COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCES, FORESTRY, AND AGRICULTURE

Earth and Climate SciencesWHY STUDY EARTH AND CLIMATE SCIENCES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE?

e School of Earth and Climate Sciences isranked by the National Science Foundation asone of the country’s top 50 geosciencedepartments. is designation recognizes thenational and international standing of itsfaculty and their research programs. e highlevel of cutting edge research at the School ofEarth and Climate Sciences means thatundergraduate students have the opportunityto study and work with professors who are atthe forefront of their respective fields.Additionally, the school is closely associatedwith the Climate Change Institute, aninternationally recognized researchorganization established over 45 years ago.

WHAT CAN I DO WITH A DEGREE IN EARTH AND CLIMATE SCIENCES?

Students completing a bachelor’s degree in ourprogram are prepared for technical positions inbusiness, governmental agencies or otherorganizations. Students are equally well preparedto pursue graduate studies in a wide range ofdisciplines that require skills and knowledgein Earth and Climate sciences. Recent bachelor’s(B.S. and B.A.) graduates work for mineral andpetroleum companies, environmental consultingfirms, and state agencies. Students with master’s(M.S.) and doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees holdpositions in business, state and federalagencies, environmental advocacy groups, anduniversities and colleges.

OUR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

Our undergraduate program is developedaround a core curriculum designed to givestudents a solid academic foundation and iscomplemented by a range of elective coursesthat gives students flexibility to explore a rangeof topics or focus on a particular area. Studentsparticipate in lecture and lab classes and fieldtrips throughout their UMaine experience.

Our undergraduate degrees:B.A., Earth Sciences: is degree providesstudents with a basic foundation in Earth

sciences and the opportunity to explorewidely or focus their studies. euniversity requires students to complete 72 credits outside their declared major.Students can experience a wide range oftopics or investigate a second academicarea in more detail.

B.S., Earth Sciences, Earth Sciencesconcentration: Students complete a seriesof core requirements and ancillary coursesthat provide a strong scientific foundation.Elective courses are drawn from within the school to create a broad or focusedprogram of study. Areas of study includemineralogy and petrology, naturalresources, stratigraphy and sedimentology,structural geology and tectonics,environmental geology, hydrogeology,surficial processes and coastal geology.

B.S., Earth Sciences, Climate Sciencesconcentration: e climate scienceconcentration is designed to providestudents with an understanding of thescience of climate change. Studentscomplete a group of core courses andancillary sciences and mathematics thatprovide a strong foundation for study ofpast, present, and future climate change.Electives are selected from a list of coursesthat represent the major subdisciplineswithin the realm of climate sciences.

e School of Earth and Climate Sciencescooperates with the the Ecology andEnvironmental Sciences program to offer anEarth and Environmental Sciencesconcentration within the EES bachelors ofscience program. is program combinesearth and climate science courses with theEES core requirements.

OUR GRADUATE PROGRAM

e School of Earth and Climate Sciences hasa vibrant graduate program that awards bothmaster’s (M.S.) and doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees.All of our graduate students have theopportunity to work with nationally- and

School of Earth and Climate Sciences 5790 Bryand Global Sciences CenterUniversity of MaineOrono, ME 04469-5790 207.581.2152

umaine.edu/earthclimateTo apply: umaine.edu

UMaine’s ADVANTAGE

• Opportunities to work onEarth and climate scienceresearch in excitinglocations

• High-quality preparation forprofessional or academicpursuits after graduation

• Modern building providing acomfortable atmosphere forstudy

• State-of-the-art researchfacilities available forstudent projects

• Classes taught byinternationally recognizedfaculty members

• Hands-on experiencethrough field trips,internships, and researchprojects with faculty andgraduate students

Connect with us:umaine.edu/socialnetwork

internationally-recognized specialists in theirfield. Students regularly present the results oftheir work at national and internationalmeetings and publish their findings in highprofile scientific journals. e School of Earthand Climate Sciences, in combination with theClimate Change Institute, offers state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities to pursue researchprojects typically funded by the NationalScience Foundation, NASA, NOAA andother major federal and private organizations.Our graduate students pursue a wide range oftopics including tectonics and geodynamics,structural geology and petrology, glaciologyand glacial geology, paleoclimatology,watershed geomorphology, hydrogeology,environmental geochemistry, and marine/coastal geology. Most of our graduate studentsare fully funded by research assistantships,teaching assistantships or fellowships.

