College Life

Private Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• Stanford University
• California Institute of Technology
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Harvard University

State Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• University of Arizona
• University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
• Pennsylvania State University
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Wisconsin—Madison

Classes in the Major

Math: We know math has a bit of a bad reputation among you so-called right-brainers, but Shmoop's here to tell you that math rocks and shouldn't be taken for granite. (If you're already sick of geology puns, sorry 'bout it.) A calculus course here and a statistics course there and voila—done. Although you won't have to take all that much math for a geology degree, it's always helpful to take more, especially if you go into research. Some math classes can be swapped for others, too. It's a mathematical pick'n'mix.

Chemistry: You're likely to run into more chemistry than math as far as general courses go. With that in mind, there are three types of chemistry to choose from: general, organic, and inorganic. Usually, these serve as intro classes, so if you've already got an inkling of what you want to do for a career, taking the appropriate chemistry class could put you ahead of the game.

Physics: Ah, the study of matter and energy. Obviously, if you're going to study stuff, you'll need to learn the fundamentals of…stuff. Like with chemistry, taking physics classes is a basic requirement. Physics might seem irrelevant to geology, but trust us, physics is relevant to all hard sciences. Of course, if you're incredibly ambitious and you love all things universe, you can certainly take upper-level physics courses if they're available. But for all you "normal" people, taking one or two of these courses is sufficient for moving onto geology courses.

Marine Geology: Finally, a class with "geology" in the title. Now that you've made it this far, you're free to take whatever geology electives you fancy. Well, after marine geology. Here, you'll learn all about air guns, sonar, how to collect core samples, and everything that goes on under the deep, blue sea. Seismic activity is a large part of this course, and despite the underutilization of "underwater earthquake" in daily conversation, they happen quite frequently.

Petrology: Petrology deals with the age, origin, structure, and composition of rocks. That's right, geologists date rocks. You might say that they're married to their work. (Ha…) Petrology takes all the chemistry and physics information you've acquired and applies it to studying Earth's crust and upper mantle. If you have a choice, take this class. You'll be glad you did. Knowing the distribution of minerals and their relation to tectonic movement is a very valuable skill to have.