Faculty and Course Web Pages
Curriculum
Most of the colleges serving as transfer destinations for Normandale students offer a major in geology. The three geology courses at Normandale are offered as part of the major at most of those departments. GEOL 1101 is often the first course suggested in many departments. GEOL 1102 and GEOL 1110 sometimes count as major requirements and sometimes as electives within the major.
Additional courses for geology majors usually require extensive prerequisite coursework in other sciences and math. Normandale provides a good academic environment for completing those other requirements. We recommend that students who intend to major in geology complete as many of these prerequisite courses as possible before transferring.
These recommended courses include:
CHEM 1061, CHEM 1062
MATH 1510, MATH 1520, MATH 2520
and for some programs, MATH 2510
PHYS 1121, PHYS 1122,
and for some programs, PHYS 2250
- Begin specific liberal classes for the intended transfer institution or complete the Minnesota Transfer curriculum and/or complete the Associate in Arts degree.
- Consult the current transfer guide in the Mahendra Nath Career and Academic Planning Center.
Courses offered in this department that count as electives toward a degree in Geology:
GEOL 1101 Physical Geology
GEOL 1102 Historical Geology
GEOL 1110 Environmental Geology
GEOL 1111 Environmental Geology Lab
GEOL 1900 Topics in Geology
GEOL 2900 Topics in Geology
GEOL 1101 Physical Geology
GEOL 1102 Historical Geology
GEOL 1110 Environmental Geology
GEOL 1111 Environmental Geology Lab
For course descriptions and additional program information visit the Normandale catalog online.
View common course outline information.
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Department Admin
Dean: Tina Wade, Dean of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Education
Dean's Assistant: Joan Fosnow
Dept Chair: Ronald Ward
Jami Viergets, CLA 952/487-7187
Mission Statement
The mission of the Geography/Geology Department, in support of the mission of the Normandale Community College, recognizes the department's responsibility to stand at the center of a strong liberal education for our students. Our emphasis on spatial perspective, regional synthesis, and scientific method cultivates critical thinking as students acquire, analyze and evaluate knowledge in a holistic context across social/cultural and natural systems. We are committed to providing both general and discipline-specific knowledge required to further students' education as they proceed to four-year college and graduate programs, as well as meeting the needs of life-long learners within our community.
Other Information
Geology is the science of the Earth. Geologists study the processes that operate in and on the Earth. They use their knowledge of geologic processes operating in today's environment as a basis for interpreting the history of the Earth, and apply that same knowledge while confronting significant environmental problems like pollution and resource availability.
Professional geologists can be found working in a variety of private companies and public agencies on tasks related to environmental engineering, monitoring and protection, resource exploration and education.
