Requirements

Earth and Oceanographic Science (EOS) Major

The major consists of ten courses.

Earth and Oceanographic Science (EOS) Minor

The minor consists of five courses.

Additional Information and Department Policies

• First-year writing seminars do not count toward the major or minor requirements.
• Only one course numbered 1100–1999 in EOS may be counted toward the major or minor requirements.
• Students may opt to begin the major with EOS 2005 Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of Global Change having previously taken BIOL 1102 Biological Principles II or BIOL 1109 Scientific Reasoning in Biology; or CHEM 1092 Introductory Chemistry and Quantitative Reasoning II, CHEM 1102 Introductory Chemistry II, or CHEM 1109 General Chemistry. Such students may substitute an intermediate EOS laboratory course (2000–2969) or research experience course (ex. EOS 3085, EOS 3165 Research in Earth and Oceanographic Science: Topics in Petrotectonics, EOS 3515 Research in Oceanography: Topics in Paleoceanography) for introductory EOS (1100–1999).
• All courses counted toward the major or minor must be completed with a C- or better.
• Courses taken to fulfill major or minor requirements must be taken for regular letter grades (not Credit/D/Fail).
• Normally, one course taken at another college or university may be counted toward the EOS major requirements with departmental approval.
• Courses taken at other institutions or study away programs may not be counted toward the EOS minor.
• Students coordinating their EOS major with environmental studies may only double-count two cross-listed courses. Minors may double-count an unlimited number of cross-listed courses with another department or program. 

Independent Studies and Honors Projects

• Independent studies and honors projects do not count toward the major or minor requirements. 
• Intermediate independent study courses are numbered based on the area of focus: EOS 2970-2973 is for Solid Earth, EOS 2974-2977 is for Surface Processes, EOS 2978-2981 is for Oceanography, and EOS 2982-2985 is for interdisciplinary projects.
  • An intermediate collaborative study is EOS 2999.
• Advanced independent study courses are numbered based on the area of focus: EOS 4000-4003 is for Solid Earth, EOS 4004-4007 is for Surface Processes, EOS 4008-4011 is for Oceanography, and EOS 4012-4015 is for interdisciplinary projects.
  • An advanced collaborative study is EOS 4029.
• Honors research requires two semesters of work and the courses are numbered based on the area of focus:
  • EOS 4050-4051 is for Solid Earth, EOS 4052-4053 is for Surface Processes, EOS 4054-4055 is for Oceanography, and EOS 4056-4057 is for interdisciplinary projects.
• Please visit the student research section of the EOS department's website for more details regarding honors projects. 

Postgraduate Study

Students planning postgraduate study in EOS should note that they might present a stronger application if they take additional courses in the department and in the contributing sciences: biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics. It is strongly advised that students consult with faculty on the design of their major and discuss the options of research projects through independent studies, fellowship-funded summer research, and honors projects.

Interdisciplinary Majors

Interdisciplinary majors at Bowdoin are distinct from the coordinate majors with digital and computational studies, education, and environmental studies. The department does not explicitly participate in formal interdisciplinary programs. However, the Departments of Earth and Oceanographic Science and Physics have identified major and minor pathways for students interested in majoring in EOS with an interest in physics (EOS major/physics minor), and students interested in majoring in physics with an EOS application (physics major/EOS minor). Students interested in an EOS major/physics minor with a focus in the solid earth discipline would be best served by selecting their optional physics courses from:

Students interested in an EOS major/physics minor with a focus in the surface earth discipline would be best served by selecting their optional physics courses from:

Students interested in an EOS major/physics minor with a focus in the oceanography discipline would be best served by selecting their optional physics courses from:

Information for Incoming Students 

The Earth and Oceanographic Science (EOS) department at Bowdoin is a collaborative community of geoscientists who investigate fundamental questions about our planet and climate. In our courses and research, we observe and characterize properties and processes in the earth and ocean by sampling rocks, soils, sediments, shells, ice, and waters. We implement a range of analytical approaches in the classroom, field, and laboratory to study Earth’s systems at all scales. From atoms to oceans, we unravel Earth’s past, understand Earth’s present, and prepare for our future. 

Where to begin?

