General Requirements (Core A - E) Credit Hours: 42

• Area A2 – Must take MATH 1112 , MATH 1113 , or MATH 1441  
• Area DII – Must take MATH 1441  if not taken in Area A2 above

Additional Requirements Credit Hours: 4

Area F - Courses Appropriate to Major Credit Hours: 18

• CHEM 1211K - Principles of Chemistry I (4 Credit Hours)

• or  CHEM 1211 - Principles of Chemistry I (3 Credit Hours)  

  and  CHEM 1211L - Principles of Chemistry I Laboratory (1 Credit Hour)  

• CHEM 1212K - Principles of Chemistry II (4 Credit Hours)

• or  CHEM 1212 - Principles of Chemistry II (3 Credit Hours)  

  and  CHEM 1212L - Principles of Chemistry II Laboratory (1 Credit Hour)  

• GEOL 1121 - Introduction to the Earth (4 Credit Hours)
• GEOL 1122 - General Historical Geology (4 Credit Hours) ¹
• BIOL 1103 - Concepts of Biology (3 Credit Hours)
• Additional hours as necessary may be substituted from Major Specific Courses listed below

Major Specific Requirements Credit Hours: 14

• Carry over from MATH 1441 Calculus I  in Area A or Area D
• Carry over from GEOL 1122 General Historical Geology  in Area F

• BIOL 1103L - Concepts of Biology Laboratory (1 Credit Hour)
• MATH 2242 - Calculus II (4 Credit Hours)

• or  STAT 1401 - Elementary Statistics (3 Credit Hours)  

• PHYS 1111K - Introductory Physics I (4 Credit Hours)

• or  PHYS 2211K - Principles of Physics I (4 Credit Hours)  

• PHYS 1112K - Introductory Physics II (4 Credit Hours)

• or  PHYS 2212K - Principles of Physics II (4 Credit Hours)  

Major Requirements Credit Hours: 32

• GEOL 3520 - Field Methods (2 Credit Hours)
• GEOL 3541 - Mineralogy (4 Credit Hours)
• GEOL 3542 - Petrology and Petrography (4 Credit Hours)
• GEOL 4120 - Introduction to Research (2 Credit Hours)
• GEOL 5142 - Stratigraphy and Sedimentation (4 Credit Hours)
• GEOL 5440 - Structural Geology (4 Credit Hours)
• Guided Elective ²

Foreign Language (2001 Level) Credit Hours: 3

Completion through 2001-level Foreign Language ⁴

Electives Credit Hours: 7-22

Total Credit Hours: 124

¹ While GEOL 1122 General Historical Geology  is 4 credit hours, only 3 credit hours will count toward fulfilling Area F. The remaining credit hour will be applied toward Major Specific Requirements.

² Guided elective must be a 6 credit hour Geology field course permission of advisor required.

³ Students pursuing Option 1 must have a minimum grade of B in GEOL 4120 Introduction to Research  and an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher upon completion of GEOL 4120 Introduction to Research , or permission of the Department Chair.

⁴ May be satisfied by a secondary school background showing three (3) years or more of preparation in a single language.

Program Requirements

• Geology majors must maintain an overall 2.0 GPA across all Geology coursework (any course with GEOL prefix).

Honors in Geology

Students majoring in Geology (BS or BA) may pursue Honors in Geology. Students are required to have a minimum GPA of 3.2 after 45 credit hours of coursework and approval of Geology and Geography faculty to commence the Honors program.

To graduate with Honors in Geology, a student must:

• Be admitted to the Honor College;
• Complete GEOL 4831 Senior Thesis Research II  with a grade of “B” or higher;
• Complete GEOL 4120 Introduction to Research  (with a grade of B or higher), GEOL 4830 Senior Thesis Research I , and GEOL 4831 Senior Thesis Research II  for a total of 8 credit hours;
• Successfully complete and present an Honors Thesis or Capstone Project;
• Be in good standing in the Honor College at the time of graduation.

Advisement

Undergraduate Academic Advisement at Georgia Southern is provided to all degree-seeking undergraduate students by professional advisors. Academic Advisors are located on all three Georgia Southern University campuses. Students are required to meet with their assigned Academic Advisor at least once a semester. For more information visit Academic Advisement .