Forestry and Geology

Department Mission

Forestry, geology, and environmental study are the emphases of the Department of Forestry and Geology. Students analyze the physical, biological, and chemical components of natural landscapes, and also address the economic, social, and political aspects of environmental issues as part of their study. The department stresses work both within and outside the classroom, and trains students to integrate their field observations with theoretical concepts and analytical data.

Majors offered: Three majors are offered within the department: forestry, geology, and natural resources and the environment. Students may select either a B.S. or B.A. degree from each of these. Offerings available to both majors and non-majors include introductory to advanced courses in forestry and geology, including environmentally applicable coursework in hydrology, forest ecology, tropical forestry, resource management, and natural resource policy.

All three majors emphasize an interdisciplinary study of the natural world and the interrelationships between geological and forest ecological processes. Excellent forest and geological exposures on the University Domain and its environs are the focus of both lab and field study. Other sites in the Appalachians, Rocky Mountains, Colorado Plateau region, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and St. Catherine's barrier island environment are also studied in specific courses. Students in all majors develop skills appropriate to the study of forested and geologic systems. These include skills in computer use/analysis (database, word processing, and/or GIS software), field identifications, laboratory analysis, and mapping and spatial analysis of variables in the field. Graduating seniors must demonstrate a broad knowledge of environmental issues (local, regional, and global) and must be competent in both oral and written communication skills. As part of this goal, all juniors in the department complete an oral presentations course and all seniors complete a collaborative and interdisciplinary senior field research project.

Students interested in majoring in forestry, geology, or natural resources and the environment are advised to consult with a member of the department early in their college career to plan a sequence of courses appropriate to their interests and objectives. Students interested in careers in forestry or environmental study may also participate in a 3-2 program with Duke University, with three years of work at Sewanee and two years at Duke, to obtain both a Sewanee bachelor's degree and a Duke master's degree.

In geology, all courses count toward fulfilling the college distribution requirements in the sciences. In forestry, all courses except Forestry 201 and 319 fulfill the science distribution requirement.

Natural Resources and the Environment Major: An interdisciplinary environmental major that integrates coursework in forest ecosystems and geology with other environmental coursework.

Natural resources and the environment majors must take at least two geology and two forestry courses, plus two additional departmental courses that complement their specific interests in forestry and/or geology or one additional departmental course plus the Island Ecology course. They must also take Introduction to Environmental Studies (EnSt 200) and one biology lab course. A total of seven full department courses, plus the junior presentations and senior project seminars, are required.

Required courses in the department are: Introduction to Forestry (Forestry 121), Physical Geology (Geology 121), one of Soils (Forestry 303) or Hydrology (Geology 314), one of Dendrology (Forestry 211), Forest Ecology (Forestry 305), or Silviculture (Forestry 312), one of Economic Geological Resources (Geology 215), Natural Resource Management and Decisions (Forestry 319), or Field and Structural Geology (Geology 325), and one of Mineralogy (Geology 221), Historical Geology (Geology 222), or Sedimentology (Geology 225). In addition, majors must take two other Forestry or Geology courses or Island Ecology and one other Forestry or Geology course. All majors must take Junior Presentations (Forestry or Geology 332) and Senior Interdisciplinary Field Project (Forestry or Geology 432).

Elementary Statistics (Stat 204), and General Chemistry 101, 102, 104, or 111 are recommended.

Note: Four science and/or math courses outside of the department are required for a Bachelor of Science degree.

Forestry Major: A study of forest ecosystems and the environmental components and processes (biological, physical, and chemical) that affect them.

Forestry majors at Sewanee must be broadly trained and must integrate traditional forestry coursework (dendrology, silviculture, biometrics, forest ecology, and natural resource management) with courses outside the department in economics, biology, chemistry, and mathematics. Courses in soils, hydrology, tropical and boreal forestry, wildlife management, and natural resource policy are also encouraged or required. A total of nine full department courses, plus the junior presentations and senior project seminars, are required.

Required departmental courses are: Introduction to Forestry (Forestry 121), Physical Geology (Geology 121), Dendrology (Forestry 211), Silviculture (Forestry 312), Forest Ecology (Forestry 305), Biometrics (Forestry 307), Natural Resource Management (Forestry 319), Natural Resource Issues and Policies (Forestry 201), and either Soils (Geology 303) or Hydrology (Geology 314), plus Junior Presentations (Forestry 332) and Senior Interdisciplinary Field Project (Forestry 432).

Requirements outside the Department of Forestry and Geology include Economics 101, Chemistry 101, one semester of Calculus (Math 101 or higher), and one course in Biology (131 or 132 or 210).

Additional courses that are strongly encouraged but not required include Chemistry 102 or 104, either Environmental Ethics (Philosophy 230) or Religion and Ecology (Religion 341), Statistics (Math 204), and one additional upper level (200+) Biology laboratory course.

Geology Major: A study of processes affecting the earth — geological, hydrological, and chemical.

Geology majors study present-day and past interrelationships between earth components and earth processes — rocks, minerals, fossils, landforms, structural features, earthquakes, glaciers, magmas, volcanoes, atmospheric gases, surface water, subsurface water, and environmental pollutants. Required coursework in geology is integrated with required or recommended coursework in forestry, soils, hydrology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. A total of nine full department courses, plus the junior presentations and senior project seminars, are required.

Required departmental courses include Physical Geology (Geology 121), Introduction to Forestry (Forestry 121), Historical Geology (Geology 222), Mineralogy (Geology 221), Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology (Geology 320), Sedimentology (Geology 225), Structural Geology (Geology 325), either Paleoecology (Geology 230) or Hydrology (Forestry 314), plus Junior Presentations (Geology 332) and Senior Interdisciplinary Field Project (Geology 432).

Requirements outside the department are two semesters of general chemistry (101 and either 102 or 104), and two courses in math/computer science (chosen in consultation with the department). A summer geology field camp taken at another institution is strongly recommended and required for admission to many graduate schools. Physics 101 and 102 are also recommended.