This is a comprehensive list of courses offered in earth and environmental science studies to fulfill the requirements in the MSAG online curriculum. Not all courses are offered every year. Check current course listings for which courses are offered each semester.
EESC 5200 Aqueous Geochemistry
Required course: Geochemistry
Offered in the fall term
This course is designed to provide graduate students with an understanding of the fundamentals of aqueous geochemistry. The chemistry of water, air, and soil will be studied from an environmental perspective. The nature, composition, structure, and properties of pollutants coupled with the major chemical mechanisms controlling the occurrence and mobility of chemicals in the environment will also be studied. Upon completion of this course, students should expect to have attained a broad understanding of and familiarity with aqueous geochemistry concepts applicable to the environmental field. Environmental issues that will be covered include acid deposition, toxic metal contamination, deforestation, and anthropogenic perturbed aspects of the earth’s hydrosphere.
EESC 5704 Geologic Field Methods
Elective course
Offered in the summer term
This is an in-person class. One week in Philadelphia is required to complete the course. Field trips are required.
This course will introduce geologic mapping tools that include the Sight Level, Brunton Transit, Theodolite, and GPS. We will review theory and concepts related to these methodologies. Instruction will emphasize traditional observation methods, hands on learning of instrumentation during site visits, interpretation of field measurements and preparation of geologic maps. This course fulfills the field methods course requirement for licensure in Pennsylvania.
EESC 6664 Field Study in Soils
Elective course
Offered in the summer term
This is an in-person class. One week in Philadelphia is required to complete the course. Field trips are required.
Soil is a natural body that exists as part of the environment where inorganic, geologic materials combine with organic materials to produce a large array of soils with varying properties. This course will begin with in-class primers on the field description of soil properties, soil classification, and land use classification, followed by weekly day-long (4-6 hours) required field trips to several locations to study the soils in-situ.
EESC 6810 Applied and Environmental Geophysics
Required course: Geophysics
Offered in the fall term
The application of geophysical investigation techniques to problems of the local and shallow subsurface structure of the earth. The application of geophysical measurements and interpretation for environmental site characterizations, locating buried structures, groundwater investigations, and identifying geotechnical hazards with emphasis on gravity methods, seismic refraction and reflection, electrical resistivity, electromagnetic methods, ground penetrating radar, and borehole nuclear logging.
EESC 6610 Sustainable Development of Water Resource Systems
Elective course
Offered in the spring term
The evaluation of technical, social, and economic constraints on the design of water supply and sanitation projects. The focus on sustainable design emphasizes how technical solutions fit within the appropriate social context. Case studies are used to demonstrate these principles across a range of examples from developed and developing countries including detailed studies from rural communities with limited resources.
EESC 5720 Role of the Environmental Professional in Managing Contaminated Site Liability
Elective course
Offered in the fall term
Evaluation of environmental contamination and liability is an important tool during acquisition of real estate property, and a standard work product in the environmental consulting field. This course will cover the purpose and history of the Superfund law, the various classifications of Superfund liable parties, and protections against Superfund liability, specifically with regard to bona fide prospective purchasers (BFPP). In the context of the BFPP liability defense the course will focus on the performance of "All Appropriate Inquiry" for the presence of environmental contamination (e.g. Phase I environmental site assessment). Our study of "All Appropriate Inquiry" will include evaluation of historical maps and other resources, aerial photography, chain-of-title documentation, and governmental database information pertaining to known contaminated sites in the area of select properties on or near campus. Site visits will be performed to gain experience and knowledge for the identification of recognized environmental conditions. Students will prepare environmental reports for select properties and will have an opportunity to hone technical writing skills.
EESC 6715 Water Resources for Geologists and Environmental Scientists
Elective course
Offered in the summer term
This class will provide an overview of water topics and issues and is intended to provide geologists and environmental scientists with a working understanding of current water resource issues and challenges ranging from stormwater and flooding to stream restoration, water re-use and ecological restoration. Starting with an understanding of hydrology, streams, and related ecosystems, the class will look at the various ways we use and depend on water, the ways in which water resources are degraded, and practices to restore and protect the resource. Topics to be covered include green infrastructure, water and wastewater sources and water reuse, stream health, stream channel restoration, riparian buffers, floodplains, best practices, and the concept of “one water.” We will also cover current regulations, changing water policies, sustainability, and the implications of climate change.
EESC 6720 Landslides
Elective course
Offered in the spring term
Landslides are important geomorphic agents in mountainous terrain, mobilizing sediment and playing a key role in controlling relief and elevation. The work of landslides is often characterized by their magnitude-frequency, which also has direct implications for people, property, and infrastructure in mountainous terrain, and for the approaches taken to minimize the risk from landslides. This course will introduce students to a conceptual understanding of landslides at a range of spatial scales, including the mechanics of the processes governing landslides from trigger to deposition. Methods of slope monitoring and the varied approaches to landslide risk mitigation and management will be explored, with a range of geotechnical and environmental applications. This course includes lab-based sessions to demonstrate simple techniques to understand fundamental landslide processes, and applications of GIS technology to explore slope monitoring and failure prediction.
EESC 6620 Environmental Groundwater Hydrology
Required course: Groundwater Hydrology
Offered in the spring term
This course is designed to introduce the major definitions and concepts regarding groundwater flow and contaminant transport. The theory and underlying concepts, including mathematical derivations of governing equations used to model groundwater flow and contaminant transport, will be discussed and applications to environmental problems addressed. Upon completion of this course, students should expect to have attained a broad understanding of and familiarity with groundwater flow and contaminant transport concepts, and to have acquired the skills necessary to pursue work in flow and transport modeling.
