Why Study Geology at Cornell?

As the world faces declining natural resources (including potable water and food), climate change, and an increasing population, a geology major provides particularly salient training to address these issues. Additionally, geology majors leave Cornell able to pursue a wide variety of careers within and outside of the sciences. Thus geology also serves as a liberal arts major for many students who do not plan to become professional geologists.

Many students choose to major in geology because they love the subject, are interested in the environment, and wish to take advantage of the numerous opportunities to study geology beyond the traditional classroom. Few students entering Cornell College have had any exposure to geology; many of our majors “discover” geology after their first or second (and, occasionally third) year at Cornell. Our program is sufficiently flexible to allow enthusiastic “latecomers” to complete the requirements for the geology major or minor.

Field study and research

Field experiences are critical to learning geology.  Cornell's One Course At A Time allows us to include field trips in almost every course and to dedicate an entire block in specialized field study courses. We also engage our students in a variety of independent research projects, often connected to the wide-ranging interests of our faculty.

Internships

We encourage our students to study on-site with professional geologists through internship opportunities.  For example, our students have studied volcanic processes with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) at Mount St. Helens and in Hawaii; petroleum exploration methods with oil companies in Oklahoma and Texas; land and soil management with the Natural Resources Conservation Service; water resources with the USGS in eastern Iowa; and energy resources with Alliant Energy.  These internships not only have enhanced the education of our students, but also have opened doors of opportunity to them in graduate research and professional employment.

Department news

You can read more details about the department in a recent edition of the Cornell Report, and in our department newsletter Sparks From the Rockpile.