Environmental Systems, Geology Concentration, M.S.

This program is administered by the coordinator of the environmental systems graduate program of the College of Natural Resources and Sciences.

The Geology Concentration gives students a quantitative and qualitative background for research in applied geology during their first year. Students usually spend their summers on thesis research. The second year is devoted to research, data analysis, and writing the thesis. Career possibilities include, field geologist, engineering geologist, exploration geophysicist, hydrologist, and marine geologist.

Program Prerequisites

Students must meet general admission requirements and:

Hold an approved bachelor’s degree with a major in geology or a related science. Applicants must have at least a year of college physics and a minimum of two semesters of calculus (three semesters desirable).
Submit a statement of objectives, including reasons for pursuing a master’s degree with a particular concentration

Requirements for the Degree (30 Units)

For a description of degree requirements to be fulfilled in addition to those listed below see, “Master’s Degree Requirements ”

Complete an environmental systems program of courses arranged with a graduate advisor and approved by the faculty graduate committee. The program requires 16 units of core courses and 14 units of concentration specific coursework.

Core Requirements (16 Units)

Colloquium (1 Unit)

SCI 698 - Graduate Colloquium in Environmental Systems Units: 1

Thesis / Independent Study (9 Units)

Complete a combination of thesis and independent study units for a total of 9 units. Select courses in consultation with advisor and committee members.

All students are required to enroll in at least 1 unit of ENGR/GEOL 690 or 699 every semester. A written thesis or project and public oral presentation are required. Thesis or project research is the central component of the master’s degree, and these courses are intended to build students’ competence in developing and implementing fundamental or applied research, and successfully reporting results. This is accomplished through mentoring with their faculty advisor and committee members

ENGR 690 - Thesis Units: 1-6 (required for Environmental Resources Engineering Concentration)
ENGR 699 - Independent Study in Environmental Systems Units: 1-3 (required for Environmental Resources Engineering Concentration)
GEOL 690 - Thesis Units: 1-6 (required for Geology Concentration)
GEOL 699 - Independent Study Units: 1-5 (required for Geology Concentration)

Analysis (4 Units)

Complete one course.

ENGR 322 - Risk and Data Analysis for Engineers Units: 4
GSP 510 - Research Methods in Geospatial Science Units: 4
STAT 630 - Data Collection and Analysis Units: 4

Methods (2-4 Units)

Complete one option (2-4 units).

ECON 423 - Environmental and Natural Resources Economics Units: 3
and
ECON 423D - Environmental and Natural Resources Economics - Additional Depth Units: 1
ECON 550 - Economics of Energy and Climate Policy Units: 4
GEOL 554 - Advanced Geology Field Methods Units: 2

Geology Concentration Requirements (14 Units)

Complete the following concentration specific coursework.

GEOL 550 - Fluvial Processes Units: 3
GEOL 551 - Hillslope Processes Units: 3
GEOL 553 - Quaternary Stratigraphy Units: 4
GEOL 555 - Neotectonics Units: 3

Elective Requirement

Complete approved upper division and graduate level elective courses to bring total degree units to no fewer than 30 units. At least half of these 30 units must be courses organized and conducted at the graduate level. The following courses are recommended.

GEOL 524 - Methods of Geochronology Units: 3
GEOL 531 - Advanced Physical Geology Units: 1-3
GEOL 531L - Advanced Physical Geology Lab Units: 0.5-1
GEOL 552 - Glacial and Periglacial Processes Units: 3
GEOL 556 - Hydrogeology Units: 4
GSP 570 - Advanced Geospatial Analysis and Modeling Units: 3
GSP 580 - Selected Graduate Topics in Geospatial Science Units: 1-3
GSP 580L - Selected Graduate Topics in Geospatial Science Lab Units: 1-2

Program Learning Outcomes

Students completing this program will have demonstrated:

expertise in their selected specialty through their master’s thesis or project and be able to identify how their work will contribute to the field.
the ability to design an investigation or project according to standards of the discipline
the ability to investigate an original hypothesis or develop an original project using appropriate methods and scientific discipline
the ability to present the results of their investigation or project using accepted structure, format, and visual aids for scientific presentations in the discipline
the ability to write a thesis or project technical report using accepted structure, style, and format in accordance with the discipline.