Why study earth science?
Exciting and fulfilling careers await those who study earth science. Students interested in the atmospheric sciences can choose from many specialties. These include meteorology and climatology. Agricultural meteorology, forecasting, or climatological research are a few options. Students interested in the geological sciences can look forward to a wide variety of careers related to geology and the environment, including seismology, hydrogeology, environmental geology, or oil and gas exploration.
At Parkland, you'll have the advantage of small class sizes, taught by master faculty—never teaching assistants. Your success is our priority.
Courses
Introduction to Weather (ESC 101): Learn more about Earth's atmosphere and the conditions that create our weather. Interpreting weather data and maps, and gathering current weather data are just a few lab activities. Both of these will use handheld data loggers. You can learn about weather instruments and history on the trip to the Illinois State Water Survey. This course also examines severe weather events. Investigating the impacts of these events on individuals and society, and safety precautions.
Introduction to Physical Geology (ESC 102): Explore the fascinating processes that have shaped our Earth. Lab activities include a trip to a local stream and examining stream processes. This includes using hand-held data loggers to gather and interpret stream velocity and water quality. You will also identify minerals, rocks, and fossils. This also includes the interpretation of real-world earthquake data. The course also looks at geologic hazards. These are associated with volcanoes, landslides, and earthquakes. The impacts of these events on individuals and society, and the safety precautions. An optional field trip is offered each semester to enhance classroom learning.
Will my classes transfer?
Introduction to Weather (ESC 101) and Introduction to Physical Geology (ESC 102) satisfy the Physical Science general education requirement at Illinois public universities. Parkland College courses with an even middle digit (such as ENG 101, MAT 128, and BIO 141) are accepted for transfer as general education courses, major courses, or electives as determined by the transfer institution.
For more information about transferring, speak with an academic advisor and visit the Parkland Course Matrix.
Curriculum
Learn more about how these courses fit into a transfer degree or the general education core curriculum (GECC).