Courses
Fall 2025 Course Catalogue Course Info on SIS Approved Courses in Related Fields
Course Descriptions
The list below includes descriptions of undergraduate and graduate courses offered by the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences, though some courses may be taught more often than others. Please see the semester course listing above for the most up-to-date courses available. Descriptions for special topics seminars are updated each semester.
Visit the undergraduate page for course requirements for specific programs. For up-to-date information on course offerings, schedules, room locations and registration, please visit the Student Information System (SIS).
Undergraduate Courses
ECS 0001 Introduction to the Earth, Resources, and Environments. Introduction to the dynamic system of the solid Earth and the changes it undergoes on timescales ranging from seconds, to millennia, to eons. Topics include plate tectonics, origin and composition of the Earth, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, critical minerals and geologic resources, mountain building, weathering, sea level shifts, and interactions between solid Earth, oceans, and climate. Emphasis on skills to critically evaluate diverse datasets to understand Earth's evolution and habitability.
ECS 0002 Earth, Resources, and Environment Lab. Identification and interpretation of rocks, minerals, rock deformation, and geological structures. Reading geological and topographic maps to understand geological relationships and plate tectonics. Emphasis on developing skills to discern processes acting in and on our dynamic Earth. Prerequisites: ECS 1 or concurrent registration.
ECS 0003 Introduction to Climate Science. Introduction to the physical and chemical workings of Earth's climate system including sources of energy, the greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, and redistribution of heat through the atmosphere and ocean. Provides a fundamental scientific context for understanding the causes and impacts of past, current, and future climate change.
ECS 0004 Environmental Geology. Geologic processes at the earth's surface. Groundwater, the development of erosional and depositional landforms, glaciation and climate, and sea level change. Modern geologic environments as analogs for past environments and climate. Geologic processes and humans. Field trips illustrating glacial and coastal environments.
ECS 0005 Introduction To Oceanography. Introduction to the physics, geology, biology, and chemistry of the ocean. Topics include the origin of ocean basins, currents, tides, waves, hurricanes, biological productivity, sea level rise, and ocean acidification. Emphasis on the ocean’s role in the climate system.
ECS 0007 Dinosaurs! Introduction to the origin, evolution, ecology, and extinction of the dinosaurs. Focus on scientific methods used to study and interpret dinosaur fossils and the cultural and scientific significance of dinosaurs.
ECS 0011 Mineralogy & Mineral Resources. Fundamentals of mineral identification and formation of minerals through Earth and planetary history. Focus on chemical and physical properties of minerals, crystallography, geochronology, and the basics of ore deposits of diamonds, gems, and critical metals as well as mineral carbon capture and storage.
ECS 0012 Igneous And Metamorphic Petrology. Classification, occurrence, and origin of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Laboratory emphasis on hand specimen and microscopic identification and interpretation. Recommendations: ECS 11 or permission of instructor.
ECS 0015 Mass Extinctions: The Past, Present, and Future of Biodiversity. The historical development of mass extinctions as a concept; the roles of volcanism, meteorite impacts, global warming, ice ages, and the evolution of novel species in causing mass extinctions; the effects of mass extinctions of biodiversity and ecosystem structure; and discussion of whether we in the midst of the 6th mass extinction.
ECS 0022 Structural Geology. Deformation of rocks and other Earth materials using field, analytical, and computational techniques on timescales ranging from the earthquake cycle to mountain building. Quantifying stress and strain, mechanics of brittle and plastic deformation, construction and interpretation of geologic maps and cross sections, and impact of plate tectonics on deformation. Applications to seismic hazard and resource production. Prerequisite: ECS 1 or instructor permission.
ECS 0023. Advanced Tectonics. Tectonic plate motions, their underlying drivers, and impact on the Earth system. Evidence for continental drift and seafloor spreading. Dynamics of continental rifts, mid-ocean ridges, subduction zones, transform faults, and continental collisions. Impact of plate tectonics on lithosphere evolution, natural hazards, climate, and biodiversity. Prerequisites: ECS 22 or instructor permission.
ECS 0032 Geomorphology. Morphogenesis of landscapes. Classical through modern denudation theories. Weathering, soil formation, erosion, and deposition as influenced by climate, tectonics, and rock composition. Recommendations: ECS 4 or permission of instructor.
ECS 0034 Earth Surface Processes. Examines the physical and chemical processes that shape the Earth’s surface on a range of spatial and temporal scales. Topics include erosion and weathering, sediment transport and deposition, landform formation and distribution, soil formation, and geochronology, with a focus on fluvial, glacial, coastal and hillslope processes. Special attention to interactions between climate, landscape change, and human activity. Laboratory emphasis on landform identification and interpretation, geomorphic mapping, sediment/soil/hydrological analysis, and GIS/remote sensing. Prerequisites: ECS 1 or ECS 3, or instructor permission. Recommended: ECS 2.
ECS 0038 Principles of Paleontology. (Cross-listed as BIO 38) Introduction to the origin, evolution, morphology, and paleoecology of life forms throughout the history of the earth. Laboratory emphasis on description, classification, and recognition of the most important groups of invertebrate fossils. Prerequisite: ECS 1 or BIO 14 or permission of instructor.
