Claire Montgomery
Contributing Writer
Environmental geoscience has been launched as a new major at the College, incorporating classes that currently exist in the geology department with newly proposed courses.
The new major will fall under the newly-named department of earth sciences. The new department also includes the existing geology major with new course options.
“To capture the spirit of our two new majors and emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of our discipline, we have become the department of earth sciences,” Meagen Pollock, chair of the new department, said. “Instead of geology, students should look for us under earth sciences in the catalogue.”
The curriculum for the environmental geoscience major will include a set of introductory and foundational courses, after which students will take mid-level and advanced courses in the earth sciences or cross-listed disciplines. While there will be overlap between the two majors, they are both designed so that students can select courses that will allow them to pursue their individual interests and goals.
“The environmental geoscience major emphasizes how the physical environment interacts with humans and how the Earth works as a system. It focuses on geologic materials and processes at Earth’s surface,” said Pollock. “The geology major examines surface processes too, but it also covers Earth’s deep interior, ‘hard’ rocks, evolution and geologic time.”
Pollock noted that the new major would be distinct from environmental studies, which has also been discussed as a possible new major.
“[Environmental studies] looks at environment-human interactions by integrating the sciences, social sciences and arts and humanities. The environmental geoscience major is multidisciplinary, too, but more focused; it is an environmental science major that focuses on the physical environment.”
Pollock said that her hope for the new major was that it would attract new people to the study of earth science, and that the new branding would highlight the field’s interdisciplinary connections.
“I hope that students who may not have seen themselves as ‘geologists’ before will [now] consider taking earth sciences classes. The new major is flexible and intended for students with interdisciplinary interests in the physical environment, so students may find it easier to envision themselves as future environmental geoscientists,” Pollock said. “With the newly designed curriculum, we can teach classes in geochemistry, paleoecology, modern climate change and remote sensing. These courses are important for other majors, too.”
When asked how the environmental geosciences would differ from the newly proposed major of environmental studies, Matthew Mariola, chair of the current environmental studies minor, said that care would be given to keep paths separate for students so that both departments could concentrate on their field of specialty.
“We are very conscious of wanting to create a distinction between any of the possible tracks within environmental studies, and what the environmental geoscience major has to offer,” Mariola said. “We love what the earth sciences department has done with its departmental revision, and specifically with its environmental geoscience major — we believe it is innovative and relevant and will be appealing to students. So we are happy to have them do that well, which allows us to concentrate on what we can do well.”
Mariola noted that tracks in environmental geoscience, as well as new tracks being developed in environmental studies, such as conservation biology, could give students a background for a wide range of careers.
“If a student is fundamentally more interested in the science of the earth and would like to work in an industry related to any of those areas, then environmental geoscience is more for them [than environmental studies],” Mariola said. “Either major could end up propelling you towards a career with organizations as big as the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the U.S. Forestry Service or Sierra Club, or as small as a local environmental nonprofit.”
Classes in the new department are available for registration for the upcoming fall semester.