handbook for the geoscience major at the university of connecticut. this powerpoint presentation is...

Handbook for the Geoscience Major at the University of Connecticut.

This PowerPoint presentation is a guide to the geoscience major at the University of Connecticut.

It provides information on the major, courses, forms, and various other topics.

For additional and more detailed information, you should see the undergraduate catalog, which is available at this link: 2012-2013 UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG.

The geoscience major is divided into four parts.

The Major Course Info Forms Advice Misc.

PART 1 - Required core coursesGSCI 3010, 3020, 3030, and 3040

PART 2 - Required capstone courseGSCI 4050W or 4996W

PART 3 - Additional geoscience coursesAt least 14 additional credits of 3000-level and 4000-level GSCI courses.

PART 4 - Related coursesAt least 12 credits at the 2000-level or above in related areas.

Detailed information is provided on the following slides.

The geoscience major is divided into four parts -- PART 1.


PART 1 - Required core coursesGSCI 3010, 3020, 3030, and 3040

You should take these foundation courses as early as possible. They all require GSCI 1050 or GSCI 1051 and 1052 as a prerequisite.

Note that GSCI 3010 is offered every other year.

Note that GSCI 3020 is a required course in the ENVS major. Because of demand, you may not be able to enroll in this course until your junior or senior year.

Note that GSCI 3040 requires a basic understanding of chemistry.



PART 2 - Required capstone courseGSCI 4050W or 4996W

GSCI 4050W is the capstone course in the geoscience major. You should take this course during your last semester or next to last semester at UConn. You will not be prepared to do well in GSCI 4050W if you take the course earlier in your academic career than this.

GSCI 4996W is the second course in the year-long sequence of courses for a senior thesis. If you are doing a senior thesis, you can use this course instead of GSCI 4050W for the required capstone course.




In addition to the core courses (13 credits) and the capstone course (3 credits), you need an additional 14 credits of GSCI courses at the 3000-level and 4000-level for a total of 30 credits in 3000-level and 4000-level GSCI courses.

You can only use 3 credits of GSCI 4989, 4990, 4991, and 4999 to satisfy this requirement. For example, if you take the internship course GSCI 4990 for 3 credits and the required 1-credit companion course GSCI 4991, only 3 of the total of 4 credits count toward this requirement.

The geoscience major is divided into four parts -- PART 3 cont.



Cross-listed courses

You can use courses that are cross-listed with geoscience courses to fulfill this requirement. For example, you can use NRE 4135 Introduction to Ground-Water Hydrology as an additional geoscience course because it is cross-listed with GSCI 4735 Introduction to Ground-Water Hydrology. We prefer, however, that you enroll in the GSCI section of a cross-listed course.




You should choose related courses in consultation with your advisor. They must be approved by your advisor.

The related courses category in your Academic Requirements Report in PeopleSoft will not be shown as satisfied until your final plan of study has been approved by the Office of Degree Auditing. If your advisor has approved your choices for related courses, you are all set even though the related courses category is not shown as satisfied in PeopleSoft.




Following are some courses that have been popular related courses in recent years.

ANTH: 2501. CE: 2110, 2410. EEB: 2214, 2244, 2245, 4275. GEOG: 2300, 3310, 3400, 3410, 3505, 3510. MARN: 3000, 3505. MATH: 2110Q, 2410Q, 2210Q. NRE: 3145, 3146, 3535.




Courses that are used for a minor can also be used for related courses.

Following are some minors that have been popular in recent years.

Biological Sciences Environmental Engineering Geographic Information Science; Geography

Information on minors is available at this link: MINORS.




Cross-listed courses

You cannot use courses that are cross-listed with geoscience courses to fulfill this requirement.

For example, you cannot use NRE 4135 Introduction to Ground-Water Hydrology as a related course.

You can obtain either a BA or a BS degree with a major in geoscience.


Deciding on a BA or BS degree is highly individual. Talk to your advisor about the right decision for you.

Information on the differences between CLAS BA and BS degrees can be found in the Academic Services Center’s 2012-2013 Student Workbook, which is available at this link: 2012-2013 Student Workbook.

The What-If Scenario in your PeopleSoft account will let you quickly see how choosing a BA or BS degree affects your course requirements.

This is how you should go about declaring a major in geoscience.


If you’d like additional information on the geoscience major, you can:

Visit our website: GEOSCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM.

Talk to any of the geoscience faculty who serve as undergraduate advisors: GEOSCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE ADVISORS.

