The Department of Earth and Environmental Science offers programs leading towards the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. The areas of possible graduate research are outlined by the wide range of faculty interest. Students with academic degrees in Geology, Anthropology, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics are invited to apply. The M.S. is offered independently as a terminal degree. The M.S. program is designed to prepare students both for employment in such fields as petroleum geology and environmental geology, and for doctoral work; the Ph.D. program trains students to be independent researchers.

The graduate program is administered jointly with that of Bryn Mawr College. Students receive degrees from one program or the other, but admission and support decisions are made jointly, students may take courses at both institutions, and faculty members from both institution may serve on graduate-student advisory committees.

The Graduate Group offers three areas of research concentration: Environmental Geology, Paleobiology, and Solid-Earth Geology.

Special Admissions Requirements

The GRE General Test is required. Undergraduate preparation in physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics, as well as in geology is recommended; the Graduate Group welcomes applicants who have majored in these fields, and will consider applicants from any field. The Graduate Group recommends that students who have not taken an undergraduate field-geology course make arrangements to do so before matriculating.

Special Requirements for Graduate Degrees
Both M.S. and Ph.D. students must pass a preliminary examination showing command of a range of geologic sub-fields, and advanced knowledge of the field of proposed concentration. Before admission to degree candidacy, each student must present an acceptable proposal for thesis research, and pass an oral examination covering that proposal but also extending to a broad range of related knowledge. Both M.S. and Ph.D. candidates must sustain a public oral examination on their theses and allied subjects.

Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
Doctoral candidates are expected to have reading knowledge of at least one foreign language that is significantly represented in the geologic literature.

Joint Programs
In addition to our joint graduate program with Bryn Mawr College, the Graduate Group collaborates closely in research and graduate training with colleagues in the Biology Department and the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Materials at Penn, in the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington.

401. Environmental Geology
Willig

Earth-surface processes: environmental geology, terrain analysis.

404. International Mineral Resources
Harker

The origin, nature, and international importance of mineral deposits. A multidisciplinary approach to consider the role of non-renewable resources in developing countries and in technically advanced nations.

415. Paleobotany
Pfefferkorn

Fossil record and evolution of plants. Methods and application of paleobotanical research. Two field trips .

417. Advanced Petrology
Omar

418. Geochemistry
Omar

463. Resource Utilization and Impact Assessment
Zandi

Extraction, preparation and utilization of natural resources. Cost, control strategies, and recycling.

464. Seminar on Natural Resources
Harker/Zandi

Selected natural resources are studied in detail with staff and visiting speakers. Field trips to mines and processing facilities.

470. Advanced Geological Mapping
Staff

Field mapping of complex areas. This study can be combined with specialized work in another graduate course studying minerals, rocks, or fossils from the mapped area.

501. Pleistocene Geology
Giegengack

Origin, extent in space and time, and effect on geologic processes of Late-Cenozoic climatic change: Pleistocene stratigraphy in different parts of the world.

504. Resource Geology
Harker

Petrology of economic mineral resources

511. Geology of Soils
Johnson

Nature, properties, genesis, and classification soils; soils of the United States. Field trips.

515. Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems
DiMichele/Wing

Origin and diversification of land ecosystems. Interaction between plants and animals. Effects of past climatic change and other external factors The importance of past changes in land ecosystems to our understanding of current global change.

520. Nuclear Geology
Omar

radioactivity, earth's heat, nuclear age determination, geochemistry of stable isotopes, and some geological applications of nuclear technology.

530. Hydrogeology
Giegengack

Flow of water (and associated contaminants) in natural porous media.

540. Geotectonics
Phipps

Bulk structure of the Earth. Plate tectonics and plate boundaries. Plumes, rifting, and intraplate tectonics. Geotectonics and seismicity. A 3-4-day field trip may be taken.

552. (BMC) Thermodynamics for Geologists
M.L. Crawtord

Theory and application of thermodynamics for solving geological problems combined with instruction in wet chemical and instrumental means of silicate analysis.

553. (BMC) Igneous Petrology
W. Crawford

Selected subjects in the structure, physical chemistry, and origin of igneous rocks.

554. (BMC) Metamorphism
M.L. Crawford

The physical and chemical processes of metamorphism accompanied by regional studies.

555. (BMC) Advanced Mineralogy
M.L. Crawford

The study of selected rock-forming mineral groups accompanied by instruction in optical, chemical, and X-ray techniques.

558. (BMC) Paleontology
Saunders

Study of selected animal groups in geologic time.

599. Independent Study
Staff

605. Advanced Paleobiology Seminar
Thayer

Current topics in paleobiology.

606. Sedimentary Petrology and Stratigraphy
Pfefferkorn

Analysis of a paleoenvironmental problem in the field and laboratory.

611. Pedogenesis in Temperate, Tropical, and Boreal Climates
Johnson

Processes of soil development in a variety of environments. Effects of lithology and climate on soil properties. Field trips.

615. AdvancedVertebrate Paleontology Seminar
Dodson

Topics in vertebrate paleontology and paleoecology

617. Topics in Sedimentology
Staff

625. Advanced Paleobotany Seminar
Pfefferkorn

Topics in paleobotany, paleoecology, and evolution.

637. Recent Climate Change

639. Carbon Isotope Geochemistry

640. Topics in Global Geology
Staff

Topics in planetary-scale geology; these may include comparative planetology, regional plate tectonics, or interactions between the biologic and physical universes (periodic and catastrophic extinctions, global change, etc.).

701 Advanced Mineralogy
Omar

706. Regional Geology
Staff

Topics in the sedimentology, stratigraphy, petrol ogy, and/or structural geology of selected regions. Regional geologic synthesis and tectonics.

777. Seminar in Quaternary Environments
Giegengack

Interdisciplinary approach to selected environmental problems of the Pleistocene.

999. Independent Study and Research
Staff

Supervised independent research in the thesis area or related fields. May include field, laboratory, and/or library research.

Courses Offered on Demand

405. Paleoecology
Thayer

420. Introduction to Geophysics
Staff

613. Hydrology
Johnson

616. Geology of the Carboniferous Period
Pfefferkorn

618. Geochemistry Seminar
Omar

620. Geophysics Seminar
Staff

628. Seminar in Isotope Geochemistry
Omar

630. Advanced Structural Geology Seminar
Phipps

650. Seminar in Appalachian Geology
Staff

716. Coal Geology
Pfefferkorn

Other Pertinent Courses (partial listing)


Anthropology

551 Primate Evolution

624 Topics in Paleoanthropology

Materials Science and Engineering

520 Structure of Materials

540 Phase Tranformations

550 Mechanical Behavior of Materials

650 Micromechanics of Deformation and Fracture

Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

527 Finite Element Analysis

630 Continuum Mechanics

632 Plasticity and Creep

633 Fracture Mechanics