ECS 0042 Sedimentology And Stratigraphy. Processes of sedimentation in environments ranging from continental to marine settings; tectonic, climatic, and oceanographic processes, control sedimentation patterns in these environments, and their relative importance. Observational and interpretational skills in sedimentary rock description and classification through study of sedimentary structures, statistical analysis of sediment grain parameters, and diagenetic textures. Correlation techniques using litho- and biostratigraphy applied to depositional basins in case studies. Prerequisite: ECS 1. Recommendation: ECS 2.
ECS 0051 Global Climate Change. Introduction to Earth’s climate system to better understand causes of present and future climate change. Emphasis placed on processes that control Earth’s modern climate, such as global energy budgets, the behavior of greenhouse gases, and features of global and regional climate systems such as El Nino South Oscillation. Prerequisite: ECS 1 or ECS 5.
ECS 0052 Paleoclimate. Examination of climate changes that took place on Earth during the last ~4 billion years with a focus on the proxy evidence for those changes and understanding of the mechanisms that caused them. This journey begins with the wrongly perceived “hell” of the Hadean and ends with Quaternary glaciations, the Holocene, the ““Hockey Stick,”“ and a glimpse into the near future. Prerequisite: ECS 51 or permission of instructor.
ECS 0056/0256 Physical Oceanography. Introduction to physical properties and dynamics of the ocean, with an emphasis on the ocean's role in climate. Builds upon fundamental principles to develop the equations that describe fluid motions in the ocean. Topics include ocean circulation, heat transport, waves, atmosphere-ocean interactions, and connections between ocean physics and its biology and chemistry. Prerequisites: Physics 1 or 11 and Math 32, or instructor permission.
ECS 0058/0258 The Cryosphere. Examination of the frozen components of the earth, with an emphasis on the cryosphere's role in climate. Topics include glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, permafrost, and the interaction of ice with the ocean and atmosphere. Focus on physical processes and feedbacks in the Arctic and Antarctic, and understanding the mechanisms driving rapid climate change in the polar regions. Prerequisites: ECS 1, 3, 4, or 5, or instructor permission.
ECS 0061/0261 The Atmosphere. Introduction to Earth's atmosphere, and how its physical properties are shaped by flows of electromagnetic radiation, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, the hydrological cycle, and chemical processes. Topics include atmospheric circulation, weather systems, and cloud formation, with special focus on the atmosphere's response to climate change. Prerequisites: PHY 1 and MATH 32 or instructor permission. Recommendations: ECS 3.
ECS 0091 Geological Research. Guided laboratory and field research on one of a broad range of geological topics. Five hours (2 credits) to ten hours (3 credits) are required per week, including one hour of consultation with the research supervisor. Final written or oral presentation. Does not satisfy minor requirements.
ECS 0092 Geological Research. Guided laboratory and field research on one of a broad range of geological topics. Five hours (2 credits) to ten hours (3 credits) are required per week, including one hour of consultation with the research supervisor. Final written or oral presentation. Does not satisfy minor requirements.
ECS 0115 Quaternary And Glacial Geology. Climatic oscillation and glaciation of the past three million years. Glacial effects on landscapes, oceans, and organisms. Glacial processes and deposits. Techniques used to study chronology, environments, climatic change, and recent deposits, including isotopes, dating, fossil analysis, and paleomagnetism. Recommendations: ECS 4 or permission of instructor.
ECS 0131 Groundwater. (Cross-listed as CEE 113 and ENV 113). The geology and hydrology of groundwater. Topics include: hydraulic properties of soils, sediments, and rocks; physics of groundwater flow; flow nets, modeling groundwater systems; geology of regional flow; aquifer exploration and water well construction methods; well hydraulics and aquifer testing; applications in the geosciences and in civil /geotechnical/environmental engineering. Recommendations: ECS 1 or 4, and MATH 32.
ECS 0133 Field Methods In Hydrogeology. (Cross-listed as CEE 114). Field aspects of hydrogeology, groundwater mapping and sampling, aquifer testing, well drilling, monitoring, and instrumentation of boreholes. Lecture and basic field methods to understand how monitoring and production wells are planned and drilled, and what types of geologic, geophysical, and geochemical data can be gathered for subsurface flow systems. A network of boreholes on the Tufts campus will be used as field sites to characterize subsurface parameters in the unsaturated and saturated zones, and study regional flow in an urban watershed. Field trips, quantitative analysis of hydrogeologic data. Recommendations: ECS 4 or equivalent.
ECS 0191 Special Topics. Exploration of special topics in Earth and ocean sciences through seminars or guided individual study.
ECS 0192 Special Topics. Exploration of special topics in Earth and ocean sciences through seminars or guided individual study.
ECS 0193 Senior Thesis A. Intensive laboratory or field investigations designed and carried out by the student, culminating in a written thesis and oral defense. Please see department website for specific details. Recommendations: Geological Science requirements and permission of instructor. This is a yearlong course. Each semester counts as 4 credits towards a student’s credit load. Students will earn 8 credits at the end of the second semester. Only one of ECS 0193 or ECS 0194 can count in the major course requirements.
ECS 0194 Senior Thesis B. Intensive laboratory or field investigations designed and carried out by the student, culminating in a written thesis and oral defense. Please see department website for specific details. Recommendations: Geological Science requirements and permission of instructor. This is part of a yearlong course. Each semester counts as 4 credits towards a student’s credit load. Students will earn 8 credits at the end of the second semester. Only one of ECS 0193 or ECS 0194 can count in the major course requirements.