Thank you for your interest in graduate studies in the Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder!
| With over 120 enrolled M.S. and Ph.D. students, ours is one of the largest and most successful Graduate Programs in the Geological Sciences in the U.S. We do not have a formal program of rigidly defined courses leading to the M.S. or Ph.D. in Geological Sciences. This is a research-oriented department, and every graduate program is designed individually. This means that acceptance into a graduate program at the University of Colorado virtually requires that prospective students look through the various current research programs in the Department and associated Institutes and individually contact prospective faculty advisors. Faculty will review every application received. However, acceptance requires an individual faculty recommendation. Your chances of acceptance and obtaining possible financial aid are thus greatly enhanced by establishing individual contact with a prospective faculty advisor. The information provided here is designed to help you establish this contact. | |
The faculty are divided into four broad research interest groups:
Economic Resources / Stratigraphic Sciences / Paleontology Geodynamics / Geophysics / Geochemistry / Mineral Physics /
Petrology Global Change / Surficial Processes / Quaternary Science HydrogeosciencesLook for the research area that interests you most. Look for the faculty member closest to your area of interest. The pages highlighted above describe faculty research interests. Email addresses are also provided.
This Department has an unusual structure with many faculty holding joint appointments between the Department and various research institutes. The institutes exist to facilitate interdisciplinary research. Whether or not your office and research will be housed within one of the institutes, your M.S. or Ph.D. will be granted by the department, and you'll benefit from the camaraderie of the other departmental grad students.
Please read the letter from our chair that is sent in response to written inquiries to our graduate program. This letter outlines the information that must be submitted for consideration for graduate study in our department.
The first step in applying to our graduate program is to click on
link provided for domestic applicants http://www.colorado.edu/prospective/graduate/apply/process.html
International applicants click on http://www.colorado.edu/prospective/international/apply.html
If you have questions, contact Carrie Simon, Graduate Program Assistant in the Geology Department, for additional necessary supplementary materials:
Department of Geological Sciences
University of Colorado at Boulder
Campus Box 399
Boulder, CO 80309-0399
Phone: (303) 492-2607
Fax: (303) 492-2606
Carrie.Simon@colorado.edu
Note: December 15th (December 1 for International applicants) is the deadline for applications for admission for the following fall semester to the Graduate School. We strongly suggest that you contact the department for application forms weeks or months before the deadline. You are further strongly advised to contact prospective faculty advisors directly.
We also recommend that applicants consider applying for external fellowships when appropriate. The Department will advance the names of qualified individuals for certain university fellowships, but applying for most fellowships is the responsibility of the applicant.
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Graduate Degree Programs:Changes have been made to the Graduate School Rules. The new rules may be found at the Graduate School Web site: http://www.colorado.edu/GraduateSchool/ Please read these rules as they may affect your decision regarding our program. The following has been excerpted from the University of Colorado Catalog. For additional details, see departmental Graduate Degree Requirements. Students interested in graduate work in the geological sciences should carefully read the detailed information regarding admission, registration, and degree requirements that is available from the departmental office. A brief summary follows. All students applying for admission must take the Graduate Record Examination. Results of this examination are used both for determining admittance and for initial academic counseling. Entering students normally have completed at least 24 semester hours of basic courses in geological science and two semesters each of chemistry, physics, and calculus. In some cases, exceptional undergraduate prepartion in other fields of science, mathematics, or engineering may susbstitute for part of the 24 hours in geological science. |
Initial counseling is provided on an individual basis by the departmental committee on academic progress. Therafter each student acquires an advisory committee which provides guidance throughout the degree program.
Candidates for the master's degree in geological sciences must complete at least 24 semester hours of graduate course work including a thesis (Plan I), or 30 semester hours of graduate work without a thesis (Plan II). The Plan II program requires at least 3 hours of GEOL 6960 (Plan II Master's Research) under the supervision of the advisory committee. At east 12 semester hours of course work (Plan I) and 16 semseter hours of course work (Plan II) must be at the 5000 level. See Graduate School specifications in the University of Colorado Catalog for further information.
Candidates for the doctoral degree must complete at least 30 semester hours in course work numbered 5000 or above, of which at least 20 must be taken at CU-Boulder. In addition to course work, candidates must take a total of at least 30 hours of GEOL 8990 doctoral dissertation hours, with not more than 10 of these in any one semester and not more than 10 before the comprehensive examination is passed.
The Department of Geological Sciences participates in the interdepartmental Ph.D. program in geophysics and hydrology. For more information about this program, consult the Graduate School section of the University of Colorado Catalog.
A graduate-level remote sensing certificate is now available to students in geology who are interested in using satellite and ground-based remote sensing techniques to investigate land surfaces, oceans, and the atmosphere. This site explains how to obtain a certificate.
The CU geophysics graduate certificate offers a coherent curriculum in geophysics that can complement and supplement a student's regular degree program and encourages multi-disciplinary education in the area of geophysics.
Back to Information for Students.
Back to Department of Geological Sciences.
To request graduate program information or
application forms:
visit the
Graduate School .
Comments or Questions about this page?
Drop us an email at: geolinfo@colorado.edu