Academics
Learn by doing: Engage in active research and work closely with faculty while you learn how our planet works, the forces shaping the Earth and those who live on it, and how to think critically about the Earth system.
An educational experience like no other.
Train for a career: Study the world's environmental issues, natural resources, our climate system, other planets, movement of the Earth’s core, ice, and populations, the evolution and extinction of species, or Earth's impact on our political and economic systems. Use cutting-edge technology, computational methods, and analytical techniques. Our graduates work in geological and environmental consulting, land use and planning, resource and energy exploration and production, natural hazard mitigation, geographic information systems, and many other professions.
Join the team: Our students, faculty, and staff are part of a close-knit, inclusive, and supportive community, strengthened by unmatched field, laboratory, and research experiences in the inter-mountain northwest.
What Can I Study?
- Energy and Natural Resources
- Climate Change Impacts
- Fuel and Fire Modeling
- Geographic Information Systems
- Landscape Genetics
- Meteorology
- Natural Hazards Modeling
- Physical Geography
- Dendrochronology
- Regional Development
- Remote Sensing
- Spatial Decision Support Systems
- Spatial Statistics
- Geopolitics
- Glacier Dynamics
- Hydrologic Modeling
- Paleoclimatology
- Paleontology
- Planetary Science
- Tectonics
- Sedimentology & Basin Analysis
- Volcanology
- Geochemistry
- Computational Hydrology
- Geothermal Systems
- Geodynamics
- Geochronology
- Heat flow and thermochronology
Career Opportunities
Our programs prepare students for a variety of careers where knowledge of earth sciences, natural hazards, economic resources, population, natural environments, and/or mapping and analysis are important. Our students learn analytical techniques and critical thinking, along with the ability to integrate information to answer complex questions facing decision makers at all levels of the public, private, and academic sectors.
Our graduates have the skills and substantive knowledge to fit the ever-changing and expanding opportunities in the earth and spatial science systems. B.S. recipients have gone on to careers in environmental consulting and planning, the energy, mining, and forestry industries, conservation and land management, academia, programming and mapping, and so much more... Our graduates have a nearly 100% employment record and our network of alumni is large and growing and this benefits our current students in the form of internship and job prospects.
The median annual salary for geoscientists is ~$94,000! (www.bls.gov) Employment of geoscientists is projected to grow 5 percent from 2019 to 2029, faster than the average for all occupations. The need for energy, environmental protection, and responsible land and resource management is projected to spur demand for geoscientists in the future.
The U.S. Department of Labor recently identified geospatial technology as one of the three most important emerging and evolving fields, along with nanotechnology and biotechnology. The median annual salary for geospatial information scientists and technologists is over $84,000, and a bachelor’s degree can also lead to a career as an environmental or social scientist.
Degree Options
Learn more about our degree requirements for: