Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences

These courses are only open for majors and minors. If you are a geology minor and wish to take these courses, please email the Chair of the GES Department, Dr. Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce (liutkuscm@appstate.edu) so that you can be placed on the waitlist. Do not email the instructor, as they have no authority to give permits.

GES 2750 (Preparation for Careers in Geological and Environmental Sciences) is the GES Department's WID ("Writing in the Discipline") course and is required for all majors. It is a prerequisite for numerous upper level classes in the department.  Due to the intensity of the course, the class is capped at 16 students per section.

GES 2751 is a 2 credit Geology Field Methods course that is required for all Geology majors (regardless of concentration). Due to the intensity of the course and the requirement for multiple off-campus field trips, the class is typically capped at 16 students per section. This course meets on both Friday afternoons AND weekends for part of the semester. Off campus field trips are required.

Students will be required to sign an informed consent form prior to placement on the list for registration, so that:

1. the student is informed about what to expect from the GES 2751 course,
2. the student is informed about what will be expected of them in the field, and
3. the instructor knows in advance if the student will need reasonable accommodations to safely participate in field activities

GES 2752 is a 1 credit Environmental Science Field Methods course that is required for all Environmental Science majors and BS Geology - Concentration in Environmental Geology majors. This course meets for 3 hours each week for the entire semester. Off campus field trips are required.

You must have permission from the department in order to register for Prep (GES 2750) and Field Methods (GES 2751/2752).

1. Due to high demand, you cannot register for any of these courses without a permit. This is why the course looks odd in Banner (0 seats available with 0 capacity). 

2. During advising, your GES advisor will put you on a list to register for your preferred section of GES 2750, 2751, and/or 2752. 

   1. Students do not have permission to access this list.

   2. Only your GES advisor can put you on this list (you will meet with one of them during secondary science advising if you have not yet formally declared your major). Advisors from UC Advising, Athletics, S-STEM/L-SEM, Honors, etc. do not have access to this list.

   3. You will not be given a permit if you are not on this list. Do not skip your advising meeting with your GES advisor!

3. During advising, you must provide the following information to your advisor:

• your preferred section number (can't register without it!) and
• whether you can be placed in another section if necessary. These classes fill up very quickly, so we need this information ASAP. You will not receive a permit if we do not have this information!
• If you are signing up for GES 2751 (Geology Field Methods) you must also fill out the GES 2751 Informed Consent Agreement prior to receiving a permit (see below for details).

Things you should know:

• There is a C- or better minimum grade in Evolution of the Earth (or another lab class at the 2000+ level in BIO, CHE, or PHY) to be eligible for enrollment in all of these classes. You will be given a contingent permit for each course during registration, but it will be dropped if you get below a C-. If you did not meet the minimum grade requirement in Evolution of the Earth due to extenuating circumstances, but you believe you would still be successful in GES 2750/2751/2752, we have a permit appeal form here.

• If you are not immediately given a permit, do not panic!  Contact your advisor and ask what the situation is. These courses are taught every semester, and you will eventually be able to take them. The four-year guides are only guides; deviating from them is not a big deal. Every student's pathway will be different!

• Do not email the instructor for your preferred section to ask permission to join the class, as they have no power to give you permits.

• Due to the heavy demand for these courses, students who fail, drop (for non-medical reasons), or want to retake any of these courses to raise their grade will not automatically be given permission to register again for the following semester; these students may be waitlisted in the event that the course is full.

• Due to the heavy demand for these courses, students who want to take GES 2751/2752 as electives will be waitlisted in the event that the course is full.

• These courses are only open for majors and minors. If you are a geology minor and wish to take these courses, please email the Chair of the GES Department, Dr. Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce (liutkuscm@appstate.edu) so that you can be placed on the waitlist. Do not email the instructor, as they have no authority to give permits.