Intensive Geology Concentration
McCausland College of Arts and Sciences
School of Earth, Ocean and Environment
Bulletin Year: 2026-2027

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Semester One (13-14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	ENGL 101	Critical Reading and Composition (CC-CMW)	3	C
	MATH 122 or MATH 141	Calculus for Bus. Admin. & Soc. Sci. or Calculus I3 (CC-ARP)	3-4			C or better in MATH 111/111I/115 (MATH 122); C or better in MATH 112/115/116 (MATH 141); or through placement exam
	GEOL 101 or GEOL 103 or GEOL 201	Introduction to the Earth or Environment of the Earth or Observing the Earth (fall only) (PR)	4
		UNIV 101 The Student in the University or Carolina Core Requirement4 (PR/CC)	3

Semester Two (17-18 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	ENGL 102	Rhetoric and Composition (CC-CMW, CC-INF)	3	C		C or better in ENGL 101
	MATH 170 or MATH 142 or MATH 172 or MATH 174	Finite Mathematics or Calculus II or Math. Modeling for the Life Sciences or Discrete Math. for Computer Science (CC-ARP)	3-4			See Bulletin Listing
	CHEM 111 & 111L	General Chemistry I (CC-SCI)	4			C or higher in MATH 111 or higher (or by placement into MATH 115 or higher)
	GEOL 305	Earth Systems through Time (spring only) (MR)	4	C
		Foreign Language5 or other Carolina Core Req.4 (CC-GFL)	3

Semester Three (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	GEOL 325	Stratigraphy & Sed. Basins (fall only) (MR)	4	C
	GEOL 302	Rocks and Minerals (fall only) (MR)	4	C		C or better in GEOL 101, 103, or 201
	PHYS 201 & 201L or PHYS 211 & 211L	General Physics I or Essentials of Physics I (CC-SCI)	4			C or better in MATH 111/111i/112/115/116/122/141 or by placement into MATH 122, 141 or higher (PHYS 201); C or better in MATH 141 (PHYS 211)
		Foreign Language5 or other Carolina Core Req.4 (CC-GFL)	3

Semester Four (14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	GEOL 345	Igneous & Metamorphic Proc. (spring only) (MR)	4	C		C or better in GEOL 302; D or better in MATH 122 or 141
	PHYS 202 & 202L or PHYS 212 & 212L or CHEM 112 & 112L or BIOL 101 & 101L or BIOL 102 & 102L	Essentials of Physics II or General Physics II or General Chemistry II or Biological Principles I or Biological Principles II (PR)	4			See Bulletin listing
		Carolina Core Requirement4 (CC)	3
		Foreign Language5 or Carolina Core Requirement4 (CR/CC)	3

Semester Five (14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	GEOL 315	Surface & Near Surface Proc. (fall only) (MR)	4	C		D or better in PHYS 201 or 211
	PHYS 202 & 202L or PHYS 212 & 212L or CHEM 112 & 112L or BIOL 101 & 101L or BIOL 102 & 102L	Essentials of Physics II or General Physics II or General Chemistry II or Biological Principles I or Biological Principles II (PR)	4			See Bulletin listing
		Carolina Core Requirement4 (CC)	3
		History7 (CR)	3

Semester Six (14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	GEOL 335	Processes of Global Environmental Change (cross-listed: MSCI 335) (spring only) (MR)	4	C
	GEOL 355	Structural Geol. & Tectonics (spring only) (MR)	4	C		C or better in GEOL 302; D or better in PHYS 201 or 211
	STAT 515	Statistical Methods I (CR)	3			C or better in MATH 112/115/122 or 141; or both C or better in STAT 110 or higher and in MATH 111; or through placement exam
		Social Science (CR)	3

Summer (4-10 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	GEOL 500	Field Geology6 (summer only) (MR, CC-INT)	3-6	C		C or better in GEOL 325 & 355
	GEOL 500L	Introduction to Field Geology6 (summer only) (MR)	1-4	C		C or better in GEOL 325 & 355 or graduate student standing

Semester Seven (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		GEOL Major Elective (399 or above) (MR)	3	C		See Bulletin listing
	CSCE 102 or higher-level CSCE course or MSCI 305 or MSCI 509	Web Design & Development using AI Tools or higher-level CSCE course or Ocean Data Analysis or MATLAB-Based Data Analysis in Ocean Sciences (CR)	3			MSCI 101 & MATH 141 (MSCI 305); MATH 141 (MSCI 509)
		Humanities or Fine Arts (CR)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement4 or Elective8 (CC/PR)	3
		Elective8(PR)	3

