Earth and Environmental Science Majors, Minor

What You'll Learn

Are you ready to turn your passion for science and the environment into an exciting career? This program gives you the knowledge, skills, and hands-on training to solve real-world environmental and resource challenges. This major has two distinct tracks, both of which prepare you to care for our natural world and build a rewarding future.

In the environmental science concentration, students study earth systems, ecosystems, plants, wildlife, and environmental law, preparing you for careers such as park naturalist, ecosystem management, environmental consultant, or environmental educator.

In the geoscience concentration, students explore Earth's structure, history, rocks, minerals, and natural resources. This concentration opens up careers in geological surveys, water resource management, environmental consulting, and mineral or oil and gas exploration.

What Makes This Program Great

Professional-grade facilities: You'll have access to a huge collection of minerals, rocks, and fossils, as well as a vast collection of maps, a dedicated geo-spatial analysis lab, drones, an on-campus research sand dune, a seismograph, a weather station, and more.
Real-world research opportunities: As an earth and environmental science major, you'll have the chance to work in Calvin’s Ecosystem Preserve and to do research with your professors during the academic year and summer. Earth and environmental science students have done research on topics including Lake Michigan coastal dunes, a Pleistocene mastodon, the Plaster Creek watershed, and climate reconstruction using sediment cores from a local Michigan lake.
Practical job experience: The GEO department hires more students than any other department. Students are hired yearly for a wide variety of positions, from managing a map library to maintaining the university weather station.
Study off-campus: The GEO department regularly offers off-campus courses to places as diverse as Yosemite National Park, New Mexico, Death Valley, Hawaii, British Columbia, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Why choose Earth and Environmental Science?

Active, fulfilling work
Environmental Science careers give the opportunity to do much more than sit behind a desk or work in a lab, hands-on fieldwork and sampling are included in many positions.
High demand, and well paying jobs
The job market for environmental scientists is growing quickly and offers very good pay.
Purpose
You can be a part of the solution for many of the critical problems that our world is facing. Contribute to the global effort to restore and preserve our planet.

Careers In Environmental Science

conducting field sampling, environmental monitoring, and data analysis
mapping wetlands
mapping and monitoring groundwater
conducting site investigations, contamination assessments, and cleanups
preparing environmental impact assessments
auditing compliance with environmental regulations

Educate the public about important environmental topics and ways of responding to issues, and help communicate the scientific discussions to a wider audience.

Teaching in informal settings
Written, oral, and electronic communications
Government agencies, nature centers, parks, nongovernmental organizations, and similar institutions.

Institute effective solutions to complex systems at local and national levels.

High demand field, with good pay
Fish and ecosystems
Teaching, research, management

As our human population continues to increase, forests and other natural resources are valued more for the serenity they provide, the organisms they support, and the products they produce.

Creating, managing, conserving, and repairing forest resources
Applying ecology, GIS, and environmental sciences
Managing demand for timber, fuel, water quality, habitat, recreation, employment, and environmental wholeness

Work in a variety of jobs including...

Geological Survey Geologist: works in state or federal government to map natural resources and hazards.
Environmental Geologist: investigates and restores contaminated soils and groundwater, helps companies to prevent environmental pollution.
Petroleum Geologist: explores subsurface reserves of oil and natural gas and guides their extraction.
Mining geologist: locates ore deposits and guides mining operations.
Hydrogeologist: manages water resources and water supply wells, maps and measures aquifers, uses computer models to predict groundwater flow.

Conserve irreplaceable lands and waterways, and improve outdoor recreation opportunities across the nation.

State and local efforts
Preserve natural areas, historical sites, and wildlife habitat
Quality outdoor recreation for all

Promoting a healthy lifestyle and environment, contributing to the livability of communities, and informing policy, economic development, and stewardship at local, national, and international levels.