Earth & Planetary Sciences (EPS) College of Letters & Science

EPS 001 — The Earth (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to the study of the Earth. Earth's internal structure; tectonic processes; geological hazards and resources; human relationship to the environment.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 050 or EPS 050; only 2 credits for students who have taken GEL 002 or EPS 002.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 003 — History of Life (3 units)

Course Description: History of life during the three and one-half billion years from its origin to the present day. Origin of life and processes of evolution; how to visualize and understand living organisms from their fossil remains. How to constrain the story of life using testable hypotheses.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 001 or EPS 001 recommended.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 003L — History of Life Laboratory (1 unit)

Course Description: Exercises in understanding fossils as the clues to interpreting ancient life, including their functional morphology, paleoecology, and evolution.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 003 or EPS 003 (can be concurrent).

  • Learning Activities: Laboratory 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 005 — Mass Extinctions: Past & Future (2 units)

Course Description: Modern extinctions reviewed and compared to the “big five” mass extinctions that occurred in deep time. Timings, magnitudes, causes, victims, and survivors of each mass extinction, together with the aftermaths of and recovery from each. Climate changes and other related mechanisms at global scales. Similarities and dissimilarities between the past and modern extinctions.

Prerequisite(s): Ability to interpret a table of data.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 009 — Geology Field Experience (1 unit)

Course Description: Geologic features and earth processes in the field. Experiential instruction in earth-science concepts, spatial visualization, landscape evolution, deep time, critical thinking skills, and integrative scientific themes. One thee-day (two overnight) field trip.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor; at least one previous GEL or EPS class, or concurrent enrollment.

  • Learning Activities: Discussion 2 hour(s), Fieldwork 24 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to non-Geology Majors only.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 1 time(s) when field trip destination differs.
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 010 — Climate Change: A Paleo Perspective (3 units)

Course Description: Scientific concepts underlying modern climate change, illustrated through presentation of how Earth’s atmosphere, water resources, land and life are linked and how climate change in the geologic past informs the future. New and anticipated climate solutions and how they address present and projected climate change.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 010.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL); Visual Literacy (VL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 012 — Dinosaurs - Evolution & Ecology (2 units)

Course Description: Introduction to evolutionary biology, paleobiology, ecology and paleoecology, using dinosaurs as case studies.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 016 — The Oceans (3 units)

Course Description: Introductory survey of the marine environment. Oceanic physical phenomena, chemical constituents and chemistry of water, geological history, the seas biota and human utilization of marine resources.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 016 or GEL 016V or GEL 116 or GEL 116N or EPS 116 or ESP 116N.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 016V — The Oceans (3 units)

Course Description: Introductory survey of the marine environment. Oceanic physical phenomena, chemical constituents and chemistry of water, geological history, the seas biota and human utilization of marine resources.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 016 or GEL 016V or GEL 116 or GEL 116N or EPS 116 or ESP 116N.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 017 — Earthquakes & Other Earth Hazards (3 units)

Course Description: Impact of earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis and other Hazards on humans, structures, and the environment. Discussion of the causes and effects of disasters and catastrophes, and on prediction, preparation, and mitigation of natural hazards.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 017 or GEL 017V.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 017V — Earthquakes & Other Earth Hazards (3 units)

Course Description: Impact of earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis and other Hazards on humans, structures, and the environment. Discussion of the causes and effects of disasters and catastrophes, and on prediction, preparation, and mitigation of natural hazards.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 017 or GEL 017V.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 020 — Geology of California (3 units)

Course Description: The geologic history of California from 750 million years ago to the present. Origin of California’s landscapes, rocks, natural resources, and earthquake and volcanic hazards.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Visual Literacy (VL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 025 — Geology of National Parks (3 units)

Course Description: Appreciation of the geologic framework underlying the inherent beauty of U.S. National Parks. Relationship of individual parks to geologic processes such as mountain building, volcanism, stream erosion, glacial action and landscape evolution.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 025 or GEL 025V.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 028 — Astrobiology (3 units)

Course Description: Origin, evolution and distribution of life in our solar system and the Universe. Detecting habitable worlds, Drake equations, necessities and raw materials for life, philosophical implications of the search for life elsewhere.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 028.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 030 — Fractals, Chaos & Complexity (3 units)

Course Description: Modern ideas about the unifying ideas of fractal geometry, chaos and complexity. Basic theory and applications with examples from physics, earth sciences, mathematics, population dynamics, ecology, history, economics, biology, computer science, art and architecture.