OUR FACULTY

Our faculty is composed of active researcherswith a commitment to undergraduate andgraduate education. ese individuals havenational and international reputations forexcellence, and frequently participate in workwith colleagues from agencies and universitiesaround the world. What does this mean forstudents? It means that faculty members areactively engaged in material presented inclasses, and share the most up-to-date ideasand techniques with their students. Facultymembers in the School of Earth and ClimateSciences work in a broad range of topics:structural geology and tectonics, mineralogyand petrology, hydrogeology and surfacewater, climate change, glaciology, surficialgeology, landform evolution, coastal geology,sea-level change, low-temperaturegeochemistry, environmental geology andgeoarchaeology.

OPPORTUNITIES TO EXCEL

Our school’s link between research andeducation provides outstanding opportunitiesfor students to participate in ongoing projectsas field or laboratory assistants. Researchprojects have included collecting samples inGreenland and Antarctica, geophysicalresearch on Alaskan glaciers and Peruvianarchaeological sites, geological fieldwork inCanada, investigations of New England saltmarshes, and many others. Honors Collegestudents can chose to work with the school’sfaculty to develop and complete an honorsthesis. B.S. and B.A. students may also chooseto complete a senior thesis. Internships withthe Maine Geological Survey, environmentalgeoscience firms and other organizationsallow our students to gain importantprofessional experience. All students have theopportunity to attend regional professionalmeetings and field excursions.

e School of Earth and Climate Sciencesoccupies one of the newest buildings oncampus, and has labs and equipment that are available for student use. ese includeanalytical facilities (scanning electronmicroscope, electron microprobe, opticalmicroscopy, X-ray diffraction), rock andmineral preparation labs, a sedimentology lab, analog and computer-modeling labs, near surface geophysics equipment (side-scansonar, seismic reflection profiler, ground-penetrating radar), stable isotope laboratory, a computer cluster for student use, and much more.

HOW DO I APPLY?

Visit umaine.edu for an application, as well as information about academics and life at UMaine.

The University of Maine does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, including transgender status and gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status inemployment, education, and all other programs and activities. Contact the Director, Equal Opportunity, 5754 North Stevens Hall, Room 101, Orono, ME 04469-5754 at 207.581.1226 (voice), TTY 711 (Maine Relay System), equal.opportunity@maine.eduwith questions or concerns.

Bachelor of Science in

Earth SciencesConcentrations in

Earth Sciences and Climate Sciences

Bachelor of Arts in

Earth Sciences

Minor in

Earth Sciences

Master of Science in

Earth and Climate Sciences

Ph.D. in

Earth and Climate Sciences

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ABOUT UMAINE

The University of Maine, founded inOrono in 1865, is the state’s premierpublic university. It is among the mostcomprehensive higher educationinstitutions in the Northeast and attractsstudents from across the U.S. and morethan 60 countries. It currently enrollsmore than 11,000 total undergraduateand graduate students. UMaine studentsdirectly participate in groundbreakingresearch working with world-classscholars. The University of Maine offersdoctoral degrees in 30 fields, representingthe humanities, sciences, engineering and education; master’s degrees in 85 disciplines; 90 undergraduate majorsand academic programs; and one of theoldest and most prestigious honorsprograms in the U.S. The universitypromotes environmental stewardship onits campus, with substantial efforts aimed at conserving energy, recycling andadhering to green building standards innew construction. For more informationabout UMaine, visit umaine.edu.