Earth and Climate Sciences Major
Major Requirements
The major consists of 11 courses (nine core courses and two electives) and a one- or two-semester thesis. Students may design their major by choosing from a suite of courses at all levels of the curriculum.
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| Introductory-Level Earth Science Course | |
| Plate Tectonics and Hazards/Lab | |
| Introductory-Level Climate Science Courses | |
| Complete at least one course from the following: | |
| Earth Surface Environments and Environmental Change/Lab | |
| Earth’s Climate System/Lab | |
| Coastal Hazards | |
| Intermediate-Level Courses | |
| Complete at least four courses from the following: | |
| Sedimentary Processes and Environments/Lab | |
| Dynamical Climate/Lab | |
| Earth Materials/Lab | |
| Earth Structure and Dynamics/Lab | |
| Environmental Geochemistry/Lab | |
| Dynamical Climate/Lab | |
| Upper-Level Earth Science Courses | |
| Complete at least one course from the following: | |
| Paleoseismology and Active Tectonics | |
| Sedimentary Basins and Global Change | |
| The Lithosphere | |
| Upper-Level Climate Science Courses | |
| Complete at least one course from the following: | |
| Sedimentary Basins and Global Change | |
| Quaternary Paleoclimatology | |
| Stable Isotope Geochemistry | |
| Soils/Lab | |
| Short Term Course | |
| Complete at least one course from the Earth and Climate Sciences offered in a Short Term. | |
| Additional Courses | |
| Complete at least two courses from the following: | |
| Marine Science | |
BIO 195 Lab-Based Biological Inquiry | |
| Applied Research and Scientific Writing | |
| Evolution and Interactions of Life | |
| Biostatistics | |
| Marine Ecology | |
| Atomic and Molecular Structure/Lab | |
| Chemical Reactivity/Lab | |
| Inorganic Chemistry/Lab | |
| Marine Science | |
| Mapping and GIS/Lab | |
| Hydrogeology | |
| Independent Study | |
| Scientific Approaches to Environmental Issues/Lab | |
| Mapping and GIS/Lab | |
| Hydrogeology | |
| Water and Watersheds/Lab | |
| Calculus I | |
| Calculus II | |
| Introductory Physics of Living Systems I/Lab | |
| Introductory Physics of Living Systems II/Lab | |
A second Earth and Climate Sciences Short Term course | |
A third 300-level Earth and Climate Sciences course | |
| Thesis | |
| Complete one course from the following: | |
| Senior Thesis | |
| Senior Thesis | |
EACS 457 is offered in the fall semester and EACS 458 in the winter semester. Honors candidates must register for both 457 and 458. To qualify for the honors program, students must earn an A- or better in EACS 457, have the support of their thesis advisor, and must sustain a minimum GPA of 3.5 in their earth and climate sciences courses. To enroll in a two-semester non-honors thesis, the student must have the support of the thesis advisor and department.
Courses Taken Outside of Bates
- The department encourages students to spend time abroad and recommends that majors who wish to study abroad do so for only one semester.
- The department strongly encourages and expects majors to complete the following major requirements prior to the semester abroad: one 100-level course; a minimum of three 200-level courses; and one Short Term course.
- The department expects that majors take all four 200-level core courses at Bates.
- The department expects that majors will have completed the following major requirements prior to their senior year: all four 200-level core courses and one 300-level course.
- All applications for off-campus study require approval of the major advisor and the department chair.
- Applications that involve exceptions to the above guidelines require a petition review and approval by the department.
- The department normally accepts two non-Bates courses toward the major. Typically, these courses are used to fulfill a 100- or 300-level earth and climate sciences course and an elective.
Pass/Fail
Pass/Fail grading may not be elected for any course used to fulfill the major requirements.
Restricted Declarations
Students who have declared the Earth and Climate Sciences major may not declare the following:
- Earth and Climate Sciences minor
Other Considerations
One Earth and Climate Sciences Short Term course is required for the major.