Prerequisite(s): MAT 017A or MAT 019A or MAT 021A.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 030.
  • Cross Listing: PHY 030.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Quantitative Literacy (QL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 032 — Volcanoes (3 units)

Course Description: Fundamental controls on eruptive behavior of volcanoes and influence of volcanic eruptions on the planet’s surface and environment, and on human societies.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 035 — Rivers (3 units)

Course Description: Introduction to the dynamics, diversity, and development of rivers and watersheds, with a primary focus on California. Basic geology, hydrology, geomorphology, and ecology of rivers along with assessment of past and current management impacts on river processes, riverine ecosystems, and water supply. Policy and science applications in the field of watershed science. Optional river field trip.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 035.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 036 — The Solar System (4 units)

Course Description: Nature of the sun, moon, and planets as determined by recent manned and unmanned exploration of the solar system. Comparison of terrestrial, lunar, and planetary geological processes. Search for life on other planets. Origin and evolution of the solar system.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 036.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 050 — Physical Geology (3 units)

Course Description: The Earth, its materials, its internal and external processes, its development through time by sea-floor spreading and global plate tectonics.

Prerequisite(s): High school physics and chemistry.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Only 2 credits for students who have taken GEL 001 or EPS 001 or the equivalent; not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 050.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 050L — Physical Geology Laboratory (2 units)

Course Description: Introduction to classification and recognition of minerals and rocks and to interpretation of topographic and geologic maps and aerial photographs.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 050 (can be concurrent) or EPS 050 (can be concurrent).

  • Learning Activities: Laboratory 6 hour(s), Fieldwork 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 050L.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 092 — Internship (1-12 units)

Course Description: Supervised work experience in Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Internship.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated.
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 098 — Directed Group Study (1-5 units)

Course Description: Directed group study.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Variable 3-15 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 099 — Special Study for Undergraduates (1-5 units)

Course Description: Special study for undergraduates in Earth and Planetary Sciences, including but not limited to research, literature review, data collection, or fieldwork.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Variable.
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 100 — Earth Systems Science (4 units)

Course Description: Interconnectedness of Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere systems and how energy drives material flux and cycling within and between the different Earth systems. Processes, interactions, and feedback within the Earth's systems and how these earth systems are impacted by anthropogenic activities.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).

EPS 100L — Earth Systems Science Lab (1 unit)

Course Description: Practical, quantitative and analytical skills that pertain to material fluxes and cycling in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere and biosphere that constitute the Earth’s interconnected systems.

Prerequisite(s): EPS 100 (can be concurrent).

  • Learning Activities: Laboratory 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).

EPS 101 — Earth Materials & Geochemistry (3 units)

Course Description: Physical and chemical properties of Earth materials; structure, chemical composition, and identification of rock-forming minerals; mineral-rock associations, and their origin from silicate liquids, aqueous fluids, and solid state transformations. Application of understanding of Earth materials to broad problems in Earth sciences. Connections between different Earth sciences disciplines and how Earth materials influence processes and record past processes.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 060.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Quantitative Literacy (QL); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 101L — Earth Materials & Geochemistry Lab (2 units)

Course Description: Introduction to Earth Materials and Geochemistry, including crystallography, optical mineralogy, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic metamorphic rocks and minerals, and analytical methods. Emphasizes ways in which these subjects inform and underpin broad areas of Earth Science and connections between Earth Sciences disciplines.

Prerequisite(s): EPS 101 (can be concurrent).

  • Learning Activities: Laboratory 6 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 060.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 102 — Structural Geology (3 units)

Course Description: Study of processes and products of rock deformation. Introduction to structural geology through a survey of the features and geometries of faults and folds, techniques of strain analysis, and continuum mechanics of rock deformation.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 050; GEL 050L; (PHY 007A or PHY 009A); (MAT 016A or MAT 017A or MAT 019A or MAT 021A); consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Visual Literacy (VL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 102L — Structural Geology Lab (2 units)

Course Description: Laboratory study of the processes and products of rock deformation. Introduction to the practice of structural geology through observations and analysis of rock deformation, including field measurement techniques and geologic mapping. Three weekend field exercises.

