Bachelor of Science in Geology/Geosciences

Well-Rounded — Whether you prefer the challenges in industry, government, teaching, or research, your geology degree from Cedarville will prepare you for graduate school or a career. We try to match your career goals with individualized mentoring and career guidance. Laboratory and field experiences, combined with classroom lectures, give you the well-rounded education that is expected of quality geology programs.

Biblical — You will learn how science and Scripture intersect through a variety of courses that integrate the Bible and geology. You will study geology from both biblical and evolutionary perspectives, which will help you develop exceptional critical thinking skills.

Experienced Faculty — You learn from faculty members who have taught, researched, published, and worked in government, academia, and industry. They belong to the major secular and creation geological societies, and they lead trips to the major geological sites of North America.

State-of-the-Art Equipment — You will learn in state-of-the-art lab facilities using hi-tech equipment. You will  work with groundwater monitoring equipment, professional microscopes, rock saws, paleontological preparation equipment, 3-D printers, and GIS software. The program also owns three drones, which you will learn to fly and use for various types of geological research and monitoring.

Broad Curriculum — You will be able to study physical geology, a more traditional geology curriculum that includes a summer field camp, and geoscience, which will prepare you for a career in the growing field of environmental geology.

Rigorous, Interdisciplinary — You’ll take courses in mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, and biology and be exposed to physical and historical geology, invertebrate paleontology, philosophy of science, mineralogy, petrology, geomorphology, environmental geology, structural geology, geology readings, field camp, petroleum geology, hydrogeology, soils, stratigraphy, and sedimentology and a course that will help prepare you for the Professional Geology (PG) licensure exam. You will also take geographic information systems because of its wide use in many geologic disciplines.

What can you do with a geology degree? With a degree in geology and geoscience, you can find employment in the following fields:

• Economic geology: all types of mining and mineral extraction from the earth including gold, copper, silver, coal, and iron
• Engineering geology: consultant on planning and construction of buildings, roads, bridges, landfills, and tunnels and planning against the effect of earthquakes and other geological disasters
• Environmental geology: water and soil testing and remediation, toxic chemical cleanup, environmental impact consultant, study and impact of climate change
• Environmental law: litigation of various aspects dealing with the environment and human impact
• Field geology: making of maps, monitoring geological hazards (earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis) and studying their potential human impact, field study and interpretation
• Geological education: opportunities abound from middle childhood through Ph.D. levels
• Governmental agencies: Federal, state and local agencies hire geologists for various kinds of work including hydrology, mining, regulatory and environmental issues
• Historical geology: studying the past history and life of earth, paleontology and paleoclimatology
• Hydrogeology and hydrology: specializing in all aspects of groundwater and stream geology
• Petroleum geology: search and extraction of oil, natural gas, and coal
• Scientific writing and editing: write and edit scientific articles and books

Approximately half of our graduates seek immediate employment in a wide variety of geology or environmentally related fields, finding positions in academia, environmental firms, wastewater treatment facilities, and in the petroleum industry.

Others have chosen to move directly into graduate school, being accepted in schools such as:

• Colorado School of Mines
• Laurentian University
• Loma Linda University
• Miami University
• University of Chicago
• University of Texas
• Virginia Tech

Field Trips — Almost every one of our geology courses has an associated field trip. Cedarville is ideally located so students have many opportunities for local field trips to study glacial features, collect fossils, monitor well sites, to explore caves or mass wasting processes. Some of our classes take extended field trips to the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Mt. St. Helens, the Anza Borrego Desert, or the Rocky Mountains. Every fall most of our majors attend (and some present research at) the national Geological Society of America meeting.

Capstone Experience — You will complete a yearlong senior project that includes making a proposal, completing research, and presenting results. The project addresses both the practical and philosophical aspects of an issue in our created world and often leads to the publication or presentation of results in a geological society national forum. We also encourage and mentor geological writing, which has led to numerous publications by our students and graduates.

Building on your core liberal arts and Bible minor courses, you will take courses in mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, and biology and be exposed to physical and historical geology, invertebrate paleontology, philosophy of science, mineralogy, petrology, geomorphology, environmental geology, structural geology, geology readings, field camp, petroleum geology, hydrogeology, soils, stratigraphy, and sedimentology and a course that will help prepare you for the Professional Geology (PG) licensure exam. You will also take geographic information systems because of its wide use in many geologic disciplines.

This major is offered with a  bachelor's-to-master's accelerated completion plan.

Sample courses:

• Environmental Geology
  
• Philosophy of Science and Research Methods in Geology