Geology has been taught at West Virginia University since its founding in 1867, but the Department of Geology was not established until 1877. From its inception the geology program focused on the natural resources of West Virginia: coal, oil, natural gas, water, salt, and other nonmetallic deposits. Early faculty and students of the Geology program played a key role in the development of the oil industry in the Appalachian basin, the principal hydrocarbon province of the world at that time. Key areas of early specialization were petrology, stratigraphy, structural geology, paleontology and paleobotany. Since 1970 Department growth has encompassed geophysics, geomorphology, hydrogeology, geochemistry, geological education, remote sensing, and GIS applications (the last two areas in association with the Geography program, our partner in the Department).

Job opportunities continue to be excellent for our graduates. Within one year of graduation, essentially 100% of those students earning a M.S. in geology either continue their education or are placed in well-paying professional positions or Ph.D. programs. Over the last five years most of our M.S. graduates have been employed by oil and gas companies, environmental consulting firms, government agencies, non-profit organizations, or moved on to pursue a PhD. Recent PhD graduates have been employed at major oil & gas companies, at government agencies, as post-docs or as faculty in academic institutions.