Prerequisite(s): (GEL 050 or EPS 050); (GEL 050L or EPS 050L); (PHY 007A or PHY 009A or PHY 009HA); (GEL 101 or EPS 102 (can be concurrent)).

  • Learning Activities: Laboratory 6 hour(s), Fieldwork 1.8 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 101L.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Visual Literacy (VL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 103 — Field Geology (4 units)

Course Description: Field mapping projects and writing geological reports. Weekly classroom meetings devoted to preparation of maps, cross sections, stratigraphic sections, rock descriptions, and reports. Seven-eight days for field trips will occur on weekends during the quarter.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 101 or EPS 102; GEL 101L or EPS 102L.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Fieldwork 6 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 103.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL); Visual Literacy (VL); Writing Experience (WE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 105 — Igneous Rocks & Magmatic Processes (4 units)

Course Description: Origin of igneous rocks and evolution of magmas. Laboratory exercises emphasize the study of these rocks in hand specimen and thin section and their geochemical characteristics.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 060 or (EPS 101, EPS 101L).

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Laboratory 6 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Quantitative Literacy (QL); Scientific Literacy (SL); Visual Literacy (VL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 107 — Paleobiology (3 units)

Course Description: Evolution and ecological structure of the biosphere from the origin of life to the present.

Prerequisite(s): GGEL 003 or EPS 003 or GEL 053 or EPS 142 or BIS 002A or BIS 002B or BIO 001.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 107.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 107L — Paleobiology Laboratory (2 units)

Course Description: Exercises in determining the ecological functions and evolution of individuals, populations, and communities of fossil organisms in field and laboratory.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 107 (can be concurrent) or EPS 107 (can be concurrent).

  • Learning Activities: Laboratory 6 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 107L.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 108 — Paleoclimatology (3 units)

Course Description: Overview of the climate system; methods for studying climate history beyond observational records; analyses of drivers, consequences, and characteristics of Earth's climate fluctuations with a focus on the last 600 million years; implications for present climate change from a paleo perspective.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 001 or EPS 001 or GEL 050 or EPS 050 or GEL 116N or EPS 116 or ESP 116N or GEL 016 or EPS 016 or GEL 010 or EPS 010; or consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 108.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL); Writing Experience (WE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 109 — Sediments & Strata (3 units)

Course Description: Sediment formation, transport, and deposition. Interpretations of sedimentary processes across landscapes and through time in the context of environmental and geological problems. Reconstruction of ancient environmental change from sedimentary rocks.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 001 or EPS 001 or GEL 050 or EPS 050.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 109L — Sediments & Strata Laboratory (2 units)

Course Description: Analysis of sediments and sedimentary rocks, including grain characteristics, sedimentary structures, and stratigraphic patterns. Interpretation of depositional environments and analysis of sedimentary basins. Includes one overnight camping field trip on a weekend.

Prerequisite(s): (GEL 050L or EPS 050L); (GEL 109 or EPS 109 (can be concurrent)).

  • Learning Activities: Laboratory 6 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 110A — Summer Field Geology: Structures & Neotectonics (4 units)

Course Description: Advanced application of geologic field methods to the study of deformed rocks and their interpretation in terms of tectonic processes. Development and interpretation of geologic maps, cross sections and stratigraphic sections. Six days/week for three weeks in an off-campus location.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 103 or EPS 103; GEL 109 or EPS 109 recommended; GEL 060 or EPS 101 recommended.

  • Learning Activities: Fieldwork 40.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 110 or GEL 110A.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL); Visual Literacy (VL); Writing Experience (WE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 110B — Summer Field Geology: Igneous Rocks (4 units)

Course Description: Advanced application of geologic field methods to the study of volcanic and plutonic rocks and their interpretation in terms of igneous processes. Development and interpretation of geologic maps, cross sections, stratigraphic sections, and outcrop scale observations. Six days/week for three weeks in an off-campus location.

