As an international direct student at USC, you’ll receive:

• Exclusive and rigorous academic coursework
• Priority access to in-demand courses that fit your interests
• Guidance from academic advisors and mentors
• Career development and networking opportunities
• Intensive classes with domestic students

Understanding and caring for our planet requires an appreciation of the sweeping arc from the solid earth, to freshwater and marine systems, to the relationship of humans to those environments. Our mission at the School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment is to achieve an understanding of Earth’s diverse environments and human relationships through research, and to convey that understanding through education, and outreach to the broader community.

As a geological sciences major, laboratory experience and field-based activities will enhance the vibrant and friendly academic environment. You will focus on the study of the Earth's dynamics and history, as well as its composition and the chemical, physical and biological changes that it undergoes. You can also choose to pursue a concentration in environmental geosciences or marine geology.

The department offers a broad range of specialties within geosciences such as sedimentology, stratigraphy and basin evolution; tectonics and structural geology; environmental geology and hydrogeology; igneous and metamorphic petrology; geophysics and seismology; oceanography, coastal and estuarine processes; paleoecology and paleontology; and paleoceanography and paleoclimatology.

You will also have the unique opportunity to complete a six-week field course in Colorado to get valuable hands-on experience. This opportunity synergizes your education in geology to understanding the Earth's formation in an observational setting.

A major in geological science can prepare you for careers in:

• Environmental consulting
  
• Energy industries
• State entities such as the Department of Natural Resources, the S.C. Geological Survey and the Department of Health and Environmental Control