EARTH & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Professors:
Barry Chernoff, Biology; Peter C. Patton, Vice President and
Secretary of the University; Johan C. Varekamp
Associate Professor:
Suzanne O'Connell, Chair
Assistant Professors: Martha
S. Gilmore, Timothy Ku, Phillip Resor, Dana Royer
Research Professor:
Ellen Thomas
Research Assistant Professor:
James P. Greenwood
GRADUATE
PROGRAM
The Department of Earth and Environmental
Sciences offers a program leading to the degree of Master of Arts in earth
science. This program is designed for students who desire further training prior
to initiation of a doctoral program at a larger university or for whom the
master’s degree will be the terminal degree. Graduate students are offered a
unique opportunity for accelerated and personal instruction in a small
department setting, with strengths in Geology, Volcanology, Geochemistry, Ocean
Sciences, Planetary Science, and Environmental Science.
REQUIREMENTS
Course requirements for the M.A. degree in earth
science include one year of each of any three of the following: mathematics,
chemistry, physics, and biology. Students who have the equivalent of a Wesleyan
E&ES BA degree are required to take six upper-level course credits (of which
at least four must be in E&ES) and two MA thesis research credits. A student’s
overall academic record must include courses in physical geology, mineralogy,
igneous and metamorphic petrology, structural geology, sedimentology/stratigraphy,
and paleontology. Students with a BA/BS degree in another science area must,
in addition to the above requirements, complete or have completed 11 upper-level
courses in the sciences or mathematics, and at least five of these must be E&ES
courses. Graduate students taking senior undergraduate courses for graduate
credit receive one credit for lecture courses accompanied by a laboratory.
All full-time graduate students are expected to
complete a minimum of four courses during their first year with a grade of B- or
better. Failure to achieve these minimal expectations incurs automatic dismissal
from the program. All graduate students are expected to register for E&ES 591,
592. The culmination of the MA program is the completion and acceptance of a
thesis, and its successful oral defense.
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
J. de Boer: geotectonics, paleomagnetism;
research areas: New England, Central America, Greece. M.
Gilmore: geomorphology, planetary sciences, remote sensing; research areas: Long
Island Sound, Connecticut, Mars, Venus. T. Ku: Biogeochemistry, isotope
geochemistry; research areas;: coastal waters of Florida, Panama and St. Lucia,
North America soils, ground water aquifers and lakes. S. O’Connell: marine
geology, paleoceanography, climate change, continental margin sedimentology;
research areas: North Atlantic, Southern Ocean. P. Patton: fluvial
geomorphology; research areas: Southern New England. E. Thomas:
micropaleontology, paleoceanography; research areas: deep ocean basins, Long
Island Sound, and its coastal salt marshes. J. Varekamp: geochemistry,
volcanology; research areas: Argentinian Andes, Greece, Indonesia, Long Island
Sound and Connecticut.
REQUIREMENTS FOR
ADMISSION
To be admitted to the graduate program, an E&ES
student must have a B- average or higher in their major. Although applicants
will normally have a BA/BS degree in earth sciences, students with degrees
in astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, or physics are
occasionally also considered for admission. Applicants are required to have
taken the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Foreign students should have taken
the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
A limited number of assistantships are
available. Several students may be supported by faculty grants and/or special
funds.
EARTH
AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES COURSES
Certain courses listed below may not be offered
each year. Certain courses may not appear below. Please check with the
department for a complete course schedule.
E&ES500 Graduate Pedagogy
Identical with: BIOL500
Credit: 0.50
Fall 2005
E&ES501/502 Individual Tutorial, Graduate
Topic to be arranged in consultation with the
tutor.
Credit: 1.00
E&ES503 Selected Topics, Graduate Sciences
Credit: 1.00
E&ES511/512 Group Tutorial, Graduate
Credit: 0.50
E&ES514 Petrogenesis of Igneous and Metamorphic
Rocks
Identical with: E&ES214
Credit: 1.00
Spring 2006
E&ES517 Hydrology
Identical with: E&ES317
Credit: 1.00
E&ES522 Introduction to GIS
Identical with: E&ES322
Credit: 1.00
Spring 2006
E&ES580 Volcanology
Identical with: E&ES380
Credit: 1.00
E&ES585 Geodynamics
Identical with: E&ES385
Credit: 1.00
E&ES591/592 Advanced Research, Graduate
Credit: 1.00
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