Prerequisite(s): (GEL 105 or EPS 105); (GEL 109 or EPS 109).

  • Learning Activities: Fieldwork.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 110 or GEL 110B.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL); Visual Literacy (VL); Writing Experience (WE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 110C — Summer Field Geology: Special Projects (4 units)

Course Description: Advanced application of geologic field methods to a special project location and the interpretation of field observations in terms of its geologic processes and geologic history. Variable field location and specific activities. Six days/week for three weeks in an off-campus location.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 060 or EPS 101; consent of instructor; GEL 109 or EPS 109 recommended.

  • Learning Activities: Fieldwork 40 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 110C.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL); Visual Literacy (VL); Writing Experience (WE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 116 — Oceanography (3 units)

Course Description: Advanced oceanographic topics: Chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes; research methods and data analysis; marine resources, anthropogenic impacts, and climate change; integrated earth/ocean/atmosphere systems; one-day weekend field trip.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 001 or EPS 001 or GEL 002 or GEL 016 or EPS 016 or GEL 016V or EPS 016V or GEL 050 or EPS 050.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Laboratory 3 hour(s), Fieldwork 0.4 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 116 or GEL 116N or ESP 116 or ESP 116N.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 120 — Origins: From the Big Bang to Today (3 units)

Course Description: Long-term and large-scale perspectives on the origins of the universe, stars and planets, life, human evolution, the rise of civilization and the modern world. Multi-disciplinary approach to "Big History" involving cosmology, astronomy, geology, climatology, biology, anthropology, archeology and traditional history.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 131 — Risk, Natural Hazards, & Related Phenomena (3 units)

Course Description: Risk, prediction, prevention and response for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, floods, storms, fires, impacts, global warming, modeling and analysis.

Prerequisite(s): (GEL 001 or EPS 001 or GEL 050 or EPS 050); (MAT 017A or MAT 019A or MAT 021A); or consent of instructor; or equivalent introductory geology, calculus, and statistics; STA 013 or STA 013Y recommended.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 131.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 132 — Introductory Inorganic Geochemistry (3 units)

Course Description: Nucleosynthesis of chemical elements, physical and chemical properties of elements, ionic substitution, elemental partition, distribution and transport among planetary materials, basic thermodynamics and phase diagrams, isotopic geochronometers, stable isotope fractionation, mixing and dilution, advection and diffusion, geochemical cycles.

Prerequisite(s): (GEL 060 or EPS 101 (can be concurrent)); (CHE 002B or CHE 002BH or CHE 004B).

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 132.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 133 — Environmental Geochemistry (3 units)

Course Description: Introduction to Earth surface processes with a focus on topics of current environmental interest such as groundwater contamination, radioactivity and nuclear waste disposal, environmental impact of mining operations, and geological approaches to carbon sequestration.

Prerequisite(s): (CHE 002A or CHE 002AH or CHE 004A); (CHE 002B or CHE 002BH or CHE 004).

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 133.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 134 — Environmental Geology & Land Use Planning (3 units)

Course Description: Geologic aspects of land use and development planning. Geologic problems concerning volcanic and earthquake hazards, land stability, floods, erosion, coastal hazards, non-renewable resource extraction, waste disposal, water resources.

Prerequisite(s): (MAT 017A or MAT 019A or MAT 021A); (GEL 001 or EPS 001 or GEL 050 or EPS 050); (PHY 001A or PHY 007A or PHY 009A or PHY 009HA); EPS 100 recommended.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Laboratory 3 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 134.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 136 — Ecogeomorphology of Rivers & Streams (4 units)

Course Description: Integrative multidisciplinary class, lab, and field analysis of streams. Class project examines hydrology, geomorphology, water quality, and aquatic and riparian ecology of degraded and pristine stream systems. Includes required field trips (three fieldwork days) with students from diverse scientific backgrounds.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 035 or EPS 035; or consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Laboratory 3 hour(s), Fieldwork.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to upper division students.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 136.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL); Writing Experience (WE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 136F — Ecogeomorphology of Rivers & Streams Fieldwork (1 unit)

Course Description: Integrative multidisciplinary field analysis of streams. Field study examines hydrology, geomorphology, water quality, and aquatic and riparian ecology of degraded and pristine stream systems. Includes cooperative one week field survey in remote wilderness settings with students from diverse scientific backgrounds.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 136 (can be concurrent) or EPS 136 (can be concurrent); consent of instructor; GEL 035 (recommended) or EPS 035 (recommended).

