Course Form (revised 7-2008)
I. Summary of Proposed Changes
Dept / Program
Geosciences
Course Title
Applied Magnetics
Course #
GEOS 439 UG
Short Title (max. 26 characters incl. spaces)
Applied Magnetics
Summarize the change(s) proposed
new course
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
Requestor:
Steve Sheriff
Phone/ email :
steven.sheriff@umontana.edu
Program Chair/Director:
Bill Woessner
Other affected programs:
none
Dean:
Date
Chris Comer
III: To Add a New Course Syllabus and assessment information is required (paste syllabus into
section V or attach). Course should have internal coherence and clear focus.
Exact entry to appear in the next catalog (Specify course abbreviation, level, number, title, credits,
repeatability (if applicable), frequency of offering, prerequisites, and a brief description.) 
UG 439 Applied Magnetics 3 cr. Offered Spring. Prereq. or coreq., MATH 153 or 158, GEOS 100N–
101N, PHYS 121N. Theory and applications of magnetic exploration and paleomagnetism directed at: plate
trajectories, continental deformation, Precambrian Euler poles, and the delineation of buried sources ranging
in scale from environmental targets to continental sutures. Includes 2D frequency-domain signal processing
of potential fields and the pitfalls of forward and inverse modeling.
Justification: How does the course fit with the existing curriculum? Why is it needed?
This course is part of a restructuring towards a more research oriented undergraduate curriculum. It provides
a focused experience and introduction to modern methods used in research and industry while introducing
students to current literature and modern computational methods.
Are there curricular adjustments to accommodate teaching this course?
no
Complete for UG courses. (UG courses should be assigned a 400 number).
Describe graduate increment (Reference guidelines: http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/Grad/UG.htm)
Graduate students will complete a 6-8 page research proposal applying course content, including
experimental design and expected results, to a proposed graduate research project.
Fees may be requested only for courses meeting specific conditions determined by the
YES
NO
Board of Regents. Please indicate whether this course will be considered for a fee.
If YES, what is the proposed amount of the fee?
Justification:
IV. To Delete or Change an Existing Course – check X all that apply
Deletion
Title
Course Number Change
From:
Level U, UG, G
To:
Description Change
Change in Credits
From:
To:
Prerequisites
1. Current course information at it appears in catalog
From:
To:
Repeatability
Cross Listing
(primary program
initiates form)
Is there a fee associated with the course?
2. Full and exact entry (as proposed) 
(http://www.umt.edu/catalog) 
3. If cross-listed course: secondary program & course
number
4. Graduate increment if level of course is changed to
UG. Reference guidelines at:
http://www.umt.edu/facultysenate/Grad/UG.htm
(syllabus required in section V)
Have you reviewed the graduate increment
guidelines? Please check (X) space provided.
5. Other programs affected by the change
6. Justification for proposed change
V. Syllabus/Assessment Information
Required for new courses and course change from U to UG. Paste syllabus in field below or attach and send
digital copy with form.
Geoscience 495 – Applied Magnetics, Spring 2009, 3 credits.
http://www.umt.edu/geosciences/faculty/sheriff/495-Applied%20Magnetics/495AppliedMagnetics.html (attached)
This course combines some of the theory and global aspects of magnetics and their practical application to exploration at
the environmental to crustal scale.
Text: There is no required text. However, given this is s senior level course, I expect you to spend plenty of time in the
library, or online, reading and investigating relevant professional literature. It is your responsibility to do the background
work necessary to understand the material presented in discussions and lectures. There are a number of applied
geophysics textbooks in the library. The most important use of these is to get a different perspective/approach to a topic
than mine. If you are feeling rich and intend to be a professional in the field, you could purchase Reynolds, An
Introduction to Applied and Environmental Geophysics, John Wiley & Sons, 1997.
Grading: One midterm (~30% each), one final (~35%), lab & field oriented assignments (~20%), problem sets (~15%).
These percentage assignments are all approximate for a number of reasons. For example, if you don’t do the problem
sets or assignments I’ll weight them as 80%. If you do them all but get them wrong I’ll weigh them a lot less than 15%.
Your participation and discussion during the semester will count towards your grade. All students must practice
academic honesty. Academic misconduct is subject to an academic penalty by the course instructor and/or a disciplinary
sanction by the University. A note from the Provost: all students need to be familiar with the Student Conduct Code. The
Code is available for review online at http://www.umt.edu/SA/VPSA/index.cfm/page/1321.
Computation: I expect you to have familiarity with spreadsheets and that you will learn the other software we’ll need as
the semester progresses. This includes much specialized software operating either in the DOS or windows environment.
If you think you need to develop these skills now is the time to start. Note the “free excel exercises” on the course’s
home page.
Field & Lab Assignments: These will involve you working with two to four others and taking appropriate equipment
out and performing an assigned task. You will write a short report on the experiment and results where syntax, grammar
and presentation count as does content. I’ll provide guidance as we progress. Each individual in a group is responsible
for writing their own independent report. In other words, work together, write independently.
Exams: I do some derivations in class and use a reasonable number of equations to develop topics. I do not expect you
to memorize equations or derivations; you’ll get a sheet to use during the exams with all appropriate equations. I do
expect you to understand the equations, recognize the variables, and be able to use them to solve geologic problems.
Exam Schedule: I prefer to determine the midterm exam time when the schedule is right, when we get through with
major topics. We’ll schedule it at least a week in advance. Previous exams are linked to the course web site. The final
exam will be at the official UM-designated time.
General Course Content:
• Geomagnetism, rock magnetism, paleomagnetism
• Magnetic anomalies and magnetic exploration
• Processing and interpreting aeromagnetic data
• Acquisition, processing, and interpretation of ground-based magnetic data
My goals for the course
• Introduce you to some of the topics in magnetics pertinent to solid-earth and exploration geophysics
• Teach some of the standard mathematical/geophysical techniques you will need to understand the application of
paleomagnetism or aeromagnetic data s to many geologic problems
• Get you to a level where you can read and understand the geophysical literature and applications in magnetics so
you can: 1) evaluate magnetic applications to geological problems, and 2) investigate the use of magnetics in
geological problems.
• I believe that any senior level course in our department should prepare you to read the professional literature for the
course’s topic – that’s an excellent way for you to evaluate a course as well. I try to talk about problem solving and
experimental design; any good course in science should teach you the techniques and problems of the discipline. I
expect you to read on your own for the descriptive aspects of the material.
VI Department Summary (Required if several forms are submitted) In a separate document list course
number, title, and proposed change for all proposals.
VII Copies and Electronic Submission. After approval, submit original, one copy, summary of
proposals and electronic file to the Faculty Senate Office, UH 221, camie.foos@mso.umt.edu.