EOS offers two introductory courses – EOS 1105 Introducing Earth in the fall and EOS 1505 Oceanography in the spring. Either of these options counts toward the EOS major and opens the door to intermediate-level courses. No placement tests are required.

EOS 1105 Introducing Earth, offered in the fall, is an introductory course aimed at first-year students and seats are reserved for first-year students. The course explores the processes that have shaped Earth, such as: plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, rivers, glaciers, the explosion of life on Earth, and the extraction of natural resources. Classes and weekly labs provide hands-on opportunities to work with the themes of the course. You will apply the skills you’ve learned through collaborative, accessible field experiences along the Maine coast; stream modeling; exploration of our rock, mineral, and fossil collections; and examination and construction of maps, graphs, and images.  

EOS 1505 Oceanography, offered in the spring, is an introductory course cross-listed with Environmental Studies with registration priority given to first-year students. The course explores the tectonic evolution of the ocean basins, the record of ocean history preserved in deep-sea sediments, global ocean circulation, waves, tides, ocean ecosystems, and the ocean’s role in climate change. Classes and weekly labs provide hands-on opportunities to collaborate with peers and explore these topics through physical models, data collection, and computational analysis. You will apply the skills you’ve learned to authentic research projects, including a culminating field-based study of estuaries in the Gulf of Maine.

What’s next?
In upper division courses, we offer hands-on opportunities to engage in more advanced collaborative research projects tied to the course themes. The rocky coastline, local rivers, forests, farms, estuaries, and access to the Gulf of Maine offer phenomenal natural laboratories to study the environment and Earth system processes. For example, EOS students learn the skills and knowledge to address questions such as:

• How do energy and materials move among the different parts of the Earth system? How do humans alter these processes from local to global scales? (EOS 2005 Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of Global Change)
• What controls the global distribution of Earth’s natural resources? (EOS 2020 Earth, Ocean, and Society)
• How did Earth evolve from a cloud of dust into a planet with oxygen in the atmosphere, ocean basins, and vegetated continents? (EOS 2130 How to Build a Habitable Planet)
• What happens when continents collide, ocean basins open, and volcanoes erupt? (EOS 2145 Plate Tectonics)
• How and why do rocks break, bend, and buckle? (EOS 2225 Structural Geology and Analysis)
• How do water, ice, and gravity carve landscapes and build landforms? How do humans interact with and reshape landscapes? (EOS 2345 Geomorphology: Form and Process at the Earth's Surface)
• How are environmental benefits and harms distributed among different groups of people? How do human activities alter Earth systems and what feedbacks are generated from those activities? (EOS 2385 Environmental Justice and Earth Surface Processes)
• How can we explore data collected by satellites 750 km above the Earth to understand oceanographic processes? (EOS 2550 Satellite Remote Sensing of the Ocean)
• How does the Ocean impact Earth’s climate and how is the Ocean changing as our climate changes? (EOS 2585 Ocean and Climate), (EOS 2515 Paleoceanography),(EOS 2625 Ocean Acidification)
• The Arctic and Antarctic regions are both cold and icy; how are they similar and how are they different and why are they so sensitive to climate change? (EOS 2530 Poles Apart: Exploration of Earth’s High Latitudes)
• Why is the Gulf of Maine one of the most biologically productive ocean ecosystems in the world? (EOS 2565 Coastal Oceanography)
• How have carbon dioxide and climate changed over Earth’s history? How can we use this knowledge to understand modern climate change? (EOS 3020 Earth Climate History)
• How does climate drive tectonic processes? How do tectonic processes drive climate? (EOS 3140 Tectonics and Climate)

From tracking how a harmful algal bloom develops along our coastline to learning how supervolcanoes form deep within Earth, studies in EOS open a world of possibilities.

Other useful information

No placement tests are required for EOS courses.

• EOS is a popular coordinate major with Environmental Studies, Education, and Digital and Computational Studies (DCS).
• Completion of either EOS 1105 Introducing Earth or EOS 1505 Oceanography meets the introductory science course requirement for the Environmental Studies coordinate major.

Who we are

• For more information about EOS, please visit our website.
• For more information about EOS faculty and staff, please visit our profiles and research pages.