This knowledge may be applied to exploration for natural resources — including metals, petroleum and water; understanding natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides; addressing problems associated with environmental contamination; and investigating Earth’s history to understand the evolution of life and global climate change. Earth scientists are employed by natural resource companies, environmental consulting firms, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and universities.
Core courses provide the fundamentals in:
- physical and historical geology
- mineralogy and petrography
- structural geology and plate tectonics
- sedimentology, paleontology and stratigraphy
Degree program can be tailored to a major field of interest by taking additional courses in the supporting sciences and mathematics.
Our Faculty
The Department of Geology and Environmental Science faculty maintain research programs to study topics as diverse as:
- ground water
- pollution impacts
- microbe-mineral interactions
- environmental change
- biodiversity
- remote sensing of buried structures
External funding and alumni support allow faculty to support student research. The faculty provides a broad-based education focused on both academic and applied aspects of the geological and environmental sciences.
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