Online Bachelor's Degree BS in Geosciences Natural Resources & Conservation

This course will focus on the fundamental principles of the physics, chemistry, and fluid dynamics underlying weather and climate. Additionally, the continual movement of weather and its associated elements, and the development of climate change will be addressed.

This course will examine the study, use, and design of map formats and specialized products such as fence-diagrams and cross-sections, as well as symbology, coordinate systems, and how maps record the historical patterns of human behavior. The course will also review maps as a tool to analyze human activity and societal development, and include important aspects of map data collection, processing, the Global Positioning System (GPS), quantitative mapping, and GIS-based mapmaking techniques. Additionally, students will review how humans process the concept of space.

This course will review geostatistical methods for their use in the spatial analysis of geological and environmental data. Students will explore the application of geostatistics for the description of spatial patterns and identification of scales of variability, spatial interpolation, and stochastic modeling of environmental attributes, and the creation of risk maps and their use in geoscientific decision making.

This course will explore the scientific methodology, empirical reasoning, and specific application of research methods in the geosciences. Students will explore key instrumentation and their application in laboratory settings, as well as survey techniques, sample collection, and elementary modeling.

As professionals, students will be expected to use their knowledge and skills to enhance understanding of Earth for the well-being of society and the environment. As such, this course will focus on leadership and ethics as it relates to the practice of the geosciences. Topics will include project management techniques related to scheduling and budgeting projects, group dynamics, organizational behavior, and compliance.

This is the pre-capstone course for Geosciences majors. Through the emphasis in this course on the acquisition and integration of geoscientific research, students will learn to synthesize knowledge and skills from prior program coursework to develop a research project in a chosen area of specialization. This course focuses on helping students propose a topic for research, conduct preliminary research, and develop a capstone research proposal. This course prepares students for the formal capstone submission in the following course, Geosciences Capstone.

This capstone course is the culminating experience for the B.S. in Geosciences program. The aim of the capstone is to assess students' ability to synthesize and integrate the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout their coursework, rather than introducing new concepts. This course extends students' research proposals created in Geoscientific Research Methods into a formal capstone project and is structured to support student success in fulfilling program requirements.

This course covers a variety of environmental topics in a manner specifically designed for the non-science major. It provides a fundamental understanding of the various processes necessary to support life on Earth and examines how human activities and attitudes (individual, traditional, cultural and others) generate environmental issues that threaten these processes. Topics include ecology, populations, agriculture, desertification and deforestation, water and ocean pollution, air pollution including ozone depletion and acid rain, global climate change, natural resource depletion, solid and hazardous wastes, energy including fossil fuels and nuclear power, economics and sustainability.

This course surveys the various forms of energy available to our industrial society. The environmental impact and depletion of each energy form is discussed with emphasis on the development of clean and inexhaustible alternative sources for the home and business. Topics include traditional and renewable energy sources, greenhouse effects, transpiration, nuclear power, and economies.

Waste is a major issue in nearly all aspects of society and understanding it is essential when considering the environment and sustainability. This class will focus on how waste is produced, how to reduce this pollution and how to clean it up once it is released. In addition to the physical science, we will examine the impact of waste on the economy, society and public health.