<p>Is the Earth Science department strong? I'm thinking about majoring in geology or marine science. I might pursue a career in oceanography and hope to go to Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD for grad school.
Are there a lot of research opportunities in this field at Cal? Are they very competitive to get?
How are the professors and is it a very competitive major?
Are there a lot of geology majors? It seems like no one is interested in this field.</p>
<p>It’s apparently a popular field, haha.</p>
<p>in 3.5 hours, very few questions are going to get a long set of responses. However, if you wish to judge the popularity of the major by this, feel free.</p>
<p>Sorry, I’m just a bit impatient, haha.</p>
<p>Earth and Planetary Sciences is a strong department, but very few people are interested enough to major in it. Before you could get an EPS degree and get rich from working for petroleum companies, but now the tides are turning and the world is turning to biologists to solve its energy problems</p>
<p>Do you think this field in general will still be lucrative?</p>
<p>Does anyone know if the marine science department is any good?</p>
<p>there is no marine science department. There is a Marine Science major track in Earth and Planetary Science. Marine Science is a subdivision of Earth and Planetary Sciences.</p>
<p>As far as I know, EPS is a very strong department.</p>
<p>In the UC System, the Marine Science department with the greatest reputation is UC San Diego, although there are very good ones at other UC campuses also.</p>
<p>I was thinking about going to UCSD, but I was blown away by Cal when I visited. At the time of my decision I didn’t think to pick a school based on a major because I’ve changed my mind a lot. I also didn’t really want to go to UCSD for undergrad and grad. I’ll see what happens, though. A lot can change in these next years. Right now I’m thinking geology to keep my options open.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about it. The great thing about Cal is that if you don’t like what you’re doing, you can change into another major that will also be of top quality.</p>
<p>BTW I just found out today that the guy who discovered the iridium spike that provided substantial evidence of a meteor extinguishing the dinosaurs is a professor at Cal. (Geology I think)</p>