Training in Geology gives you the skills to help you make an impact, in both science and society.
As field scientists, lab chemists, experimentalists, and numerical modelers, we each approach Geology from a different perspective. But we share a common goal: to understand and explore the planet that sustains us.
This starts with the fundamentals of Geology. In the major, you will:
- Develop your own lens for exploring questions in Geology. We leverage Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Math, and Computer Science to deepen our understanding of the planet, and we encourage everyone to bring their own unique passions to the discipline.
- Develop the oral, written, and graphical skills necessary for the effective presentation of scientific research.
- Read and critically evaluate the geoscience literature, to both expand your individual understanding of the field and to participate in the development and debate of new ideas.
- Analyze, visualize, and interpret 4D data, using both analog tools (printed maps and cross-sections) and digital tools (Google Sheets, Geographic Information Systems [GIS], Python, and R).
- Explore Earth systems over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales; from those of planet forming, mountain building, and the evolution of life to those of landslides, flooding, and tropical storms.
- Work directly with earth materials (minerals, rocks, fossils, and water) in both the field and the laboratory, using modern instruments and analytical methods to explore the natural world.
- Operate collaboratively to solve complex problems
But more than Geology fundamentals, our curriculum is designed to teach you to:
- Think conceptually and practically. You will ask big questions, but identify and explore specific pathways to answer them. [Essential skills in consulting]
- Analyze data, and explore how systems have behaved in the past and how they are likely to behave in the future. [Essential skills in banking]
- Communicate scientific concepts clearly, with empathy and an understanding of your audience. [Essential skills in medicine]
- Develop solutions to the 21st century problems of climate change and natural resource management grounded in scientific understanding of Earth systems. [Essential skills in environmental advocacy]