Paleontology Minor (17PALM)

The Minor in Paleontology provides undergraduate students with a foundational knowledge of the fossil record and modern techniques used to study the evolutionary patterns recorded within the fossil record. The Paleontology Minor is available to undergraduate students in all majors at NC State University but may be especially appropriate for students majoring in the life sciences, agricultural sciences, physical sciences, natural resources, or science education. Students should be aware that many of the courses in the Paleontology Minor have pre-requisites and others are taught in alternate years, so plan accordingly.

Admissions

Students who plan to minor in Paleontology should contact the Minor Coordinator listed below for information on how to enroll. Students must have credit for BIO 181 or BIO 230 or BIO 270 before enrolling in the Paleontology minor. Students are strongly encouraged to declare the minor early in their studies so they receive information on relevant courses, events, and other opportunities from the Department of Biological Sciences. To be admitted to the program, a student must have a GPA of at least 2.0. Application for admission to any University minor program is now available via MyPack Portal. Admission will be based upon the student’s academic record, and in most cases no longer requires departmental review. To apply to Add a Minor, go to: https://go.ncsu.edu/minor_coda.

Certification

All requirements for the minor must be completed no later than the semester in which the student expects to graduate from his or her major degree program. Students apply to graduate in the minor through MyPack at the same time that they apply to graduate in their major program.

Contact Person

Bostian Hall 2727
919-515-3341
BioSciHelp@ncsu.edu

Coordinator

Dr. Terry Gates
David Clark Labs 280
919-513-0398
tagates@ncsu.edu

Requirements

• A grade of C- or better is required for all minor courses with a 2.0 GPA required in the minor for
  graduation.
• No course used in the minor can be taken for credit only (S/U).
• Courses taken for the minor can also be used toward major requirements, GEP Electives, or Free
  Electives.
• At least 9 credit hours of the minor must be completed at NC State.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours	Counts towards
Required Courses
BIO 270	Introduction to Evolution	3
BIO 323	Paleoecology	3
MEA 369	Life on Earth: Principles of Paleontology	3
Elective Courses		9
Elective List A (At Least 2)
BIO 230	The Science of Studying Dinosaurs
BIO 325	Paleontological Field Methods
MEA 202	Geology II: Historical
MEA 450	Introductory Sedimentology and Stratigraphy
PB 445/545	Paleobotany
ANT 475	Environmental Archaeology
Paleontology Research or Teaching Experience 1
Elective List B (One or More) 2
BIO 330	Evolutionary Biology
BIO 370	Developmental Anatomy of the Vertebrates
BIO 440	The Human Animal: An Evolutionary Perspective
ZO 250	Animal Anatomy and Physiology
ZO 317	Primate Ecology and Evolution
ZO 350	Animal Phylogeny and Diversity
ZO 402	Invertebrate Biology
FW 444/544	Mammalogy
MEA 211	Geology II Laboratory
HI 344	Dinomania: Dinosaurs in Culture and Science
HI 323	Science, American Style
HI 482	Darwinism in Science and Society
ANT 421	Human Osteology
ANT 428	Human Paleopathology
ST 305
ST 307	Introduction to Statistical Programming- SAS
ST 308	Introduction to Statistical Programming - R
ST 312	Introduction to Statistics II
Total Hours		18

¹

The focus of the research or teaching experience must be in paleontology and the experience must be approved by the Minor Coordinator (usually through a signed contract) prior to beginning the work.

These credits can be earned through BSC 478 Research Fundamentals in Biological Sciences: Vertebrate Paleontology and Taphonomy or through other departmental experiential learning offerings.

²

Other relevant courses, including some capstone and special topics course offerings, can be approved by the Minor Coordinator on a case-by-case basis.