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 5 hour(s), Fieldwork 25 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).

EPS 137 — Earthquake Geology (3 units)

Course Description: Earthquake processes from the geologic record. Fault mechanics, earthquake physics, and hazard models. Geological techniques for the study of earthquakes, including mapping of active faults, evolution of fault-related landforms, paleoseismology, Quaternary geochronology, and fault slip-rate analysis. One-day required field trip.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Discussion 0.5 hour(s), Fieldwork 0.8 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 138 — Introductory Volcanology (4 units)

Course Description: Introductory concepts in volcanology, including controls on eruptive behavior, explosive vs. effusive eruption hazards, monitoring techniques and data, eruption forecasting, and eruptive hazard mitigation. Field component in an area with recent or active volcanic activity; e.g. Hawaii Volcanoes or Lassen Volcanic National Parks.

Prerequisite(s): (GEL 060 or (EPS 101, EPS 101L)), (GEL 109 or EPS 109), (GEL 105 or EPS 105); and consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Fieldwork.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 138.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 140 — Introduction to Geomorphology & Earth-Surface Processes (4 units)

Course Description: Recognition and quantitative interpretation of topography and landscapes. Spectrum of landforms and related earth-surface processes, including weathering, hillslopes, fluvial systems, pedogenesis, eolian transport, and glaciation. Landscape elements from topography and field criteria; forcing mechanisms driving landscape evolution; and quantitative analyses of landscapes.

Prerequisite(s): (GEL 001 or EPS 001 or GEL 050 or EPS 050); (MAT 017A or MAT 019A or MAT 021A).

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Laboratory 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 140.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 141 — Evolutionary History of Vertebrates (3 units)

Course Description: Evolutionary history of vertebrates based on the fossil record, in a phylogenetic and chronological framework. Ecology, developmental biology, biogeography, and climate change, timing of major evolutionary events, historical setting of the appearance of major vertebrate groups, physical constraints in vertebrate evolution, effects of continental movement on vertebrate evolution.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 003 or EPS 003 or GEL 053 or EPS 142 or BIS 002A or BIO 001.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 141.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 141L — Evolutionary History of Vertebrates Laboratory (1 unit)

Course Description: Morphology of fossil organisms based on three-dimensional specimens and their computer models, rather than based on 2D figures. Both fossil and modern vertebrate bones are used for comparative purposes.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 141 or EPS 141 (can be concurrent).

  • Learning Activities: Laboratory 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 141L.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 142 — Geobiology & Geomicrobiology (3 units)

Course Description: Introduction to interactions between Earth and life with an emphasis on how microbial metabolisms, cellular processes, evolution and ecology emerged within natural environments and have changed Earth’s surface.

Prerequisite(s): (GEL 001 or EPS 001 or GEL 002 or EPS 002 or GEL 050 or EPS 050); (CHE 002B or CHE 002BH or CHE 004B).

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 053.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 144 — Historical Ecology (3 units)

Course Description: Ancient ecosystems and the factors that caused them to change. Historical perspectives on the future biosphere based on species, expansion, evolution of new modes of life, geologically induced variations in resource supply, and extinction.

Prerequisite(s): Upper division course in environmental science or ecology, or an introductory course in paleobiology.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 144.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 146 — Radiogenic Isotope Geochemistry & Cosmochemistry (3 units)

Course Description: Basic principles of nuclear chemistry and physics applied to geology to determine the ages of terrestrial rocks, meteorites, archeological objects, age of the Earth, to trace geological/environmental processes, and explain formation of the chemical elements in the Universe.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 146.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 148 — Isotopes & Geochemical Tracers (3 units)

Course Description: Tracers of geochemical processes including isotopic, elemental, noble gas, and organic tracers that provide information about geological processes and record past geological processes influenced by physical, chemical and biological processes and conditions. Use of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes to trace the hydrologic cycle and processes and the use of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotopes to trace processes and exchange between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 148.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 150A — Physical & Chemical Oceanography (4 units)

Course Description: Physical and chemical properties of seawater, fluid dynamics, air-sea interaction, currents, waves, tides, mixing, major oceanic geochemical cycles.

