DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL, EARTH AND OCEAN SCIENCES — REQUIREMENTS

The Major

Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences majors may graduate with either the BA or the BS degree. Majors pursuing the BA concentrate on courses focusing on urban and environmental concerns, and those which introduce more specialized aspects of the discipline. Majors pursuing the BS focus on courses in the physical environment: these include geographic information systems, geology, hydrogeology, oceanography, and weather/climate.

Please note: Each student’s program must be planned with the assistance of a departmental advisor and approved by that advisor.

BA requirements include:

1. EEOS 101 (Global Environment) and 102 (World Regional Geography)
2. At least one designated skills course from the following list:
   • EEOS 200 (Geographic Skills)
   • EEOS 265 (Computer Applications in Geography)
   • EEOS 370 (Remote Sensing)
   • EEOS 380 (Geographic Information Systems)
   • EEOS 401 (Field Methods)
3. Seven other departmental courses, of which two must be at or above the 300 level and one must be at the 400 level. The student seeking to graduate with the BS degree must complete the departmental requirements listed above, and the following additional requirements:
   • At least one departmental laboratory course at or above the 300 level,
   • MATH 125 (Introductory Statistics),
   • either MATH 130 (Precalculus) or MATH 135 (Survey of Calculus), and
   • six other courses from among those offered by the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Mathematics (above the level of MATH 135), and Physics. These must be courses designed for science majors.

The Minor

To complete the minor, the student takes EEOS 101 and 102, and four departmental electives, of which two must be at or above the 300 level.

Advanced Course Requirements

All departmental majors and minors must consult their departmental advisors regarding mathematics, statistics, and computer science requirements for advanced courses.

Honors

Students wishing to prepare an Honors project must have achieved an overall GPA of at least 3.2 and a GPA in the major of at least 3.4. The student must also have senior standing and have completed at least seven courses in the major. A student who qualifies for Honors will, working with a faculty member, present a research proposal to a department honors committee for approval. The student will also enroll in EEOS 498. The department Honors Committee (3 persons) will decide on the quality of the final paper and whether it qualifies for honors, after the student has presented a final project.

Certificate Programs

The department offers three certificate programs: one in environmental studies, one in geographic information technologies, and the other in hydrogeology. Detailed information can be found in the appropriate sections of this publication.

Transfer Credit Policy

Transfer students must complete a minimum of five (out of ten) appropriate courses in their major, or three (out of six) appropriate courses in their minor, at UMass Boston.