Hi my name is Gillian Drennan, I am the course
coordinator of Geology I and the Deputy Head
of School for Geosciences at Wits University.
Choosing a degree in the Earth Sciences cluster
opens a wide range of possible career opportunities
to you within the School of Geosciences and
the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental
Sciences. Within the Earth Science cluster
you will be exposed to a host of topics and
skills mastery that will prepare you for solving
integrated, real-world problems within the
complex set of interrelated systems (atmosphere,
hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere) that
we live in, explore and mine. You will be
exposed to a diverse number of subject areas
and you will work with state of the art research
equipment in our various laboratories, as
well as explore the world around us on exciting
field excursions. You will look at times past
and present in order to plan for and manage
the future. If you are passionate about this
planet we call home and love to explore and
understand how our world works, then a degree
from the Earth Sciences cluster is for you.
A variety of careers are available to you
if you have studied either in the School of
Geosciences or in the School of Geography,
Archaeology and Environmental Sciences. Should
you wish to major in Geosciences so that you
might develop a career in Geology, Geophysics,
Geochemistry, Mining and Exploration geology,
Environmental geosciences, or Hydrogeology,
you will need to major in Geology I and concurrently
register for Chemistry I, Maths I and Physics
I, all at the major level. But this is only
one degree path, there are many other options,
depending on your personal preferences. If
you prefer to register for Geography I and/or
Archaeology I and/or Geology I together with
1 or 2 other subjects totalling 4 first year
courses you could become a geographer, an
archaeologist, a geologist or an environment
and/or heritage manager. By including Auxiliary
Maths (MATH1041) and some Physics (PHYS1000/1001)
into the subject mix, you could potentially
end up in a career dealing with palaeoenvironments,
landscape and environmental change, earth
resources, and archaeological resource management.
By introducing Biological Sciences into your
course choice you could also branch out into
careers in conservation management, ecology,
forensic archaeology and palaeontology. WITS
offers the only Honours Degree in Palaeosciences
in southern Africa! Geological Sciences, in
particular, offers a double major in Geology
III (GEOL3022) and Advanced Earth Sciences
III (GEOL3007), but other combinations are
available, depending on prerequisites and
timetable restrictions (A-E in brackets).
Entry into Geology II requires a pass in CHEM1012,
and at least one course in Maths is required
at First Year level before you can graduate
with a degree in Geosciences. GEOL2016 and
GEOL3037 are both compulsory 12-point practical
and field mapwork courses at level 2 and 3
respectively. GEOL2000 (Complementary Earth
Science II) can only be taken concurrently
with GEOL2008 (Geology II), and requires passes
in Geology I, Chemistry I, Maths I and Physics
I. It is a pre-requisite for Advanced Earth
Sciences III Mining Option (GEOL3007). Should
you successfully complete Complementary and
Advanced Sciences (Mining Option) as well
as Geology III, you could branch out of the
Faculty of Science and into the Faculty of
Engineering to do Mining Engineering, provided
you pick up additional Engineering topics
once you join the Engineering Faculty. PLEASE
NOTE: Geology II (GEOL2008) is restricted
to 60 students so you are strongly encouraged
to attend curriculum counselling sessions
at the School of Geosciences in Room G109
for additional information or assistance in
planning your degree. Honours in Geology,
Geochemistry, Geography, Archaeology or Environmental
Earth Science requires minimum 60% at third
year level; Honours in Geophysics requires
minimum 2 years Maths and Physics, and 60%
in one of Physics III, Maths III, Applied
Maths III or Geology III; Honours in Palaeontology
requires at least Zoology III or Plant Sciences
III; Honours in combined Geology and Palaeontology
requires Geology III and either Zoology III
or Plant Sciences III. Thank you for taking
the time to watch this video. We look forward
to meeting you soon. More information can
be found on the science faculty website.