EESC 6770 Geocomputations
Required course: Geocomputations
Offered in the fall term
Review and applications of selected methods from differential equations, advanced engineering mathematics, and geostatistics to problems encountered in geology, engineering geology, geophysics and hydrology.
EESC 5630 Hydrology
Required course: Hydrology
Offered in the fall term
Introduction to the basic principles of the hydrologic cycle and water budgets, precipitation and infiltration, evaporation and transpiration, stream flow, hydrograph analysis (floods), subsurface and groundwater flow, well hydraulics, water quality, and frequency analysis.
EESC 6820 Geomechanics: Solids
Required: course: Geomechanics
Offered in the fall term
Mechanical properties of solid and fluid earth materials, stress and strain, earth pressures in soil and rock, tunnels, piles, and piers; flow through gates, weirs, spillways and culverts, hydraulics, seepage, and Darcy's law as applied to the hydrologic sciences.
EESC 6606 Fate and Transport of Pollutants
Elective course
Offered in the spring and summers terms
This course covers basic groundwater flow and solute transport modeling in one-, two-, and three-dimensions. After first reviewing the principles of modeling, the student will gain hands-on experience by conducting simulations on the computer. The modeling programs used in the course are MODFLOW (USGS), MT3D, and the US Army Corps of Engineers GMS (Groundwater Modeling System).
EESC 6710 Geostatistics
Required course: Geocomputations/Elective
Offered in the spring and summer terms
Statistical analysis of data from geological, geotechnical, and geohydrologic sources.
EESC 6620 Environmental Groundwater Hydrology
Required course: Groundwater Hydrology
Offered in the spring term
This course is designed to introduce the major definitions and concepts regarding groundwater flow and contaminant transport. The theory underlying concepts, including mathematical derivations of governing equations used to model groundwater flow and contaminant transport, will be discussed and applications to environmental problems addressed. Upon completion of this course, students should expect to have attained a broad understanding of and familiarity with groundwater flow and contaminant transport concepts, and to have acquired the skills necessary to pursue work in flow and transport modeling.
EESC6830 Geomechanics: Fluids
Required course: Geomechanics/Elective
Offered in the spring term
Static and dynamic mechanical properties of fluid in earth materials, as applied to the hydrologic sciences; Principles of fluid mechanics and hydraulics applied to open channel flow in earth materials; flow through gates, weirs, spillways, and culverts; Applications of Darcy's Law to subsurface flow and seepage.
EESC 6840 Engineering Geology: Rock Mechanics
Required course: Engineering Geology
Offered in the fall term
This course focuses on the rock mechanics aspects of Engineering Geology. The theme is characterization of the geologic environment for engineering and environmental investigations. Covered are the various exploration tools and methods, including: collection and analysis of existing engineering data; interpretation of remotely sensed imagery; field and laboratory measurements of material properties; measurement and characterization of rock discontinuities; rock slope stability analysis; stress, strain and failure of rocks and the importance of scale; rock core logging; cock mass rating; rock support and reinforcement; rock excavation, blasting, and blast monitoring and control.
EESC 6850 Engineering Geology: Surficial Materials
Elective course
Offered in the spring term, odd years
As the human population continues to grow, the environment and earth's resources become more important. This course will concentrate on the occurrence and distribution of earth’s surficial materials and their engineering and environmental properties. The engineering classification, testing, and use of the earth materials will be emphasized. The geohazards of surficial processes will also be studied in the context of geologic history and the planning and use of the geologic environment.
EESC 6870 Interpretation of Near-Surface Geologic Structure for Engineering and Environmental Projects - Site Characterization
Elective course
Offered in the spring term, even years
The course introduces the basic principles of structural geology and their applications to engineering and environmental site characterization and includes the mechanisms for the deformation and failure of the earth’s crust, folded and faulted structures, and the orthogonal and stereographic solutions to characterize near-surface geologic structure. It also includes the construction and interpretation of geologic maps, geologic cross sections and block diagrams. Emphasis is placed on the graphical representation of subsurface data, including the use of selected computer programs, and the integration of the data to solve problems encountered in engineering and environmental projects.
EESC 6998 Project Design
Required course
Offered in the spring term
This course is designed to prepare Master of Science in Applied Geosciences students to undertake their capstone exercise. In this course, we discuss how to identify an appropriate research project, how to design a research plan, and how to prepare a detailed proposal. By the end of the course, each student is expected to have completed a capstone proposal.
ENVS 5706 Modeling Geographic Objects
Elective course
Offered in the fall term
This course offers a broad and practical introduction to the acquisition, storage, retrieval, maintenance, use, and presentation of digital cartographic data with both image and drawing based geographic information systems (GIS) for a variety of environmental science, planning, and management applications. Its major objectives are to provide the training necessary to make productive use of at least two well-known software packages, and to establish the conceptual foundation on which to build further skills and knowledge in late practice.
ENVS 5716 Modeling Geographic Space
Elective course
Offered in the spring term
This course explores the nature and use of digital geographic information systems (GIS) for the analysis and synthesis of spatial patterns and processes through cartographic modeling. Cartographic modeling is a general but well-defined methodology that can be used to address a wide variety of analytical mapping applications in a clear and consistent manner. It does so by decomposing both data and data-processing tasks into elemental components that can then be recomposed with relative ease and with great flexibility.
