Bachelor of Arts (BA)
The Geophysics major is designed to provide students with theoretical, field, and laboratory experience in studying geodynamic processes and the structure of the Earth and other planets. It is designed for students with good physics and mathematics ability. It provides a solid background in physical science and mathematics with an emphasis on the physics of the Earth.
Declaring the Major
The department strongly encourages students to see the student services advisor as early as possible. Students are accepted into the major with a C average or better. There are a number of scholarships and research opportunities as well as other benefits available to declared majors.
Honors Program
Students in the honors program must fulfill the following additional requirements: 1) maintain a GPA of at least 3.3 in all courses in the major and an overall GPA of at least 3.3 at the University; and 2) carry out an individual research or study project, involving at least three units of EPS H195. The project is chosen in consultation with a departmental advisor, and the written report is judged by the student's research supervisor and a departmental adviser.
Minor Program
For information regarding the requirements, please see the Minor Requirements tab. Program planning and confirmation should be done with the undergraduate major advisor and the geophysics faculty adviser.
Other Majors and Minors Offered by the Department of Earth and Planetary Science
Atmospheric Science (Major and Minor)
Environmental Earth Science (Major and Minor)
Geology (Major and Minor)
Marine Science (Major and Minor)
Planetary Science (Major and Minor)
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The goal of the Earth and Planetary Science (EPS) BA degree is to provide students with a broad and sound education that provides general and specialized knowledge and is intellectually challenging and stimulating. Upon completion of the degree students are ready to enter graduate school at top-ranking institutions (about half of them choose this path), find employment in the profession (geological and environmental engineering and consulting are major opportunities), continue in public education as teachers, or use their background as a sound basis for a new career such as in public policy, law, or medical sciences.
Learning Goals for the Major
EPS majors acquire knowledge through course work, laboratory training (expertise in experimental techniques), primary field research, library research, and computer applications, with oral presentations and written reports required in many of our classes.
The undergraduate program provides strong technical training for those who wish to pursue professional careers in the earth, environmental, and planetary sciences, as well as training in analytical, creative and critical thinking and communication that serves well those who choose paths in new fields.
Geophysics seeks to understand the vast and complicated body that is the Earth. Because most of the Earth's interior is inaccessible to direct observation, the geophysicist uses the basic principles of physics to devise indirect methods of exploring those parts of the Earth that cannot be reached by shovel or drill bit. Measurements of magnetic fields, electric potential, gravity, seismic waves, and satellite-based geodesy are used to probe the interior and study surface and internal processes of our planet, and to answer questions concerning how continents move, mountains form, earthquakes shake, and volcanoes erupt, as well as improving our understanding of planetary to local scale structure and processes. These questions require an interdisciplinary approach that links the disciplines of mathematics, physics, geology, and chemistry. Moreover, the geophysics study encompasses theoretical and experimental science as well as fieldwork to study geodynamic processes and the structure of the Earth and other planets, and employed methods are used for identification and recovery of natural resources, the characterization of natural hazards from earthquakes and volcanoes, and are used for environmental studies and remediation.
