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Geology Major Degree Plan

As part of your degree, you must take classes within and outside the School of Geosciences, in addition to some courses in other colleges. Find out which courses are critical to your geology education below.

Following is a list of required courses, or download a PDF here!
For detailed information on each course, you can visit the University's online catalog.

Core Courses

  • GEOL 111 Physical Geology, 4 credits
  • GEOL 112 Historical Geology, 4 credits
  • GEOL 291 Elementary Mineralogy, 4 credits
  • GEOL 292 Elementary Petrology, 4 credits
  • GEOL 314 Structural Geology, 4 credits
  • GEOL 330 Field Methods, 2 credits
  • GEOL 339 Sedimentary Petrology, 3 credits
  • GEOL 341 Stratigraphy, 3 credits
  • GEOL 400 Summer Field Camp, 6 credits
  • GEOL 420 Geophysics, 4 credits
  • GEOL 431 Introduction to Geochemistry, 3 credits
  • GEOL 435 Analysis of Geologic Data, 3 credits
  • GEOL 499 Geology Seminar
  • GEOL elective, 3 credits

Everyone likes something a little different. That's why you can choose among one of four concentrations to complete your Geology Major. Follow this link for a more detailed description of each one of them. 

Energy Resources Concentration

15 credits

  • GEOL 363 Paleontology, 3 credits, or GEOL 491 Micropaleontology, 3 credits
  • GEOL 410 Subsurface Geology, 3 credits
  • GEOL 430 Seismic Interpretation, 3 credits
  • GEOL 456 Basin Analysis & Petroleum Systems, 3 credits
  • GEOL or ENVS elective, 3 credits

Environmental Concentration

15 credits

  • GEOL 355 Environmental Geology, 3 credits
  • GEOL 460 Site Assessment and Remediation, 3 credits
  • GEOL 470 Ground Water, 3 credits
  • GEOL 480 Remote Sensing, 3 credits
  • GEOL or ENVS elective, 3 credits

Paleontology Concentration

15 credits

  • GEOL 363 Invertebrate Paleontology, 3 credits
  • GEOL 422 Museum Techniques, 3 credits
  • GEOL 464 Vertebrate Paleontology, 3 credits
  • GEOL 491 Micropaleontology, 3 credits
  • GEOL or ENVS elective, 3 credits

Earth Sciences Concentration

15 credits

  • Choose one course each from Petroleum Geology, Environmental Geology, and Paleontology concentrations, 9 credits
  • Choose 2 GEOL or ENVS elective, 6 credits

In addition to the courses focused on geology, you will need to complete a set of basic courses across UL Lafayette.

Biology

4 credits

Choose any BIOL course in consultation with academic advisor, 4 credits

Chemistry

CHEM 107 General Chemistry I, 3 credits

Math

8 credits

MATH 270 Calculus I, 4 credits
MATH 301, Calculus II*, 4 credits
​*or two course substitutes -- see advisor.

Physics

7 credits

PHYS 207 Introduction to Physics I, 3 credits
PHYS 208 Introduction to Physics II, 3 credits
PHYS 215 Physics Lab I, 1 credit

English

15 credits

ENGL 101 Intro to Academic Writing, 3 credits
ENGL 102 Writing and Research About Culture, 3 credits
ENGL elective - Literature, 3 credits
ENGL 304 Vocabulary Development, 3 credits
ENGL 365 Technical Writing, 3 credits

Communication

CMCN 100 Principles of Human Communication, 3 credits

Behavioral Science

ECON 300 Fundamentals of Economy, 3 credits
Behavioral Science elective, 3 credits

Arts

ARTS elective, 3 credits

History

HIST elective, 3 credits

Other Courses

UNIV 100 - The Future of Louisiana, 3 credits
Free elective, 2 credits

4-Years Plan

Freshman Year

  • UNIV 100 - First Year Seminar: Cajun Connection 3 Credit(s).
  • GEOL 111 - Physical Geology 4 Credit(s). (Geology majors must pass Physical and Historical Geology with grades of C or better.)
  • GEOL 112 - Historical Geology 4 Credit(s). (Geology majors must pass Physical and Historical Geology with grades of C or better.)
  • ENGL 101 - Introduction to Academic Writing 3 Credit(s).
  • ENGL 102 - Writing and Research About Culture 3 Credit(s).
  • MATH 270 - Calculus I 4 Credit(s).
  • MATH 301 - Calculus II 4 Credit(s).
  • CHEM 107 - General Chemistry I 3 Credit(s).
  • Electives
    • ARTS 3 Credits

Sophomore Year

  • GEOL 291 - Elementary Mineralogy 4 Credit(s).
  • GEOL 292 - Elementary Petrology 4 Credit(s).
  • BIOL 110 - Fundamentals of Biology I 3 Credit(s).
  • BIOL 112 - Fundamentals of Biology I Lab 1 Credit(s).
  • CMCN 100 - Principles of Human Communication 3 Credit(s).
  • ENGL 304 - Vocabulary Development 3 Credit(s).
  • ENGL 365 - Technical Writing 3 Credit(s).
  • PHYS 207 - Introduction to Physics I 3 Credit(s).
  • Electives
    • LIT 3 Credits
    • HIST 3 Credits

Junior Year

  • GEOL 314 - Structural Geology 4 Credit(s).
  • GEOL 330 - Field Methods 1 Credit(s).
  • GEOL 339 - Sedimentary Petrology 3 Credit(s).
  • GEOL 341 - Stratigraphy 3 Credit(s).
  • GEOL 437(G) - Computer Applications in Geology 3 Credit(s).
  • PHYS 208 - Introduction to Physics II 3 Credit(s).
  • PHYS 215 - Physics Laboratory I 1 Credit(s).
  • PHYS 216 - Physics Laboratory II 1 Credit(s).
  • Electives
    • Concentration 6 Credits

Senior year

  • ECON 300 - Fundamentals of Economics 3 Credit(s).
  • GEOL 400 - Summer Field Camp Credit(s). (Summer Session)
  • GEOL 420(G) - Geophysics I 4 Credit(s).
  • GEOL 435(G) - Analysis of Geologic Data 3 Credit(s).
  • GEOL 499 - Geology Seminar Credit(s).
  • Electives
    • Concentration 9 Credits.
    • GEOL 3 credits
    • BHSC (from ANTH, ECON, GEOG, POLS, PSYC, or SOCI)
    • Any 2 Credits