EESC 6691 Earth Systems Seminar

An advanced seminar on topics in the Geosciences requiring integration of many subspecialities. Topics vary from year to year. Students will be expected to read and report on papers from the recent literature and prepare one or more talks similar to those presented at scientific meetings and a term paper integrating data from various areas of Geosciences. Required for all incoming graduate students.

Course overview

Department
Earth and Environmental Sciences
School
MCAS
Credits
3
Level
Graduate
Offered
Periodically in the Fall

Course evaluations

Response-weighted averages from Boston College’s official course evaluations (Avalanche/Blue).

Course rating
3.79 / 5 · Very Good
45 responses
Instructor rating
4.27 / 5 · Very Good
45 responses
Terms evaluated
5
Most recent: Fall 2025

Scales: overall ratings run from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent); agreement questions from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); weekly effort from 1 (up to 1 hour) to 5 (10 or more hours).

Evaluations by term and instructor
TermInstructorCourse overallInstructor overallWell organizedClear learning objectivesIntellectually challengingHelpful assignmentsApplicable beyond courseAttendance necessaryWeekly effortResponses
Fall 2025Jeremy Shakun4.74.74.74.73.34.74.74.71–3 hrs/week3 of 4
Fall 2025Xingchen Wang4.74.74.74.73.34.74.74.71–3 hrs/week3 of 4
Fall 2024Jeremy Shakun4.74.84.74.74.34.84.74.8—6 of 7
Fall 2024Xingchen Wang4.74.84.74.74.34.84.74.8—6 of 7
Fall 2023Kathleen Wilson—————————6 of 11
Fall 2023Xingchen Wang—————————6 of 11
Fall 2022Xingchen Wang5.05.05.05.04.75.05.05.04–6 hrs/week3 of 3
Fall 2021Alan Kafka2.22.32.83.83.22.23.72.3—6 of 8
Fall 2021Xingchen Wang2.24.32.83.83.22.23.72.3—6 of 8

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-10-09. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

Sections

  • Section 01
    Fall 2026 · Juliet Ryan-Davis, Xingchen Wang · Devlin Hall 220 F 01:00PM-03:30PM · Offered