Snow Science Option
The Snow Science program in the Department of Earth Sciences provides a foundation for understanding the distribution of snow (geography), mechanics of snow (physics, engineering), composition of snow (chemistry), variability of snow (statistics), and ecological effects of snow (ecology, hydrology). Essentially, this degree is a strongly quantitative geo-science degree with a special emphasis on Snow Science and mountain system processes.
It is also one of the best pre-professional programs in the world for those who want to carry their interests in Snow Science into a professional career. Employment ranges from ski patrol, director of snow safety, avalanche-center employee, snow scientist with a federal agency, or consulting in the area of land use planning, transportation engineering, or avalanche protection.
The optimal degree for employment and advancement in snow science is the Master's Degree. Some students interested in college teaching or advanced research may require a Ph.D. degree. The snow science option is an excellent preparatory degree both for employment and for advanced graduate studies, especially in quantitative geo-science fields.
In the Snow Science Option, students progress through a broad-based core of courses that includes introductory geology and geography, calculus, chemistry, physics, weather and climate, geographic information systems (GIS), geomorphology, glacial geology, and mountain geography. In addition to the core of Snow Science courses, students examine spatial analysis of factors important to snow distribution, snow hydrology, snow melt, and the analysis of factors which influence the spatial distribution of snow or snow avalanches. The capstone course is snow dynamics and accumulation. Students are strongly encouraged to consider a graduate degree in snow science to prepare for professional jobs, but such training is not always required.
| Freshman Year | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | |
| ERTH 101IN - Earth System Sciences (Fall or Spring ) | 4 | |
| GPHY 121D - Human Geography (Fall or Spring ) | 3 | |
| University Core and Electives | 7 | |
| ACT 160 - Avalanche 1 Training | 1 | |
| GPHY 141D - Geography of World Regions (Fall or Spring ) | 3 | |
| M 161Q - Survey of Calculus (Fall or Spring ) or M 171Q - Calculus I | 4 | |
| University Core and Electives | 7 | |
| Year Total: | 14 | 15 |
| Sophomore Year | Credits | |
| Fall | Spring | |
| CHMY 141 - College Chemistry I & CHMY 142 - College Chemistry I Lab | 4 | |
| ERTH 303 - Weather and Climate | 3 | |
| GPHY 284 - Intro to GIS Science & Cartog (Fall or Spring or Freshmen Year) | 3 | |
| PHSX 205 - College Physics I | 4 | |
| CHMY 143 - College Chemistry II & CHMY 144 - College Chemistry II Lab | 4 | |
| PHSX 207 - College Physics II | 4 | |
| STAT 216Q - Introduction to Statistics (Fall or Spring ) | 3 | |
| University Core and Electives Fall or Spring | 5 | |
| Year Total: | 14 | 16 |
| Junior Year | Credits | |
| Fall | Spring | |
| ERTH 307 - Principles of Geomorphology | 4 | |
| GPHY 329 - Environment and Society | 3 | |
| UD ElectivesFall and Spring; See Course List Below | 17 | |
| GPHY 384 - Adv GIS and Spatial Analysis (Fall or Spring) | 3 | |
| STAT 337 - Intermediate Statistics with Introduction to Statistical Computing (Fall or Spring or Sophomore Year) | 3 | |
| Year Total: | 24 | 6 |
| Senior Year | Credits | |
| Fall | Spring | |
| GEO 445 - Glacial Geology | 3 | |
| GPHY 441R - Mountain Geography (Fall Odd Years) | 4 | |
| STAT 411 - Methods for Data Analysis I (Fall or Spring ) | 3 | |
| UD ElectivesFall and Spring; See Course List Below | 17 | |
| ERTH 450R - Snow Dynamics and Accumulation | 4 | |
| Year Total: | 27 | 4 |
| Total Program Credits: | 120 | |
Upper Division Electives
| TAKE AT LEAST 21 CREDITS OF THE FOLLOWING: | ||
| ENSC 444 | Watershed Hydrology (Fall) | 3 |
| ENSC 445 | Watershed Analysis (Spring ) | 3 |
| ERTH 484 | Climates of the Past, Present and Future (Spring ) | 3 |
| GPHY 357 | GPS Fund/App in Mapping (Fall or Spring) | 3 |
| GPHY 365 | Geographical Planning (Spring) | 3 |
| GPHY 402 | Water and Society (Fall Even Years) | 3 |
| GPHY 411 | Biogeography (Spring) | 3 |
| STAT 412 | Methods for Data Analysis II (Fall or Spring ) | 3 |
| GPHY 425 | Geographic Thought (Spring ) | 3 |
| GPHY 426 | Remote Sensing (Spring ) | 3 |
| GPHY 484R | Applied GIS & Spatial Analysis (Spring ) | 3 |
| STAT 431 | Nonparametric Statistics (Fall Even Years) | 3 |
| STAT 436 | Introduction to Time Series Analysis (Fall Even Years) | 3 |
| STAT 437 | Introduction to Applied Multivariate Analysis (Spring Odd Years) | 3 |
| STAT 446 | Sampling (Fall ) | 3 |
Math path: M 161Q or M 171 - STAT 216Q - STAT 337 - STAT 411
A total of 120 credits are required to graduate, including 42 upper-division courses.
Notes:
- A C- is required in all curriculum courses to graduate by Regents' policy. This includes electives in this curriculum.
- A minimum of 120 credits is required for graduation.
- All offerings are dependent upon available staffing.