planet Earth Laboratory F | 4 |
| EMES 103 & 103L | The Marine Environment and The Marine Environment Laboratory F | 4 |
| EMES 105 | Natural Disasters: Hollywood versus Reality | 4 |
| EMES 200 | The Solid Earth | 3 |
| EMES 201 | Earth's Surface: Processes, Landforms, and History | 3 |
| EMES 203 | Data Analysis for Earth, Marine, and Environmental Sciences | 3 |
| EMES 301 & 301L | Earth's Critical Mineral Resources and Earth's Critical Mineral Resources - Laboratory | 4 |
| EMES 302 | Structural Geology | 4 |
| EMES 303 | Sedimentology and Stratigraphy | 4 |
| EMES 304 | Petrology and Plate Tectonics | 4 |
| EMES 305 | Planetary Geology: Meteorites and Asteroids | 3 |
| EMES 306 | Earth and Life through Time | 3 |
| EMES 310 | Coastal Environmental Change | 3 |
| EMES 314 | Earth Systems in a Changing World | 3 |
| EMES 321 | Geology of North America | 3 |
| EMES 324 & 324L | Water in Our World: Introduction to Hydrologic Science and Environmental Problems and Water in Our World Laboratory | 4 |
| EMES 395 | Undergraduate Research in Earth, Marine, and Environmental Sciences 2 | 1-3 |
| or EMES 396 | Independent Study in Earth, Marine, and Environmental Sciences | |
| EMES 405 | Geochemistry | 3 |
| EMES 406 | Introduction to Geophysics | 3 |
| EMES 412 | Principles and Methods of Teaching Earth Science | 4 |
| EMES/ENEC 417 | Surface Processes and Landscape Evolution | 4 |
| EMES/ANTH 421 | Archaeological Geology | 3 |
| EMES 425 | Introduction to Field Geology | 3 |
| EMES 431 | Major World Rivers and Global Change: From Mountains to the Sea | 3 |
| EMES 432 | Ancient Climates: Greenhouse and Icehouse Worlds | 3 |
| EMES/ENEC 435 | Groundwater Hydrology | 3 |
| EMES 436 | Geochemistry of Natural Waters | 3 |
| EMES 438 | Principles of Seismology | 3 |
| EMES 483 | GIS and Remote Sensing for Earth and Ocean Sciences | 3 |
| EMES 484 | Earth and Marine Sciences Speaker Series | 3 |
| EMES 485 | Summer Field Course in Geology | 3 |
| EMES 486 | Summer Field Course in Geology | 3 |
| EMES 501 | Geological Research Techniques | 3 |
| EMES 504 | Advanced Petrology | 3 |
| EMES 508 | Global Hydrology | 3 |
| EMES/ENEC 511 | Stable Isotopes in the Environment | 3 |
| EMES/ENEC 512 | Advanced Coastal Environmental Change | 3 |
| EMES 520 | Data Analysis for Earth and Marine Sciences | 3 |
| EMES 525 | Modelling in Earth and Marine Sciences | 3 |
| EMES/DATA/ENEC/ENVR 546 | Modeling Catastrophe Risk & Resilience | 3 |
| EMES 567 | Application of Plasma Mass Spectrometry in Earth and Environmental Sciences | 3 |
| EMES 580 | Evolution of Earth's Surface Environment | 3 |
| EMES 608 | Continuum Mechanics in the Earth Sciences | 3 |
| EMES 655 | Recent Advances in Non-Traditional Stable Isotope Geochemistry | 3 |
| F | FY-Launch class sections may be available. A FY-Launch section fulfills the same requirements as a standard section of that course, but also fulfills the FY-SEMINAR/FY-LAUNCH First-Year Foundations requirement. Students can search for FY-Launch sections in ConnectCarolina using the FY-LAUNCH attribute. |
- 1
With permission, based on topic.
- 2
Student must register for a minimum of 3 credit hours. No more than 3 credit hours may apply towards the minor.
Special Opportunities
Departmental Involvement
The department encourages all undergraduates to engage actively in its research, teaching, and community engagement activities. Opportunities include:
- Undergraduate research with faculty labs and field teams
- Peer teaching and outreach activities
- Student groups such as the Geology Club, TriBeta Biological Honors Society, Epsilon Eta Environmental Sciences Fraternity, and interdisciplinary environmental student communities
- Departmental seminar series, networking opportunities, annual spring research symposium, and social events
Information about events is posted on the department website and in Murray and Mitchell Halls.
Experiential Education
Many department courses emphasize experiential learning through opportunities to learn how to collect and analyze data from the field, learn laboratory-based skills (ex. mass spec, microscopy, identification/classification of biotic or abiotic samples), and data analysis. Students also have multiple options to complete a capstone or applied learning experience both on campus and at the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) in Morehead City, NC.
Teaching Opportunities
Undergraduates can earn course credit (EMES 291) while serving as an Undergraduate Learning Assistant (ULA), take pedagogy classes (ex. EMES 412), or participate in the BEST Minor program that offers a path for undergraduates to gain the knowledge and licensure to become a high-school teacher.
Study Abroad
The UNC Study Abroad program has both international and domestic opportunities for students to extend their experience beyond Carolina. The Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) hosts a fall field site where EMES faculty offer a full semester of in-residence course offerings and experiential learning at the marine station. Other programs with EMES-affiliated courses include the Sustainable Triangle field site, as well as international locations including Galapagos, Florida, and Belize. For non-EMES courses affiliated with a study abroad program, students must receive approval from the director of undergraduate studies prior to taking courses abroad for EMES credit. More information about current and future programs can be found at the UNC Study Abroad website.
Undergraduate Research
Students may pursue independent research under the guidance of a faculty mentor on campus or at the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS). Research may be taken for 1–4 credit hours through EMES 395 or as part of an Honors thesis. Research topics span the full breadth of Earth, marine, and environmental sciences, ranging from climate and ocean processes to ecology, geomorphology, tectonics, environmental health, geochemistry, hydrology, and more.
Department Programs
Majors
Minors
Graduate Programs
Courses
Department of Earth, Marine, and Environmental Sciences
Murray and Mitchell Halls
