General Department Information

The Department of Geosciences at Idaho State University is a community of scholars who are fascinated with the earth and committed to its rigorous scientific investigation. Learning and research are facilitated within the informal atmosphere of the department, where faculty and students work as colleagues to solve modern geologic problems. Graduate thesis projects usually include equal amounts of fieldwork and laboratory analysis, taking advantage of the natural setting of Idaho as well as excellent geochemical lab, digital mapping lab, and other research facilities.

Classroom and research opportunities are diverse. We are located in the northern Rocky Mountains, where the Basin and Range province meets the Snake River Plain with a multitude of geologic features nearby. The Cordilleran hingeline, Idaho-Wyoming thrust belt, accreted terranes of western Idaho, and the Idaho batholith are world-class examples of continental evolution. The Snake River Plain-Yellowstone province provides unequaled opportunity for studies in volcanology, stratigraphy, gravity modeling, and structural geology. Moreover, because of land use issues and an arid climate (300+ sunny days per year), projects in aquifer characterization, and wildfire-induced landscape change are numerous.

Idaho State University has granted over 160 M. S. Degrees in Geology since the inception of the program in 1965. Recent and ongoing research topics include: Igneous Petrology and Volcanology, Remote Sensing, Structural Geology, Stratigraphy and Sedimentary Geology, Geomorphology (landscape evolution), Environmental Geology and Geochemistry, and Geophysics. There are grants and assistantships to provide funding while at ISU.

Objectives of the department are to train students for professional positions or further study in all aspects of the geosciences. When finished with their degree, our students quickly find employment in government, private industry, or education.

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For ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS see ISU's online Undergraduate and Graduate catalogs. For APPLICATIONS see ISU's online applications.

 

Undergraduate Degrees Associates of Science in GEOLOGY B.S. and B.A. in GEOLOGY B.S. and B.A. in EARTH & ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS B.S. with emphasis in ENGINEERING GEOLOGY Teacher Education - EARTH SCIENCES Minor in GEOLOGY Minor in GEOTECHNOLOGY

Graduate Degrees Master of Science in GEOLOGY M.S. in GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE M.S. in ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MANAGEMENT M.N.S. for EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS M.S. in WASTE MNGMT & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES  (Geology First Emphasis) M.S. in ROCK ENGINEERING/ENGINEERING GEOLOGY Post-Baccalaureate GEOTECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATE Ph.D. in ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE

 

Additional cooperative degrees are offered through agreements with Geoscience departments at Boise State University and the University of Idaho, which facilitates the transfer of credits between the three institutions.

 

Cooperative ISU-BSU Master of Science in Geology Cooperative ISU-BUS Master of Science in Applied Geophysics Cooperative U of I-BUS-ISU Master of Science in Hydrology

 

Financial Assistance: Graduate students in the ISU and BSU Geosciences Departments receive partial to complete financial support from a variety of sources: Teaching and Research Assistantships including a stipend and waiver of all tuition and fees, Out-of-State fee waivers, Work-study funds, and external grants from geological societies, government sources and private corportations.

 

For more information about graduate degrees and funding contact the graduate advisor:

David Rodgers (rodgdavi@isu.edu).