Talk to the geoscience program assistant Christin Donnelly christin.donnellyat*uconn.edu.

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT SLIDE

This is how you should go about declaring a major in geoscience.


CONTINUED FROM THE PREVIOUS SLIDE

To declare the major, you should do one of the following.

If you are a Storrs student, complete an online program change by going to this link: CLAS ONLINE PROGRAM CHANGE. After you complete the form, you can obtain your advisor’s name by contacting the geoscience program assistant Christin Donnelly christin.donnelly*at*uconn.edu.

If you are not a Storrs student, you must fill out a paper form. To obtain the form, go to this link: PROGRAM CHANGE FORM. To obtain your advisor’s name for the form, contact the geoscience program assistant Christin Donnelly christin.donnellyat*uconn.edu.

This is how you should go about declaring a minor in geoscience.


If you’d like information on the geoscience minor, you can:

Visit our website: GEOSCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM.

Talk to the geoscience minor advisor Jean Crespi jean.crespi*at*uconn.edu.

Talk to the geoscience program assistant Christin Donnelly christin.donnellyat*uconn.edu.

To declare the minor, you should fill out the minor declaration form, which is available at this link: MINOR DECLARATION FORM. This form must be signed by the geoscience minor advisor.

The geoscience program offers the following undergraduate courses on a regular basis.


GSCI 1010 Age of the DinosaursGSCI 1050 Earth and Life through Time with LaboratoryGSCI 1051 Earth and Life through TimeGSCI 1052 Laboratory Earth and Life through TimeGSCI 1070 Global Change and Natural DisastersGSCI 3010 Earth History and Global ChangeGSCI 3020 Earth Surface ProcessesGSCI 3030 Earth StructureGSCI 3040 Earth MaterialsGSCI 3710 Engineering and Environmental GeologyGSCI 3990 Spring Field TripGSCI 4050W Geoscience and SocietyGSCI 4110 Sedimentology





GSCI 4120 PaleobiologyGSCI 4130 GeomicrobiologyGSCI 4210 Glacial Processes and MaterialsGSCI 4230 GIS and Remote Sensing for Geoscience Appl.GSCI 4330 Active TectonicsGSCI 4390 Field Problems in Earth StructureGSCI 4510 Applied and Environmental GeophysicsGSCI 4520 Exploration SeismologyGSCI 4550 Physics of the Earth’s InteriorGSCI 4560 Fundamentals of Planetary ScienceGSCI 4735 Introduction to Ground-Water Hydrology





GSCI 4989 Undergraduate Research in GeoscienceGSCI 4990 Internship in Geoscience - Field StudyGSCI 4991 Internship in Geoscience - Research PaperGSCI 4996W Undergraduate Research Thesis in GeoscienceGSCI 4999 Independent Study

These are the semesters when 1000-level geoscience courses are offered.


Fall semester, every year

GSCI 1050GSCI 1051GSCI 1052GSCI 1070

Spring semester, every year

GSCI 1010GSCI 1050GSCI 1051GSCI 1052

These are the semesters when 3000- and 4000-level geoscience courses are offered.


Fall semester, every year

GSCI 3020 GSCI 4390GSCI 3030 GSCI 4735

Fall semester, odd years

GSCI 4110GSCI 4520

Fall semester, even years

GSCI 4130GSCI 4510

Spring semester, every year

GSCI 3040 GSCI 4050WGSCI 3710 GSCI 4230

Spring semester, odd years

GSCI 3010 GSCI 4550GSCI 3990

Spring semester, even years

GSCI 4120 GSCI 4330GSCI 4210 GSCI 4560

In order to graduate, you must complete a final plan of study.


The plan of study for the geoscience major is available at this link: GEOSCIENCE PLAN OF STUDY.

You must submit your plan of study by the end of the fourth week of the semester in which you plan to graduate.

Review your plan of study with your advisor. Have your advisor sign your plan of study. Make a copy of your plan of study and give it to Abi. Submit your plan of study to the Office of the Registrar in Wilbur Cross.

If you plan to graduate in August and walk in May, you must submit your plan of study by the end of the fourth week of the spring semester before your August graduation.

When in doubt, there is probably a form you need to fill out.


CLAS forms are administered through the Academic Services Center.

Information on the Academic Services Center is available at this link: ACADEMIC SERVICES CENTER.

CLAS forms are available at this link: CLAS FORMS.