Prerequisite(s): (ESP 116N or GEL 116N or EPS 116); (CHE 002C or CHE 002CH or CHE 004C); (MAT 017C or MAT 019C or MAT 021C); (PHY 007B or PHY 009B or PHY 009HB); consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 150A.
  • Cross Listing: ESP 150A.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Quantitative Literacy (QL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 150B — Geological Oceanography (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to the origin and geologic evolution of ocean basins. Composition and structure of oceanic crust, marine volcanism, and deposition of marine sediments. Interpretation of geologic history of the ocean floor in terms of sea-floor spreading theory.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 050 or EPS 050 or GEL 116N or ESP 116N or EPS 116.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 150B or ESP 150B.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 150C — Biological Oceanography (5 units)

Course Description: Ecology of major marine habitats, including intertidal, shelf benthic, deep-sea and plankton communities. Existing knowledge and contemporary issues in research. Segment devoted to human use. One weekend field trip required.

Prerequisite(s): BIS 002A or (BIO 001, BIO 001L); consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s), Fieldwork.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 150C or ESP 150C .
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 160 — Introduction to Modeling for Earth & Environmental Science (4 units)

Course Description: Modeling of earth and environmental systems using the finite difference method for the diffusion equation, advection equation and combined transport. Applications in carbon cycle box model, energy balance in 1D climate models, dissolved species advection in an aquifer, cooling of tectonic plates, landscape evolution through erosion, sediment transport in streams. Code development, program debugging and assessment skills, and quantitative comparison to data.

Prerequisite(s): (MAT 017C (can be concurrent) or MAT 019C (can be concurrent) or MAT 021C (can be concurrent)); (PHY 007C (can be concurrent) or PHY 009C (can be concurrent)); or prior introductory level programming in Python, MATLAB, or R.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Laboratory 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 161 — Geophysical Field Methods (4 units)

Course Description: Geophysical methods applied to determining subsurface structure in tectonics, hydrogeology, geotechnical engineering, and hydrocarbon & mineral exploration. Theory, survey design & interpretation of reflection & refraction seismology, electrical resistivity, electromagnetics, and ground-penetrating radar measurements. Laboratory focuses on hands-on experiences with field equipment and data analysis.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Laboratory 3 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 161.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Quantitative Literacy (QL); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 162 — Geodynamics (4 units)

Course Description: Theory and use of physics in the study of the solid earth. Gravity, magnetism, paleomagnetism, and heat flow. Application to the interpretation of the regional and large-scale structure of the Earth and to plate tectonics.

Prerequisite(s): MAT 017C or MAT 019C or MAT 021C; PHY 007C or PHY 009C or PHY 009HC; consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s); Extensive Problem Solving.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 162.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Quantitative Literacy (QL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 163 — Planetary Geology & Geophysics (3 units)

Course Description: Principles of planetary science. Planetary dynamics, including orbital mechanics, tidal interactions and ring dynamics. Theory of planetary interiors, gravitational fields, rotational dynamics. Physics of planetary atmospheres. Geological processes, landforms and their modification. Methods of analysis from Earth-based observations and spacecraft.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 163.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 164 — Seismology (3 units)

Course Description: Fundamental principles of seismic wave propagation, earthquake source mechanics, and the structure of the Earth's interior. Stress and strain, body and surface waves, seismic ray theory, earthquake location methods, magnitude scales, and seismic tomography. Theoretical concepts and practical applications in observational seismology. Seismological methods used to study earthquakes, Earth structure, and other geohazards.

Prerequisite(s): (MAT 017A or MAT 019A or MAT 021A); (MAT 017B or MAT 019B or MAT 021B); MAT 022A recommended; ECS 032A or PHY 040 or equivalent python programming course recommended.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).

