Department
The Earth Science Department has undertaken as its mission
the following:
1. Provide an
opportunity for all undergraduates at SCSU to learn about their local
environment, their planet Earth and its position in the Universe. Specifically, the sub areas of Earth Science
involved are Geology, Meteorology, Oceanography, Astronomy, and Environmental
Geoscience, and the interrelationship between those areas.
2. Provide
undergraduate students with the means to learn the methodology of science. In particular, they will learn how to plan,
conduct, and validate experimentation and research in the sub areas of Earth
Science, to distinguish between valid research and that which masquerades as
science, and to apply their knowledge of Earth Science to the understanding of
commonly encountered problems of daily living.
3. Prepare undergraduate
students for careers or graduate study in: Environmental Science, Geology, Meteorology, Oceanography, Earth Science
Education, and a variety of fields for which a technical background in courses
such as those taught by the Earth Science Department is appropriate, including
but not limited to Environmental law, Science Writer, Laboratory Technician,
Engineering Aide.
4. Provide information about the Earth Sciences to the
citizens of
Learner Outcomes
Upon completion of a bachelors degree in the Earth Sciences students should:
1. Obtain a broad knowledge of Earth Science and its subdisciplines (Geology, Meteorology, Oceanography, Astronomy)
2. Understand and be able to demonstrate the scientific method
3. Demonstrate scientific reasoning - cause to effect, multiple causes and cause sequences possible, quantitative and/or qualitative reasoning, critical thinking/reasoning skill
4. Demonstrate information literacy - search for scientific data or information, discern reliable from non-reliable sources, source attribution, reliable and accurate reporting
5. Demonstrate proficiency in communication - oral, written and technological
6. Synthesize ideas - interrelationship of sub-disciplines of earth sciences, interdisciplinary thinking
7. Exhibit professionalism - ethics, integrity, meeting deadlines, work ethic, etc.
8. Demonstrate computer and technological adeptness
9. Assess and evaluate scientific and environmental situations
10. Develop an appreciation and responsibility for the natural world.