It is useful to take a look at the CLAS Forms web page to get a sense for when you might need to fill out a form.

Here are a few resources that will help you design and track your academic plan.


The Academic Services Center’s 2012-2013 Student Workbook contains detailed information on CLAS degrees. It is available at this link: 2012-2013 Student Workbook.

The CLAS General Education Requirements Audit Sheet is on p. 12-13 of the 2012-2013 Student Workbook.

Two parts of your PeopleSoft account can be particularly helpful.

What-If Scenario: See how your requirements would change if you changed your major/minor.

Academic Requirements: See which of your requirements are satisfied and which are not.

Here are a few pointers for advising appointments with your academic advisor.


Your advisor is there to help your academic plan proceed as smoothly as possible. You can help the process in the following ways.

Do not wait until the last minute to have a form signed. Your advisor might not be on campus on the last day to submit the form to drop a course or on the

last day to submit your final plan of study.

Schedule an advising appointment to discuss course enrollment for at least a week before your PeopleSoft Enrollment Appointment. This will give you time to address any problems.


Here are a few pointers for advising appointments with your academic advisor.


Come to advising appointments prepared. For example, you should have an idea of the courses you want to take during the upcoming semester and the times they meet.

Take notes during your advising appointment on plans for future semesters and bring those notes to future advising appointments.

If you need to have a form signed, print it out and fill it out before you meet with your advisor.

Put your best foot forward. Some day your advisor may be writing a letter of recommendation for you!

The best way to avoid saying “If only I had...” is to plan.


It can be difficult to fit all the courses you need to take/want to take into your schedule. It really does help to PLAN.

Figure out what courses you need to take/want to take.

Decide which semesters you want to take those courses. Information on which semesters courses are offered is available under Browse Course Catalog in PeopleSoft.

Do a mock up of your schedule for each semester using the days and times those courses most recently met. You can obtain this information by conducting a Class Search in PeopleSoft.

You should enroll in courses as soon as you can after your Enrollment Appointment time.


Many courses at UConn fill quickly.

You should not delay enrolling in courses.

To find out when you can begin enrolling in courses, check your Enrollment Appointments in PeopleSoft.

Your Academic Requirements in PeopleSoft are set according to your catalog year.


The default setting for your catalog year is the academic year that you entered CLAS.

In some cases, it may be beneficial for you to change your catalog year. You can change your catalog year only to an academic year after the year you entered CLAS.

To determine how a change of catalog year will affect your requirements, you should run a What-If Scenario in PeopleSoft.

To change your catalog year, you need to fill out a request to change undergraduate requirement catalog form, which is available at this link: CATALOG YEAR CHANGE FORM.

To enroll in courses, you must ensure that your advisor has lifted your hold.


Each semester, an enrollment hold is set up in your PeopleSoft account.

This is to make sure that you meet with your academic advisor before you enroll in courses for the upcoming spring or fall semester.

Before you leave your advising appointment, you should make sure that your advisor has lifted your hold. In all the discussion about courses, life after UConn, etc., it is easy to forget about the enrollment hold.

Make sure your enrollment hold is lifted or you will not be able to enroll in courses.

If you take courses at another institution, make sure they transfer correctly.


If you have transferred to UConn from another institution or are planning to take a course at another institution while a student at UConn, you may have questions about transferring courses.

Information on transferring courses is available at this link: COURSE TRANSFERS.

If you need advice or need to make a change to a course transfer, you should contact Robert Thorson robert.thorson*at*uconn.edu, the geoscience course transfer equivalency representative.

Study abroad can be a great opportunity but requires careful planning.


If you are thinking about doing study abroad, be aware that it can be difficult to find upper-level geoscience courses that are taught in English.

Here are some examples of countries that teach upper-level geoscience courses in English and are also great places to study geoscience: New Zealand, Australia, the British Isles, and Taiwan.

Note also that UConn has a new exchange program with National Taiwan University in Taipei.

If you are planning to study abroad, you should contact Tim Byrne tim.byrne*at*uconn.edu, the geoscience study abroad representative.

You must do the following if you plan to take internship courses (GSCI 4990 & 4991).


Discuss the internship opportunity with your advisor to see if it is appropriate for academic credit in geoscience.

Choose a faculty supervisor.

Write a short proposal on your proposed internship and

have it approved by your faculty supervisor. You must

have your proposal approved before your internship starts.

Note that you can enroll in GSCI 4990 & 4991 during the fall semester for a summer internship.

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