About the Graduate Program

  The Department of Geology offers programs leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. On a full time basis, the M.S. normally requires approximately two years of work, which includes courses, the completion of an M.S. research thesis, and an oral defense of the thesis. On a full time basis, the Ph.D. commonly requires two or three years of work, if conducted after the completion of an M.S. program, or four to five years from the time of admission if pursued directly from the Bachelor level. The Ph.D. program normally includes course work, a qualifying examination, a dissertation, and an oral defense of the dissertation.

Our graduate program trains students to conduct independent and original research. This is most often achieved via the collaboration between students and faculty in ongoing research programs. Research follows two central themes: 1) Earth's Interior Processes, including such traditional areas as mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, geochronology, structural geology and tectonics, and 2) Earth's Surface Processes, including hydrology, sedimentation, geomicrobiology, geomorphology, remote sensing and environmental change. These areas are not mutually exclusive, and students are encouraged to develop a program that suits their interests. Developing areas within the Department include planetary geology and nano-science and technology.

Although students will choose an advisor within the Department of Geology, they may also wish to take advantage of research opportunities provided by collaboration with other departments on campus, such as Meteorology, Geography, Agronomy, and Chemistry, as well as other institutions in the area including the Smithsonian Institution, United States Geological Survey, NASA, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Geophysical Lab and National Institute of Standards and Technology. The Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center is a collaborative venture between the Departments of Geography, Geology and Meteorology on Campus, and the Earth Sciences Directorate at NASA Goddard. This wealth of in-house and collaborative resources positions our graduate students with an unmatched spectrum of opportunities and gives them access to a strong multi-disciplinary program of international stature.
 

Research Facilities

The Department maintains a suite of state-of-the-art facilities and equipment for research, including: two solid source, four gas source, and two inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometers, plus ancillary equipment for isotope analysis; two laser ablation units for plasma mass spectrometric analysis; Sun Microsystem computer network with direct access to supercomputer facilities; laboratories for research on the petrology of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, and for research on structural geology and tectonics; color image analysis system; stage for fluid inclusion analysis and dedicated microscope; research microscopes with instruments to analyze rock microstructures and fabrics and to measure reflectance; rock preparation laboratories; high temperature and high pressure/high temperature equipment for dry or hydrothermal experiments; electromagnetic and Ott velocity meters; digitizing equipment; laboratory and field hydrogeology equipment (and access to a drill rig on campus); flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption equipment; JEOL 8900 electron microprobe with mini-cathodoluminescence; ion chromatograph; automated X-ray diffractometer (XRD); nano-science and technology equipment (scanning probe microscope, confocal laser scanning microscope, optical tweezers and inverted optical microscope). Analytical scanning and transmission electron microscopy are available on campus for geological research.
 

General Information

The University and the Department
The University of Maryland, College Park, is a major public research university located on 1,250 acres along the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. high-tech corridor. The Department of Geology is part of the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, which has ~1,529 undergraduate students, 866 graduate students, and a faculty of over 500. The Department was established in 1973 and its graduate program begun in 1982. A strong sense of collegiality and cooperative spirit characterizes the Department. Faculty and students research focuses primarily on structural, geochemical, and petrologic investigations of tectonic and metamorphic processes; mechanisms of sediment transport; sedimentary cycling; surface, near-surface, and deep-crustal fluid flow; geomicrobiology; laboratory, geochemical and field studies of magmatic and ore-forming processes; and early solar system evolution. See: http://www.geol.umd.edu.

Student Group
The Department of Geology has approximately 25 graduate students, out of a campus-wide graduate student enrollment of ~ 9,793; Campus-wide undergraduate enrollment is ~25,140. Most students graduating with a M.S. go on to a Ph.D. program or find employment in the federal government or in the private sector in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Financial Aid
Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships and Graduate School Fellowships, with 12-month stipends ranging between approximately $19,094 and $21,172, including tuition remission and medical coverage, are available to qualified applicants.

Cost of Study
For Spring 2005, the self-supporting student who is a Maryland resident will pay $371 per credit hour plus mandatory fees (~ $268 for 1-8 credits; $438 for 9+ credits). Out-of-state students pay $701 per credit hour plus mandatory fees as stated above.

Cost of Living
Currently there is no on-campus graduate housing at the UMD. However, there are two all graduate student housing options in close proximity to campus. These are Graduate Hills and Graduate Gardens (http://www.graduatehills.com).

The Off-Campus Housing Services in the Stamp Student Union is one of the best places to search for housing in the College Park and surrounding areas. The office manages OCH101, a housing search database, and Roommate Finder (http://roommate.umd.och101.com) that get you connected with other students.
 

Application Requirements and Process

A baccalaureate degree in geology/geophysics/geochemistry/chemistry/physics/mathematics or a related science and the General Graduate Record Exam (GRE) are required. TOEFL is required of all foreign students for whom English is not their native language.

Application Form - Deadlines

All students should apply electronically via the web at: http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/admissions

We consider applicants to our program at any time. However, for best consideration, especially with regard to financial support, we recommend applications for Fall admission (August start) be received on or prior to March 15, and admission for Spring admission (January start) be received prior to Oct. 15. Early application is advised.

Additional information about the Department of Geology can be obtained at: http://www.geol.umd.edu

General information about the University of Maryland Graduate Program, including on-line application, can be obtained at: http://www.gradschool.umd.edu

Correspondence and Information
Graduate Secretary, Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA; e-mail: grad-sec@geol.umd.edu; telephone: (301) 405-4385.
 

For information regarding the resident faculty