Semester Eight (14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	GEOL 399 or GEOL 498 or GEOL 499 or GEOL 699	Independent Study or Undergraduate Research or Senior Thesis (MR)	3	C
		GEOL Major Elective (399 or above) (MR)	3	C		See Bulletin listing
		Carolina Core Requirement4 or Elective8 (CC/PR)	3
		Elective8(PR)	3
		Elective8(PR)	2

Graduation Requirements Summary

Minimum Total Hours	Minimum Major Requirements Hours	College & Program Requirements Hours	Carolina Core Hours	Minimum Institutional GPA
120	41	35-47	32-44	2.000

1. Regardless of individual course grades, students must maintain a minimum 2.000 cumulative GPA.
2. Some colleges require a minimum GPA for major courses. Courses indicated in this column are included in the major GPA for this program of study.
3. Students who place into MATH 111 or 115 will be required to complete it successfully before taking MATH 122 or 141. MATH 111/115 may be used as an approved elective. Students who start with MATH 111/115 should use the following sequence for the first three semesters:

Semester 1	Semester 2	Semester 3
ENGL 101	ENGL 102	GEOL 325
GEOL 010, 103, or201	MATH 122 or 141	GEOL 345
MATH 111 or115	CHEM 111 &111L	MATH 170 or142
UNIV 101 or Carolina Core Requirement	GEOL 302	PHYS 201 & 201L or PHSY 211 & 211L
Foreign Language or Carolina Core Requirement	Foreign Language or Carolina Core Requirement	Foreign Language or Carolina Core Requirement

4. The Carolina Core provides the common core of knowledge, skill and academic experience for all Carolina undergraduate students.
5. Students in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences are required to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the 122 course through course credit or the corresponding foreign language placement score.
6. GEOL 500 and 500L is a summer course, which takes place in the American West.  Students must indicate to the SEOE undergraduate office their plans to attend field camp in January, which is prior to registering for GEOL 500 and 500L. Students will normally complete GEOL 500 for 3 credit hours and GEOL 500L for 1 credit hour. With approval of the undergraduate director, students may alternately enroll in GEOL 500L four times for a total of 4 credit hours to fulfill this requirement. 
7. The McCausland College of Arts and Sciences requires one U.S. History and one non-U.S. History course, both of which must be chosen from the approved Carolina Core GHS courses. Whichever is not fulfilled through the Carolina Core GHS requirement must be fulfilled through this college requirement.
8. No courses of a remedial, developmental, skill-acquiring, or vocational nature may apply as credit toward degrees in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences. The McCausland College of Arts and Sciences allows the use of the Pass-Fail option on elective courses.

 

Program Notes

• Courses identified as “critical” must be completed in the student’s first 60 semester hours of work in order for these courses to be credited toward graduation.
• All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade that covers the founding documents. Courses that meet this requirement are listed in the academic bulletin. 
• A Degree with Distinction is available to students majoring in Geological Sciences who wish to participate in significant research activities in their major field under the supervision of a faculty mentor.  Requirements include: 1) a minimum GPA of 3.5 in the major and 3.3 overall; 2) written sponsorship agreement from the faculty mentor on file in the SEOE Undergraduate Student Services office; 3) a public presentation of the Senior Thesis research accompanied by a written document approved by the faculty mentor and a second reader that follows the guidelines of the degree program; and 4) three courses in addition to the major requirements, including: GEOL 498 or GEOL 499, GEOL 699, and a minimum of one GEOL 500-level course appropriate to the research. 
• The last 30 credit hours toward your degree must be earned in residence at the University of South Carolina-Columbia.

Code Definitions

University Requirements: Bachelor’s degree-seeking students must meet Carolina Core (general education) requirements.

Code	Definition
CC	Carolina Core
CC-AIU	Carolina Core – Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding
CC-ARP	Carolina Core – Analytical Reasoning and Problem-Solving
CC-CMS	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component
CC-CMW	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written Component
CC-GFL	Carolina Core – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language
CC-GHS	Carolina Core – Historical Thinking
CC-GSS	Carolina Core – Social Sciences
CC-INF	Carolina Core – Information Literacy
CC-INT	Carolina Core – Integrative Course
CC-SCI	Carolina Core – Scientific Literacy
CC-VSR	Carolina Core – Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
CR	College Requirement
MR	Major Requirement
PR	Program Requirement