welcome to the earth and Planetary
Sciences Department are you interested
in studying big questions questions like
what shapes the landscapes you see
around you from mountains to rivers to
coastlines how did the solar system form
how did life on Earth evolved or how
will human activities change Earth's
climate and resources then a degree in
earth science is the right choice for
you
earth science is an exciting and
multidisciplinary field that is working
to solve some of the biggest challenges
facing society today as an earth
scientist you can help ensure clean and
reliable water resources for sustaining
our communities earth scientists also
work to protect against natural hazards
such as earthquakes flooding landslides
or sea level rise whether in your
hometown or around the world earth
scientists find the resources necessary
to power our society and help make the
world a better place
earth science might be a good major for
you if you're curious about the natural
world and enjoy solving problems because
the topic is so broad there are many
opportunities to discover your passion
from our atmosphere to the oceans to
glaciers fossils rivers rocks and
minerals earthquakes and volcanoes and
other planets and moons that share our
solar system we have concentrations in a
number of topics including ocean science
and Planetary Sciences we even offer
combined majors with anthropology and
environmental studies in the earth
science program you can choose courses
that visit amazing geological sites in
Death Valley or the Sierra Nevada or
teach you hands-on lab skills using
chemistry to investigate how mountains
are built how the solar system formed or
how climate changed in the past you can
also learn computer programming to
understand how the world works from the
physics of earthquakes to climate science
we welcome all students to join us in
the earth science community if you'd
like to learn more about the major just
drop by we'd love to meet you or try out
one of our lower division courses to
find out more we offer a variety of
general education courses each quarter
including Earth 5 California geology
every fall earth 10 geological
principles every winter and earth 20
environmental geology every spring one
of these three courses is the gateway to
the major in fact Earth majors take the
same foundational courses as all science
majors at UC Santa Cruz calculus
chemistry and physics the earth science
majors have flexible requirements with
only a few required courses so you can
focus on what truly excites you or
explore a variety of topics the
flexibility also means that you're able
to double major or take advantage of
study abroad opportunities a major in
Earth and Planetary Science is an
academically rigorous program with
award-winning faculty that are leaders
in their fields because we're a small
department you'll get to know your
professors in our classes and many of
those classes give you practical
hands-on experience outside on field
trips or with our high-tech equipment in
our labs our supportive community and
faculty staff and students are looking
out for your success with workshops on
careers or grad school or fun events
like our spring departmental picnic we
encourage students to get involved in
undergraduate research with our
world-class faculty the small size of
our major makes us easier and you can
get started even in your first or second
year at UC Santa Cruz undergraduate
students have opportunities to present
their research at national and
international scientific meetings for
more information about research and how
to get involved talk limited advisor our
students are very successful once
they've graduated from UC Santa Cruz
many of our students go on to fully
funded graduate programs at top
universities you'll get a broad and
interdisciplinary foundation with an
earth science degree
which opens a lot of rewarding career
options our graduates go on to work for
environmental companies helping to
prevent and clean up pollution or with
water agencies providing clean reliable
and sustainable supplies or the resource
companies finding the energy and raw
materials necessary for our society or
for government agencies like the
Environmental Protection Agency or NOAA
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration a recent director of NOAA
Katherine Sullivan is one of our alums
thanks for listening if you're already a
proposed earth major welcome to the
department if you're just exploring why
not try out one of our courses or learn
more about our faculty research you are
more than welcome to drop by and talk
with an advisor or you can come to our
department mixer during fall Welcome
Week welcome to UC Santa Cruz
we wish you a successful and enjoyable
career here