EPS 165 — AI & Machine Learning for Earth & Environmental Sciences (4 units)

Course Description: Theory and application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to problems in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Model fitting and regression. Feature extraction and classification from remote sensing observations. Supervised and unsupervised learning. Applications to datasets including earthquakes, streamflow, water quality, geochemistry, and petrology.

Prerequisite(s): ECS 032A or PHY 040; or equivalent python programming course; or consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Laboratory 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Quantitative Literacy (QL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 166 — Crustal Deformation (4 units)

Course Description: Theory and analysis of Earth’s surface deformation in response to tectonic, volcanic, hydrologic, and human processes. Analysis of deformation fields using geodetic, seismic, and remote sensing data. Linking patterns of surface deformation to physical mechanisms with elastic, viscoelastic, and poroelastic models. Case studies and data exercises build skills for interpreting deformation in diverse tectonic and environmental settings.

Prerequisite(s): (GEL 050 or EPS 050); (MAT 017C or MAT 019C or MAT 021C); (PHY 007C or PHY 009C or PHY 009HC); (ECS 032A or PHY 040), or consent of Instructor or equivalent Python programming course.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Laboratory 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Quantitative Literacy (QL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 175 — Advanced Field Geology (3 units)

Course Description: Advanced geologic field studies of select localities. Observation, analysis, interpretation, and discussion of geologic features and relationships in the field, on maps and sections, in samples, and on images. Three weekend field trips or equivalent.

Prerequisite(s): GEL 110A or EPS 110A or GEL 110B or EPS 110B or GEL 110C or EPS 110C; or consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 2 hour(s), Fieldwork 6 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 2 time(s) when instructors differs.
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 176 — Field Studies in Marine Geochemistry (4 units)

Course Description: Marine geochemistry with the opportunity of going to sea or into the field on land. Techniques of sea-floor mapping using bottom photography, marine geochemical sampling, and method of data reduction and sample analysis. Analysis of data/samples collected.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Laboratory 1 hour(s), Fieldwork 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 182.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE); Scientific Literacy (SL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 186 — Facilitating Learning in STEM Classrooms (1 unit)

Course Description: STEM Learning Assistant Seminar. Theoretical and practical issues of effective teaching in discussion/labs: student-centered, active, cooperative learning environments, responsive teaching, and differentiated classroom instruction.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken GEL 186.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 192 — Internship for Upper Division Students (1-12 units)

Course Description: Supervised work experience in Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Internship.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Restricted to upper-division students.
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 194A — Senior Thesis (3 units)

Course Description: Guided independent study of a selected topic, leading to the writing of a senior thesis.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Project.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to senior level students.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 194B — Senior Thesis (3 units)

Course Description: Guided independent study of a selected topic, culminating in the writing of a senior thesis.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Project.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to senior level students.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 194HA — Senior Honors Thesis (3 units)

Course Description: Guided independent study of a selected topic, leading to the writing of an honors thesis.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Project.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to senior level students with minimum 3.500 GPA.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 194HB — Senior Honors Thesis (3 units)

Course Description: Guided independent study of a selected topic, culminating in the writing of an honors thesis.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Project.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 198 — Directed Group Study (1-5 units)

Course Description: Group study focused on topics in Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Variable 3-15 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Restricted to upper division standing.
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 199 — Special Study for Upper Division Undergraduates (1-5 units)

Course Description: Special study for upper division undergraduates in Earth and Planetary Sciences, including but not limited to research, literature review, data collection, or fieldwork.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of Instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Variable.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Restricted to upper division students.
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.
  • General Education: Science & Engineering (SE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.

EPS 237 — Earthquake Geology (3 units)

Course Description: Earthquake processes from the geologic record. Fault mechanics, earthquake physics, and hazard models. Geological techniques for the study of earthquakes, including mapping of active faults, evolution of fault-related landforms, paleoseismology, Quaternary geochronology, and fault slip-rate analysis. One-day required field trip, and three-day required overnight field trip. Map and assess a previously unstudied active fault for a final project.

Prerequisite(s): (GEL 001 or EPS 001 or GEL 050 or EPS 050); (MAT 017A or MAT 019A or MAT 021A); (MAT 017B or MAT 019B or MAT 021B); (PHY 007A or PHY 009A or PHY 009HA); or equivalent.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Fieldwork 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2026.