Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering

Required 128 credits (36 of which must be numbered 300 or above) including: 

I. Essential Studies Requirements (see University ES listing).

II. Geological Engineering required courses 

Geological Engineering required courses
GEOE 203
203L
Earth Dynamics
and Earth Dynamics Laboratory
4
GEOE 301
301L
Petrophysics
and Petrophysics Laboratory
4
GEOE 323Engineering Geology2
GEOE 412Soil Mechanics3
GEOE 417Hydrogeology3
GEOE 455Geomechanics2
GEOE 455LGeomechanics Laboratory1
GEOE 484Geological Engineering Design3
GEOE 485Geological Engineering Design3
GEOE 410 Field Camp *6
Geology required courses
GEOL 330Structural Geology3
GEOL 411Sedimentology and Stratigraphy5
GEOL 414Applied Geophysics3
GEOL 356Geoscience Lectures1
GEOL 421Seminar I1
GEOL 422Seminar II1
Total Credits45

III. Program Required Electives

Elective course options8
Reclamation Engineering
Petroleum Development Engr
Hydrogeological Methods
Groundwater Monitoring and Remediation
Design Hydrology for Wetlands
Groundwater Modeling
Selected Topics in Geological Engineering
Geomorphology
Geochemistry
Petroleum Geology
Geologic Problems (only section)
Foundation Engineering
Hydrology
Principles of Water and Wastewater Treatment
Environmental Engineering Design
Petroleum Fluid Properties
Well Logging
Drilling Engineering
Production Engineering
Reservoir Engineering
Total Credits8

IV. College of Engineering and Mines requirements

ENGR 200Computer Applications in Engineering2
ENGR 201Statics3
ENGR 203Mechanics of Materials3
ENGR 206Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering3
or ENGR 202 Dynamics
ENGR 340Professional Integrity in Engineering3
ENGR 460Engineering Economy3
CE 306Fluid Mechanics3
or ME 306 Fluid Mechanics
ME 341Thermodynamics3
Total Credits23

V. Requirements outside of the College of Engineering and Mines  

CHEM 121
121L
General Chemistry I
and General Chemistry I Laboratory
4
CHEM 122
122L
General Chemistry II
and General Chemistry II Laboratory
4
MATH 165Calculus I4
MATH 166Calculus II4
MATH 265Calculus III4
MATH 266Elementary Differential Equations3
PHYS 251University Physics I4
or PHYS 251C
251CL
University Physics I
and University Physics I Lab
PHYS 252University Physics II4
or PHYS 252C
252CL
University Physics II
and University Physics II Lab
ECON 210Introduction to Business and Economic Statistics3
or MATH 321 Applied Statistical Methods
Total Credits34
*

GEOE 410 Field Camp is a course that is completed through South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Students should take the course through them and transfer the course back to UND.

**

Students may petition the Geological Engineering Curriculum Committee (GECC) to use GEOE 397 Cooperative Education for up to three credits applied towards Technical Electives, based on the following requirements:

  1. Students must get approval in advance from the GECC and the Department Cooperative Coordinator.
  2. The first cooperative experience may receive up to one credit of technical elective credit.
  3. The second cooperative experience may receive up to two credits of technical elective credit.
***

Students must ensure all appropriate pre-requisites are met prior to registering for all courses in the curriculum. 

Geotechnical Engineering Concentration

Geotechnical Engineering is a branch of geological engineering and civil engineering that deals with the behavior of soils and rocks, and the design and analysis of natural and man-made soil structures. The classes of problems related to geotechnical engineering include foundations, slope stability, soil dynamics, soil improvement, geoenvironmental problems, geosynthetics, seepage, tunneling, mining and energy geotechnics. Many construction projects are conducted on less than ideal ground conditions that need to be improved by geotechnics. Construction of infrastructures and residential buildings may encounter unstable slopes or deep excavation. The retaining structures are often used to stabilize them. In some cases, modern reinforced soil technologies are used. Geotechnical engineers are today mandated to design foundations and soil structures that ensure stability and satisfactory performance under the impact of natural disasters, such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The concentration in geotechnical engineering is designed to prepare students for careers in geotechnical engineering.

This concentration requires students to complete all of the courses from the list shown below. 

GEOE 323Engineering Geology2
GEOE 412Soil Mechanics3
GEOE 454Unsaturated Soil Mechanics3
GEOE 455
455L
Geomechanics
and Geomechanics Laboratory
3
GEOE 456Geomaterials Stabilization3
CE 414Foundation Engineering3
Total Credits17

Petroleum Concentration

The program has a petroleum option, that is designed to prepare students for possible employment in the petroleum industry, while continuing to provide a broad geological engineering background for career flexibility. The undergraduate pursuing this emphasis will have a B.S. in Geological Engineering and their transcript will show that they have completed the Petroleum Geology Concentration. 

This concentration requires students to complete at least 16 credits from the course list shown below:

GEOE 301
301L
Petrophysics
and Petrophysics Laboratory
4
GEOE 455
455L
Geomechanics
and Geomechanics Laboratory
3
GEOE 420Geological Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Reservoirs3
GEOE 591Advanced Subsurface Energy Recovery in Engineering3
GEOL 407Petroleum Geology3
GEOL 500Sedimentary Geology1-4
PTRE 401Well Logging3

Water Resources Concentration

Freshwater is a vital resource for economic growth, global ecosystems and well-being of human lives. Recently water resources are also severely under pressure across the world due to substantial population growth and migration, climate and land-use changes, and anthropogenic pollutions. Water security and quality are increasingly also recognized as a critical national security priority. Moreover, water management is becoming increasingly complex and complicated, demanding a thorough and sound understanding of hydrologic and hydrogeologic processes and their vulnerabilities to climate, land-use changes and anthropogenic usages. These interactions require the skills in visualizing and understanding water and contaminant transport through subsurface rocks (sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic) and surface waterways. The range of typical applications is wide and the methods used are diverse. Expertise provided by this concentration includes aspects of hydrogeology, groundwater contamination and remediation, water quality and lab analyses and cold region hydrology. This expertise is highly sought after by industries and government agencies that deal with critical water resources and environmental problems. Furthermore, it has become equally important to train replacements for an aging workforce in this important technological area. The concentration in Water Resources is designed to prepare students for careers such as hydrogeologist, hydrologist, environmental geologist and environmental engineer.  

This concentration requires students to complete 16 credits from the list shown below:

GEOE 417Hydrogeology3
GEOE 419Groundwater Monitoring and Remediation3
GEOE 421Cold Region Hydrologic Modeling3
or CE 421 Hydrology
GEOL 321Geochemistry3
GEOL 342Conservation and Environmental Hydrology3
GEOL 540Water Sampling and Analysis3