Required Units

Total number of units required for major, excluding any required Intensive(s): 10

Required Intensive units, if any: 1

Total units required: 11

Total Number of Specific Courses Required

• GEOG 102 - Global Geography: People, Places, and Regions

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• One of the two:

• ESCI 151 - The Solid Earth:  Physical Geology
• ESCI 153 - Fluid Earth: Oceans, Atmosphere, & the Climate System

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• One of the two:

• ESCI 201 - Earth Materials: Minerals and Rocks
• ESCI 203 - Earth History

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• GEOG 220 - Cartography: Spatial Data Visualization with GIS
• GEOG 224 - GIS: Spatial Analysis
• GEOG 230 - Research Methods: Studying Sustainability at Vassar

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• Or another course approved by the department. Other 200-level courses with strong research-methods components may also fulfill this requirement if approved by the department.  

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• The challenges presented by climate change, resource conflicts, and natural disasters point to the importance of studying the intersection of earth processes and human societies. The interdisciplinary Earth Science and Society major draws on the two allied disciplines housed in the department of Earth Science and Geography. From Earth Science, students gain an understanding of natural processes that impact the distribution and use of resources such as water, fossil fuels, and soil, as well as natural hazards such as climate change, tsunamis and earthquakes. From Geography, students learn about the spatial distribution of physical and human phenomena and how human societies have been shaped by and also have changed the natural world. Students follow a focused series of Earth Science and Geography courses, normally within one of two general themes (below); students may propose course substitutions in consultation with their adviser or the chairs of the department.  

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• Physical Geography Theme:

• GEOG 220 - Cartography: Spatial Data Visualization with GIS   
• GEOG 224 - GIS: Spatial Analysis   
• GEOG 230 - Research Methods: Studying Sustainability at Vassar   
• GEOG 256 - Geographies of Food and Farming
• GEOG 258 - Sustainable Landscapes: Bridging Place and Environment in Poughkeepsie
• GEOG 340 - Advanced Urban and Regional Studies
• GEOG 356 - Environment and Land-Use Planning
• ESCI 201 - Earth Materials: Minerals and Rocks   
• ESCI 203 - Earth History   
• ESCI 211 - Sedimentology
• ESCI 221 - Soils
• ESCI 231 - Geomorphology: Surface Processes and Evolution of Landforms
• ESCI 251 - Global Geophysics and Tectonics
• ESCI 321 - Advanced Topics in Environmental Geology
• ESCI 335 - Paleoclimatology: Earth’s History of Climate Change
• ESCI 361 - Modeling the Earth

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• Land and Resource Analysis Theme:

• GEOG 220 - Cartography: Spatial Data Visualization with GIS  
• GEOG 224 - GIS: Spatial Analysis  
• GEOG 230 - Research Methods: Studying Sustainability at Vassar  
• GEOG 238 - Environmental China: Nature, Culture, and Development
• GEOG 242 - Brazil in Crisis: Continuity and Change in Portuguese America
• GEOG 250 - Urban Geography: Space, Place, Environment
• GEOG 252 - Cities of the Global South: Urbanization and Social Change in the Developing World
• GEOG 258 - Sustainable Landscapes: Bridging Place and Environment in Poughkeepsie  
• GEOG 260 - Conservation of Natural Resources  
• GEOG 266 - Population, Environment, and Sustainable Development
• GEOG 304 - Senior Seminar: Issues in Geographic Theory and Method  
• GEOG 340 Advanced Urban and Regional Studies  
• ESCI 111 - Environmental Justice in the Anthropocene
• ESCI 151 - The Solid Earth:  Physical Geology    (Same as GEOG 151 - The Solid Earth:  Physical Geology  )
• ESCI 201 - Earth Materials: Minerals and Rocks  
• ESCI 203 - Earth History  
• ESCI 221 - Soils  
• ESCI 231 - Geomorphology: Surface Processes and Evolution of Landforms  
• ESCI 321 - Advanced Topics in Environmental Geology  
• ESCI 361 - Modeling the Earth  

Electives

• A sequence of three units in Earth Science including at least one at the 300-level
• A sequence of three units in Geography including at least one at the 300-level (GEOG 304  recommended, but not required)
• One additional 300-level course, which may be another ESCI seminar, another GEOG seminar, or an ESSC thesis

Intensives

At least one of the 200 or 300 level units, or the optional thesis, must be an Intensive.