| Graduate Study
Admission Requirements
All applicants must take the GRE General Test. The subject test is recommended for PhD candidates and may be in geology or the student's major. All students are urged to have completed a course in C or similar computer programming language before entrance. Domestic applications are due by January 15 for admission in the fall semester or by September 1 for the spring semester. International applications are due January 1 and August 15, respectively.
Undergraduate deficiencies will be listed on the basis of the student's transcripts and intended field of study. Courses may be added to the list or removed from it as a result of questioning during the preliminary conference and the general examination. Course GG 611 is intended for students entering from a non-geoscience field to prepare them for graduate studies in geosciences.
Master's Degree
Intended candidates will be accepted from undergraduate majors in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering, and they normally would be expected to have completed at least one year each of college mathematics, geology, physics, and chemistry. Adequacy of each applicant's additional preparation will depend on the particular branch of geology and geophysics being pursued. At the time of application the student should state the field in which he or she intends to study.
Requirements
For MS students, the graduate studies committee of the department will determine suitability of Plan A (thesis) or Plan B (non-thesis) at the preliminary conference. Virtually all students are required to follow Plan A. Plan A requires a minimum of 30 credits, including 6 credits of GG 700 Thesis Research and at least 24 credits of course work (up to 6 course work credits may be in GG 699). Plan B requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of course work and a final exam.
Doctoral Degree
Students wishing to bypass the MS degree and advance directly into PhD candidacy must pass a qualifying examination during the second semester in residence.
Requirements
PhD candidates are accepted with either a BS or MS degree. Students without an MS must pass a qualifying examination given at the beginning of their second semester of residence. All PhD candidates must pass a comprehensive examination no later than at the end of the fourth semester of residence for students without an MS degree or at the end of the second semester of residence for students with an MS degree. The comprehensive examination includes oral and written parts that cover in-depth those subjects in the student's field of interest and also the breadth of several areas in this and other departments that bear on the field. A final examination in defense of the dissertation is required. Space and aid for the program are limited, so each student's progress will be reviewed annually.
Areas of Interest
The six areas of interest listed below are active fields of research in the department. For each, a brief description and the required undergraduate preparation is listed. Students with backgrounds other than these may be accepted in a field if their records and recommendations are good, but advancement to candidacy may be delayed. A complete statement of the courses and other work in each field necessary for the MS or to prepare for the PhD comprehensive examination will be given to the entering student.
The department can provide further information on research opportunities and financial aid in each of the areas of interest.
Seismology and solid earth geophysics. Seismologists collect extensive digital seismic reflection and refraction data at sea aboard the research vessel Moana Wave and develop new methods for processing and interpreting these data. Active research areas include seismic wave propagation, dispersion, and attenuation; seismicity; anisotropy; downhole seismometry; and ocean bottom seismometry, inversion, and migration.
Other active research areas are crustal deformation studies using laser distance measurements, satellite gravimetry and altimetry, geodetic reference systems, standardization of geodetic data, integration of surface and satellite data, morphology of the geomagnetic field, earth density models, seaborne and land gravimetry, heat flow, geomagnetism, and geoelectricity. Entrance may be through majors in geophysics, geology, mathematics, physics, or engineering. Students need a background in geology (which can be obtained in graduate school) together with supporting mathematics and physics.
Marine geology and geophysics. This field combines geological studies with geophysical studies to focus on investigations of ocean basins and margins. Current research involving graduate students includes acoustic imaging, seismic profiles, and tectonic interpretation of mid-ocean ridges, trenches and fore-arcs, and back-arc basins; geodynamics; sea-floor monitoring; near-shore processes; and isotopic, micropaleontological, and geochemical investigations of
paleoceanography.
Typically, an undergraduate major in geology or one of the other natural sciences along with basic courses in physics, chemistry, and mathematics would be sufficient for entrance. The student should be prepared to commence or continue course work in (1) structural or tectonic geology, (2) exploration geophysics, and (3) any one or more of sedimentology, paleontology, geochemistry, and petrology, as applied to marine research.
Volcanology, petrology, and geochemistry. These fields focus on problems of magma generation, storage, and movement to Earth's surface; petrological and geochemical evolution of magmas, mantle and crust mechanisms of explosion, characteristics of explosive and effusive eruptions and their products; genesis of large igneous provinces, oceanic island volcanoes, and seamounts; processes that operate on mid-oceanic and back-arc-basin spreading centers and on circum-Pacific and Hawaiian volcanoes; and volcanic hazards.
In addition to basic courses in chemistry, physics, and mathematics, the well-prepared student would have had training in mineralogy, optical mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, and, in some cases, geological field methods and remote sensing techniques.
Planetary science. This field studies the composition and structure of the surfaces of planets, satellites, and asteroids; Earth as a planet; interaction of surfaces and interiors with atmospheres; surface state as an expression of interior evolution; surface alteration processes, such as impacts and chemical and space weatherings; spacecraft, telescope, and field observations and laboratory simulations; computer image and spectrum processing; instrument development; and remote sensing techniques as applied to Earth and other planets.
Typically an undergraduate major in geology, astronomy, physics, or engineering along with basic courses in chemistry, physics, and mathematics would be sufficient for entrance. The student should be prepared to commence or continue course work in whatever combination of geology, geophysics, geochemistry, planetary science, spectroscopy, or remote sensing is appropriate to optimum development in the field.
High-pressure geophysics and geochemistry. This field, also referred to as mineral physics, is concerned with understanding the nature of Earth's crust and its deep interior through measurement of physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of pertinent earth materials (e.g., rock-forming minerals or their analogs, rocks, and silicate glasses and melts) under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions.
Incoming students are expected to show a strong background in mathematics and physics as well as physical chemistry and some geology. The latter may, however, be acquired during the course of graduate studies.
Hydrogeology and engineering geology. This field involves the applications of geologic, hydrologic, mechanical, and chemical principles to a broad spectrum of processes relevant to human activities. Hydrogeology encompasses all aspects of the hydrologic cycle, including surface-water, soil-water, and ground-water occurrence, movement, development, and quality. Attention is also given to the special hydrological problems associated with islands. Engineering geology blends aspects of soil mechanics, rock mechanics, hydrogeology, and field geology to address topics such as slope stability, fracture phenomena, and
neotectonics.
A normal undergraduate background should include basic courses in geology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics and a major in geology, another physical science, or engineering. The student should be prepared for additional work in whatever combination of geology, geophysics, civil engineering, and geochemistry is appropriate for his or her optimum development. |
