Geosciences Department - Options for Graduate Degrees
Master of Science Program
We offer a flexible Master of Science degree in Geosciences. You can select from among a large number of senior and graduate level classes in Geology. The departments of Math, Computer Science, Chemistry, Physics and Biology also teach many classes pertinent to various lines of research in Geology. Which formal courses an MS student takes is decided on by the student in consultation with her/his thesis advisor, non-thesis advisor, and graduate committee (all the details are in the Graduate Guidelines). Because of the flexibility of our program, varying lines of research followed by students, and differences in people's scientific interests, two MS program are rarely identical. However, there is a strong component of field work in essentially all of our student's research projects.
Many of our Geology faculty work among various areas, subdisciplines, and scales of research but our graduate programs can be roughly divided into a few broad areas. However, there is room for many other types of investigations and combinations of courses as well. One way to get a sense of what happens in our department is to look at the MS theses which have been completed in recent years. If your interests reach beyond the bounds of Geology, we can easily design a program that includes course work and research in one of the cognate sciences. Our areas of research concentration, faculty expertise, and graduate concentrations are listed below.
Master of Science Requirements (from the Graduate Catalog): A total of 34 graduate semester credits: 1) at least 28 credits are required in formal course work, 2) a minimum of 20 of credits are required in formal Geology courses, 3) a maximum of 6 hours of thesis research, and 4) no more than 10 hours may be at the graduate-designated 300 or 400-level. Cognate science courses taken outside the Geology Department may be required depending on your field of study, advisor, or research. All students must complete a year of freshman calculus, physics and chemistry; those who have not done so as undergraduates may fulfill the requirement as graduate students. After the thesis is approved, the student must pass a final oral examination which includes a defense of the thesis. We strongly encourage publication of the thesis in a peer-reviewed journal.
Ph.D. Program
Our Ph.D. program is also very flexible and follows the same general structure as our MS program and many of the general comments above are true for the Ph.D. program as well. If you are an established professional in the Geoscience Industry with a Master's Degree, we offer a Ph.D. in Applied Geoscience that is designed to make it reasonable to maintain a career and pursue the Ph.D. The Ph.D. in Applied Geoscience requires only one semester of formal residence and allows some graduate coursework to be completed in the Geological, Geophysical, and Environmental Engineering programs at Montana Tech in Butte Montana. Beyond those changes there are several things we can tune to an individual's agenda and career to make the degree feasible and yet still maintain traditional rigor and meet our formal requirements:
Doctor of Philosophy Degree Requirements (from the Graduate Catalog): The fundamental requirement is a demonstration of outstanding scholarship and research ability. The Master's degree is not a prerequisite for admission to the program, but is strongly recommended. A minimum of 60 semester credits beyond the Bachelor's degree is required: at least 30 credits in formal geology courses; a maximum of 14 hours of thesis research; at least 30 credits at the 500 and 600-level. Sixteen credits in cognate science courses taken outside the Geology Department are required and are chosen depending on your field of study, advisor, or research. A comprehensive examination must be taken before admission to candidacy for the Doctorate. The dissertation must be defended in an oral presentation and an examination conducted by the faculty.
Summary
For more information about our department or admission applications, just fill out this form and submit it. Don't be put off by our posted deadline of January 24th; we accept applications throughout the year. However, we do make decisions regarding teaching and research assistantships early in the application cycle. Finally, I encourage you to look at our areas of concentration below and email any faculty member who you may be interested in working with.
Program/Areas of Concentration (or make your own)
Environmental Processes, Geochemistry, and Hydrogeology
Faculty:
| Nancy W. Hinman, Associate Professor Aqueous and Environmental Geochemistry |
|
Andrew
Wilcox, Assistant Professor Geomorphology |
Joel Harper, Assistant Professor Glaciology, Climate Change, Surface Processes |
Johnnie
N. Moore, Professor - Environmental Geochemistry; River Processes |
Graduate Courses:
| Process Geomorphology | Hydrogeology | Applied Groundwater Modeling | Advanced Geochemistry |
| Advanced Environmental Geochemistry | Global Change | Cold Regions Processes | Geochemical Modeling |
| Seismology & Magnetics | Environmental Geochemistry | Gravity & Electromagnetism |
Recent Seminars and Special Courses:
| Lacustrine Records of Climate Change | Contaminants in Aquatic Systems | Groundwater Flow and Solute Transport Modeling |
| Geochemistry of Surface-Groundwater Interaction | Geochemistry of Thermal Springs | Geochemical Controls on Metals Dispersion |
| Geophysical Characterization of the Shallow Subsurface |
Geophysics, Tectonics, Petrology
Faculty:
| Julia Baldwin, Assistant Professor Metamorphic Geology, Geochronology |
Rebecca Bendick, Assistant Professor Geodynamics, Active Tectonics |
Steven
D. Sheriff, Professor |
Jim Sears, Professor |
Graduate Courses:
| Seismology & Magnetics | Gravity & Electromagnetism | Sedimentary Basin Analysis |
| Geotectonics and Earth History | Advanced Structural Geology | Subsurface Imaging for Archaeology |
Recent Seminars and New or Special Courses:
| Exploration Gravity | Applied Magnetics |
Basin Research, Sedimentology and Paleontology
Faculty:
| Marc S. Hendrix, Associate Professor Sedimentation, Basin Analysis, climate records |
George Stanley, Professor Triassic Corals, Invertebrate Paleontology |
| Graham
R. Thompson, Professor Emeritus |
Graduate Courses:
| Sedimentary Petrology | Architecture of Sedimentary Deposits | Applied magnetics |
| Advanced Geochemistry | Sedimentary Basin Analysis |
Recent Seminars and Special Courses:
Lacustrine Records of Climate Change |
Low-temperature Geochemistry |
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