Department of Earth Sciences

As curiosity-driven STEM scientists, we combine outdoor field work, laboratory analysis, and simulation modeling to come up with better answers for planetary interaction than possible from geology, biology, anthropology, climatology, and marine science alone.

As ethically-motivated environmental scientists, we help meet the human challenges of obtaining natural resources, mitigating natural hazards, and managing habitats, including those of humans. We overlap with the applied disciplines of engineering, agriculture, natural resources, law, public health, and business.

We examine planet Earth holistically by focusing on the interactions between its solids, liquids, gasses, organisms, and human activities in terrestrial, marine, and atmospheric settings.

We care about beautiful things like minerals, waters, landscapes, climates, ecosystems, rocks, fossils, glaciers, rivers, mountains, coasts, oceans, soils, sediments, volcanoes, and human creations.  They help us answer fundamental questions about the origin, habitability, and future of our planet and its neighbors.

The Department of Earth Sciences offers B.A. and B.S. degrees with Earth, Environment, and Atmosphere tracks as well as a Minor, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Please explore the website to learn more about our department!