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MAJORS
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MINORS
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SUBMATRICULATION
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Department Majors
GEOLOGY
If you want to understand the various processes at work within your planet and on its surface, consider becoming a Geology Major. Join in the detective work of reconstructing Earth's history back to the beginning of the solar system and the foundations of our universe. The Geology Major curriculum is both exciting and practical; it will prepare you for a variety of professions. You will learn how to interpret the dynamic Earth through a flexible arrangement of courses. You will gain hands-on experience with fossils, rocks, minerals, maps, aerial photographs, and satellite images in the laboratory and on field trips.
Discover how Geology helps us to understand and cope with natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami and landslides, and the detection and control of man-made pollution. You will see how geologists apply their skills in civil engineering, water management, and oil and mineral exploration. Geology holds the keys to understanding such diverse topics as biologic evolution and the origin of the moon.
A typical Geology Major will take one or two Geology courses in the first year, and on average, about two geology courses per year in subsequent years. Compressed schedules are possible for late deciders. We also offer courses for Geology Minors and for those who want to take Geology as part of a Joint Major (e.g., in combination with Environmental Studies). Classes are generally small and there is plenty of opportunity for discussion during and after classes.
More about the major...
GEOLOGY HONORS
Qualifying Students preparing for graduate study in the sciences should select the honors program. This major requires a Senior Thesis, field experience, and 3 upper level geology courses in addition to the regular Geology Major Requirements.
More about the Honors Geology program....
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Paleobiology (a Track in the Geology Major)
How did life begin? Why did the dinosaurs die? How did humans evolve? Can viruses cause extinction? The answers to these question and others are sought by paleobiologists. By combining knowledge of biology, geology, and other basic sciences, students analyze patterns of evolution and the history of life. This program provides students with the opportunity to learn the basics of diagnostic reasoning. Just as doctors use blood chemistries and CAT scans to deduce the medical condition of their patients, paleobiologists use image analysis and evolutionary theory to deduce the patterns of change in the biosphere. Actually, the identification of fossils and the diagnosis of an illness are very similar in methodology and allow direct comparison. In addition, an understanding of the co-evolution of organisms and the physical world gives a better understanding of the reactions of the human organism to environmental influences. Learn how to think like a diagnostician while obtaining the requisite knowledge for medical school and getting a better understanding of the large diversity of life on Earth. Paleobiology also provides flexibility for the student to explore his or her particular interest. Individual research projects are encouraged and facilitated by the low student-faculty ratio. In addition to the resources available in the departments of Earth & Environmental Science, Biology, and Anthropology at Penn, students have access to the research projects and collections at the Smithsonian Institution and the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. More about this track....
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Environmental Studies
Many contemporary problems of environmental quality are so complex that modern society and technology have not yet been able to coordinate efforts to reach satisfactory solutions. There is thus an urgent need for individuals to be well versed in one discipline (from the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, or applied fields) and able to apply that discipline directly to environmental problems.
The program in Environmental Studies is designed to achieve an understanding of the breadth of contemporary environmental issues through a series of courses in Environmental Studies, while ensuring that each student pursues a purposeful course of study in some traditionally defined area of scholarship. More about the Environmental Studies major.....
What Can I do with an ENVS Major?
Graduates of the program are trained for professions directly and indirectly involved with problems of environmental quality. Due to the interdisciplinary approach of the program, students go on to work in a variety of fields. Some remain in academics to pursue a Masters and/or Ph.D. Students with Biology or Health Sciences concentrations can go on to Medical School. Students with a Political Science or International Relations concentration can go to Law School. Students with English concentrations have gone on to work for environmental magazines or to publish their own books. Students have also pursued careers in Environmental Consulting, Politics, Education, the Park Service, Scientific Research and the Peace Corps. These are but a few of the possibilities.
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Geology
The Geology Minor allows students to explore the subject in detail by taking 6 courses in the department. More about this minor...
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Environmental Studies
The Environmental Studies Minor allows students to explore a specific subject in detail and how that subject relates to the environment by taking 3 courses in the Environmental Studies Major and 3 courses from another subject in the college other than the student's major. More about this minor...
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Organizations & Environmental Management
Increasingly, consideration of the impact of decisions on the external physical environment is an important factor for businesses and other organizations. The decisions involved may concern such issues as the placement and structure of facilities, the use of chemicals in the workplace and agriculture, the production of environmentally safe products, the usage of energy materials and supplies, and the disposal of waste products. Recognizing the growing importance of the environment as a factor in organizational decision-making, the University offers a minor in Organizations and Environmental Management, which will allow students both to understand the nature of environmental constraints which face organizations and individuals in the modern world, and to understand how these constraints can be effectively considered as part of the decision-making process in for-profit and nonprofit organizations. The minor includes courses from the Wharton School, the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), and the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), as detailed below. Students in any of the four undergraduate schools may elect to take the minor. More about this minor...
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Advisors for the various Majors and Minors are as follows:
Environmental Studies Major and Minor
Robert Giegengack |
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Senior Thesis Adviser |
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215-898-5191
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369 Hayden Hall
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Assoc Dir Undergrad Prog. |
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215-898-6517
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360D Hayden Hall
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Assoc Dir Undergrad Prog. |
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215-898-6517
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360D Hayden Hall |
Gomaa Omar |
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Graduate Group Chair |
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215-898-6908
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262 Hayden Hall |
Frederick Scatena |
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Department Chair |
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215-898-6907
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156 Hayden Hall |
Paleobiology Track in the Geology Major
Hermann Pfefferkorn |
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Professor |
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215-898-5156
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264 Hayden Hall |
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Assoc Dir Undergrad Prog. |
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215-898-9191
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360D Hayden Hall |
Also checkout the College's Major Advising Program (MAP)
MAP is a peer advising system that helps students with their search for a major.
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