Transfer Articulation: Geology

The Geology Program at Sam Houston State University would like to invite you to contact us, visit us, if possible, and eventually join the program. The objectives of the Geology Program are to train professional geologists and to prepare teachers of science. Students completing the Bachelor of Science degree are prepared for careers in industry, academia, government, and for admission to advanced degree programs.

For further information about our program and the degrees that we offer, please, visit Department of Environmental and Geosciences.

Department Chair:  John "Pat" Harris
Phone: (936) 294-1452
Location: Room 300, Lee Drain Building

 Courses Transfer Students Should Take at the Community College:*

*Note: Other courses may transfer, depending upon the selected degree or program.  Meet with your academic advisor to confirm whether coursework will transfer from another institution. For a complete listing of degree-specific requirements, please, review the degree plan within the Undergraduate Catalog. 

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Environmental Science (Pollution Abatement)

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Environmental Science (Sustainability)

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Environmental Science (Water Resources)

• Bachelor of Arts, Major in Geography (Environment, Culture, and Development)

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Geography (Environment, Culture, and Development)

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Geography, Geo-spatial Information Sciences

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Geology

• Bachelor of Science, Major in Geology (Geoscience)

• Minor in Environmental Science

• Minor in Geography

• Minor in Geology

• Minor in Geo-Spatial Science

Field of Study 

Sam Houston State University supports the State of Texas Fields of Study. 

All Geology majors and minors at SHSU must complete GEOL 1403 or GEOL 1405 , plus GEOL 1404.   MATH 3379 may be substituted for MATH 1430 at SHSU.  Calculus-based Physics courses equivalent to PHYS 1411, PHYS 1422, and PHYS 2426 at SHSU may be substituted for PHYS 1301/PHYS 1101, PHYS 1302/PHYS 1102  There are two geology major degree plans. Plan I is targeted toward the individual planning on attending graduate school or entering industry. Plan II, the Geoscience Plan, is for an individual planning for a geotech position. The degree specific requirements will vary depending upon the geology degree plan. Additional information may be found on The Department of Environmental and Geosciences web page.  

The baccalaureate degree in Geology requires the following for all majors:

• A 30 - 32 hour major core. 
• A maximum of 66 transfer credit hours (“C” or better excluding kinesiology) may be applied to a degree at SHSU. Students should carefully select courses to complete the associate degree while minimizing the number of hours that might exceed the 66-hour cap for transfer credit.

The Core Curriculum at Sam Houston State University (to be used by all incoming students as of fall 2014) contains 42 semester credit hours, encompassing nine component areas. Each component area has a minimum credit hour requirement and a selection of specific courses that may be used to satisfy the requirement. The Core Curriculum details Sam Houston State University courses and their Texas Common Course Number (TCCN) equivalents for college transfer students which comprise SHSU’s core curriculum.

Many SHSU disciplines including the sciences, business, and education require specific courses from the SHSU core as degree specific graduation requirements. To minimize cost and time to complete degree requirements always select SHSU/transfer core courses specified as degree requirements in your intended major.  If you have not decided on a major, select core courses supporting your intended area of academic concentration.

Prior to enrolling in core classes, students are encouraged to review specific degree requirements for their major. Selection of major-specified core courses reduces the total number of hours required for graduation.

If you do not see a Texas Common Course Number (TCCN) mapping a specific core course to your transfer institution, please go to Transfer Course Equivalency Guide and select your institution from the drop-down menu. The result will list all currently mapped transfer courses from your institution to SHSU courses.