Earth Sciences

Overview

Top Ten Reasons to Major or Minor in Earth Sciences at University of Southern California

• Given a choice of equally good candidates, med schools prefer students who have a science major other than biology
• Your bones are made of minerals. Mineral deposits on your teeth and in your organs impact your health.  Guess which science studies minerals?
• Some pre-meds are fascinated with the study of ‘the body’. Consider a major in which anatomy, physiology, ecology are all studied (paleontology).
• A med school wants to know about you as a reliable and dedicated student.  Nearly all Earth Science majors know ES faculty well enough to get detailed and personal letters of recommendation
• Med school admissions are touting the ‘well rounded’, ‘globally aware’, and ‘big thinker’ applicant. Recent ES undergrads have had research experiences in Morocco, Spain, Indonesia, Argentina, Peru, Sierras, Cascades…
• Do you think imaging (MRI, x-ray, etc.) is important in the health fields? Do you know about tomography and seismic wave function analysis?
• The greatest human issue facing students today involves the impacts of climate change. Wouldn’t it make sense for a pre-health major to learn deeply about climate change?
• Making an important measurement, understanding what that measurement means, I sure hope people in the medical field have these skills.  Earth Scientists make a lot of sophisticated chemical measurements and learn these skills.
• Many of the core Earth Science prerequisites (Chemistry, Physics, etc.) overlap with courses required for med school.
• Earth Science teaches a systems level approach, considering all aspects and scales, much like diagnosing and treating illness in the human body