Geology
Whether directly out of CLU or after graduate school, geology graduates target careers in environmental, engineering or petroleum geology, in geophysics, or as earth science teachers-as experts on groundwater pollution, earthquake and landslide hazards, mining, petroleum exploration, or geologic research.
Geology students learn how the Earth works and how our planet and its life forms have changed through time. Well-trained geologists can help the nation and the world chart an environmentally and economically sound course into the future.
Earth is the classroom for students in Cal Lutheran's geology department, who head out from campus several times a year on field trips to such regional wonders as the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, the Owens Valley, and the Eastern Sierra Nevada. The University's proximity to so many of our planet's geological highlights gives students and faculty ample opportunity to witness first-hand how the Earth's processes and life on Earth have evolved over time.
Coursework combines classroom instruction with extensive fieldwork, along with the interdisciplinary study of chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics. Beyond developing a comprehensive understanding of Earth processes, students are taught how to apply that understanding to the study of energy and economic resources, the analysis of geologic hazards, and mitigation of population effects on our environment.
With its focused, hands-on approach, the geology degree program involves students directly in research work, and prepares them for a variety of professions, as well as entry into graduate programs in geology, geophysics, and environmental geology.
Recent research projects include a study of the Miocene Ricardo Formation in Red Rock Canyon State Park by a student who now works as an exploration geologist for Exxon/Mobil; and a study of the vertebral column of the beaked whale Mesoplodon europaeus, by a student who is now pursuing a Ph.D. in vertebrate paleontology at the University of Michigan.
Requirements
Upper Division Credits: 30
Required Courses: Geology 111, 111L, 112, 112L, 311, 312, 331, 332, 335, 421
Required Supporting Courses:
Physics 201, 202; Chemisty 151/L, 152/L; Math 251, 252
Faculty
Contact the Department
California Lutheran University
60 W. Olsen Rd. #3700
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Department Chair:
Linda A. Ritterbush, Ph.D.
Undergraduate Majors
- Accounting - B.S.
- Art - B.A.
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - B.A.
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - B.S.
- Bioengineering - B.S.
- Biological Sciences - B.A.
- Biological Sciences - B.S.
- Business Administration - B.S.
- Chemistry - B.A.
- Chemistry - B.S.
- Communication - B.A.
- Computer Information Systems - B.S.
- Computer Science - B.S.
- Criminal Justice - B.S.
- Economics - B.A.
- English - B.A.
- Environmental Science - B.S.
- Exercise Science - B.S.
- French ( General Major ) - B.A.
- French ( Teaching Major ) - B.A.
- Geology - B.A.
- Geology - B.S.
- German - B.A.
- History - B.A.
- Interdisciplinary Studies - B.A.
- Interdisciplinary Studies - B.S.
- International Studies - B.A.
- Liberal Studies (Elementary Teaching) - B.A.
- Marketing Communication - B.A.
- Mathematics - B.S.
- Mathematics - B.A.
- Multimedia - B.A.
- Music - B.A.
- Philosophy - B.A.
- Physics - B.S.
- Physics - B.A.
- Political Science - B.A.
- Psychology - B.A.
- Psychology - B.S.
- Religion - B.A.
- Social Science - B.A.
- Sociology - B.A.
- Spanish - B.A.
- Theatre Arts - B.A.
- Theology and Christian Leadership - B.A.
