Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Department
State University of New York
Oneonta, New York 13820-4015
(607) 436-3707 Fax: (607) 436-3547
http://www.oneonta.edu/academics/earths
To: Deborah Farro-Lynd, Chair, College Curriculum Committee
From: Jerome B. Blechman, Chair, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department
Re: Proposed changes to the Geology Program
Date: November 14, 2012
The Earth & Atmospheric Sciences department would like to amend the Geology Curriculum. Please find
the tables of current and proposed courses on the following page. We hope the proposed changes will
solve several related issues the department is currently experiencing, namely how to provide a capstone
experience for students and not find ourselves teaching overloads to do so.
Our current capstone focuses on giving students a chance to use all of their major coursework in solving
geologic problems in laboratory and field settings. The current program requires 4-6 s.h. of coursework in
one of three tracks:
 a senior thesis track (Option A);
 a research methods and independent study track (Option B);
 a summer field course track (Option C).
While all of these tracks work well for the students, Option B is not working well for faculty. Faculty
supervision for independent study has turned into substantial uncompensated overloads, and thus this
track is not a sustainable part of the program. We are having difficulty teaching GEOL 390 (Geoscience
Research Techniques) to support this track while still covering other courses for our major. We think we
can solve this problem with the proposed changes below, and still fulfill our vision of providing students
with a substantive experiential learning opportunity as a capstone.
We propose to eliminate Option B. In its place, we broaden the capstone options for the Geology major.
We retain the Senior Thesis option, remove the requirement to take GEOL 390, and offer either 6 s.h. of
Senior Thesis, or 3 s.h. of Senior Thesis and 3 s.h. of field geology (GEOL 343). Advising a senior thesis
will still require faculty guidance on a student by student basis, but the senior thesis option is not chosen
very often by students, and we think the load on faculty will stay within reasonable limits. We hope that
students will first take an upper division field geology course and discover a suitable thesis topic for
further investigation, but leave this as one possible option for the senior thesis.
We feel strongly that a geology field experience is central to the Geology program. Thus, we introduce a
new geology field course as an option for the capstone. GEOL 343 (Field Geology of Plate Boundaries)
can be taken 2 to 3 times for a total of 6-9 s.h to satisfy the capstone. The course focuses on training
students how to solve geologic problems in the field, in locations where rocks are well-exposed along
plate boundaries. GEOL 343 is offered annually, and currently serves as one of the upper division
electives for Geology, Earth Sciences, and Environmental Sciences programs (via course substitution).
The course is conducted nearly entirely in the field, and visits new locales each year on a 3 year cycle,
thus minimizing duplication. Currently, the course visits Anza-Borrego State Park, Mecca Hills
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Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Department
State University of New York
Oneonta, New York 13820-4015
(607) 436-3707 Fax: (607) 436-3547
http://www.oneonta.edu/academics/earths
Wilderness, Mojave National Preserve, and Death Valley National Park, all in California. We think that
two such courses provide the students with sufficient breadth and engagement with geologic techniques
and settings to serve as a capstone experience.
Current
Choose 1 GEOL 1xx course
Proposed (changes in bold)
Choose 1 GEOL 1xx course
GEOL 120 - Introduction to Geology - 3 s.h.
GEOL 115 - Science of Natural Disasters - 3 s.h.
GEOL 150 - Intro to Forensic Geology - 3 s.h.
GEOL 182 - Water and the Blue Planet - 3 s.h.
GEOL 220 - Earth History and the Fossil Record - 4 s.h.
GEOL 242 - Mineralogy - 4 s.h.
GEOL 275 - Geologic Data and Analysis - 4 s.h.
GEOL 282 - Introduction to Hydrology - 3 s.h.
GEOL 314 - Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology - 4 s.h.
GEOL 360 - Sedimentary Geology - 4 s.h.
GEOL 321 - Paleontology - 4 s.h.
GEOL 330 - Structural Geology - 4 s.h.
GEOL 370 - Geomorphology - 3 s.h.
Selection:
GEOL 227 - Global Tectonics - or any 300 level course 3-4 s.h.
Capstone: 4-6 s.h.
Option A
GEOL 390 - Geoscience Research Techniques - 3 s.h.
GEOL 120 - Introduction to Geology - 3 s.h.
GEOL 115 - Science of Natural Disasters - 3 s.h.
GEOL 150 - Intro to Forensic Geology - 3 s.h.
GEOL 182 - Water and the Blue Planet - 3 s.h.
GEOL 220 - Earth History and the Fossil Record - 4 s.h.
GEOL 242 - Mineralogy - 4 s.h.
GEOL 275 - Geologic Data and Analysis - 4 s.h.
GEOL 282 - Introduction to Hydrology - 3 s.h.
GEOL 314 - Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology - 4 s.h.
GEOL 360 - Sedimentary Geology - 4 s.h.
GEOL 321 - Paleontology - 4 s.h.
GEOL 330 - Structural Geology - 4 s.h.
GEOL 370 - Geomorphology - 3 s.h.
Selection:
GEOL 227 - Global Tectonics - or any 300 level course 3-4 s.h.
Capstone: 4-6 s.h.
Option A
ESCI 398 - Senior Thesis – 6 s.h.
ESCI 398 - Senior Thesis - 3 s.h.
Option B
GEOL 390 - Geoscience Research Techniques - 3 s.h.
GEOL 399 - Independent Study - 3 s.h.
Option C
Approved Field Camp 4 s.h. min
40-41 s.h.
Or ESCI 398 - 3 s.h. and Geol 343 - 3 s.h.
Option B
Geol 343 –6 s.h. (two field trip courses)
Related Work:
CHEM 111-112 - Chemistry I & II - 8 s.h.
PHYS 103-104 - Physics I & II - 8 s.h.
MATH 173-174 - Calculus I & II - 8 s.h.
24 s.h.
Total: 68-71 s.h.
Related Work:
CHEM 111-112 - Chemistry I & II - 8 s.h.
PHYS 103-104 - Physics I & II - 8 s.h.
MATH 173-174 - Calculus I & II - 8 s.h.
24 s.h.
Total: 68-71 s.h.
Option C
Approved Field Camp 4 s.h. min
40-41 s.h.
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