Course Catalog 2022-2023 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Geosciences
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Amanda Schmidt, Associate Professor of Geosciences, Chair
Rachel K. Eveleth, Assistant Professor of Geosciences
Clara Margaret Flood, Instructor of Geosciences
F. Zeb Page, Associate Professor of Geosciences
 Visit the department webpage for up-to-date information on department faculty, visiting lecturers, and special events.
The Department of Geosciences at Oberlin College offers a broad selection of courses aimed at both majors and non-majors. These courses reflect the diversity of modern Earth science, covering subjects that range from the nature of our planet at the dawn of its history to human effects on today’s Earth, and from tiny crystals to gigantic tectonic plates. Many of our courses address the changing relationship between humans and the world in which they live. We offer a major program that prepares students for graduate school or a career in Earth sciences; at the same time, the program is also intended for students who seek a broad understanding of earth systems through scientific study en route to careers in teaching, environmental fields, or other related areas not specific to geosciences, and for this reason many students incorporate geosciences into a double major.
See information about Research, Internships, Study Away, and Experiential Learning (RISE).
Advanced Placement
Students may count Advanced Placement (AP) credit earned in biology, calculus, chemistry, or physics toward a geosciences major following guidelines. However, credit is granted only for AP courses that these departments accept toward their major, and is subject to college limits. Students seeking to place out of introductory geosciences courses on the basis of secondary-school courses in geology need to pass a placement examination administered by the department.
Explore Winter Term projects and opportunities.
Majors and Minors
Course Sequence Suggestions
The department offers a variety of introductory courses in the geosciences. Our 100-level courses, which do not have any prerequisites and do not require any special background, provide an excellent opportunity to learn more about our planet and the environment. Most of these courses are topical and change from year to year. Any 100-level full course provides an entry point to the major. Two of the 100-level courses include hands-on lab experiences. GEOS 120 provides a broad overview of earth science that includes laboratory work and field trips to local sites. GEOS/AAST 124 offers similarly broad coverage and laboratory and field experiences, but has a specific focus on the intersection of Earth science and critical social issues. All our 100-level courses are suitable for students who are interested in related fields such as environmental studies, environmental science, oceanography, and evolutionary biology and are seeking hands-on experience with maps and earth materials.
Students can enroll in any 200-level geosciences course after taking any full 100-level geosciences course. Similarly, students in general must have completed any one 200-level geosciences course in order to enroll in a 300-level geosciences course; the two exceptions are GEOS 335 , which has no prerequisites, and GEOS 361 , which has a prerequisite of GEOS 201 . This policy allows for a substantial number of non-majors to enroll in upper-level geosciences courses in addition to geosciences majors.
Courses
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