地质学系提供通向MS和Ph.D的课程。度。在全职基础上，MS通常需要两到三年的工作，其中包括课程，MS研究论文的完成以及论文的口头答辩。全日制博士学位 如果完成MS计划后进行，通常需要三到四年的工作，如果直接从学士学位级别上追求，通常需要四到五年的工作。博士 课程通常包括课程工作，资格考试和建议答辩，论文以及论文的口头答辩和考试。我们的学生需要在指导计划下从事独立和原创的研究，以促进创造性思维。这通常是通过学生和教职员工之间正在进行的研究计划的合作来实现的。地质学关系到地球，地球的起源和演化，生命的起源，
The Department of Geology offers programs leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. On a full time basis, the M.S. normally requires two to three years of work, which includes courses, the completion of an M.S. research thesis, and an oral defense of the thesis. On a full time basis, the Ph.D. commonly requires three to four years of work, if conducted after the completion of an M.S. program, or four to five years from the time of admission if pursued directly from the Bachelor level. The Ph.D. program normally includes course work, a qualifying examination and proposal defense, a dissertation, and an oral defense and examination of the dissertation. Our students are required to engage in independent and original research under a mentoring program that promotes creative thinking. This is most commonly achieved via the collaboration between students and faculty in ongoing research programs. Geology is concerned with the Earth, its origin and evolution and the origin of life, and the processes by which Earth's atmosphere, surface and interior have been and continue to be modified. To pursue these topics we have developed research strengths in four themes: Geochemistry, which involves investigations of low- to high-temperature processes operating from Earth's surface to it's core and within the Solar System, Solid Earth Science, which is the study of the minerals, rocks, and structures that constitute Earth, and the tectonic and other processes by which they are formed and altered, Surficial Processes and Environments, which involves the study of active and past fluxes (and reservoirs) of water, dissolved components, and sediment on Earth's surface and the interactions of these fluxes with the biosphere and atmosphere, and, Geophysics, which includes investigations of Earth's interior structure and dynamics, as well as planetary physics. These areas are not mutually exclusive, and students are encouraged to develop a program that suits their interests. Developing areas within the Department include planetary geology and forensics.