The Geoscience section of the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science and Master of Science (Research) in geoscience and, Doctor of Philosophy in geophysics. Students with undergraduate degrees in geology, geophysics, physics, mathematics, or engineering are encouraged to apply to these programs. Active research areas in geophysics include earthquake seismology, tectonics, gravimetry, physics of the deep interior, and exploration geophysics. Active research areas in geology include tectonics, Precambrian crustal evolution, remote sensing, sedimentary geology and sedimentation, igneous and metamorphic petrology, geochemistry, geochronology, structural geology, and fluid-rock interaction. Research facilities include a network of seismograph stations surrounding the New Madrid fault zone, state-of-the-art seismic observatories which transmit data by satellite from sites distributed across a broad region of the central United States, excellent computing facilities consisting of a large network of Sun SPARC stations, Mac and PC workstations, rock preparation and mineral separation facilities, stable isotope geochemistry lab, remote sensing and digital image analysis labs.


Our Founder

• James B. Macelwane, S.J.

• Course descriptions and program requirements requirements (pg. 50-51)

• Admission Policies and Procedures

• Graduation requirements

• Graduate School Homepage

• Version 3.1 (current)

• Version 3.0

• Amer, Reda -- program: PhD, semester: 6, advisor: Ripperdan

• Brockelbank, Alicia -- program: MSR Geology, semester: 1, advisor: Kirschner

• Chang, Junyoung -- program: PhD, semester: 3, advisor: Crossley

• d'Amico, Sebastiano -- program: PhD, semester: 5, advisor: Herrmann

• Gabr, Safwat -- program: PhD, semester: 9, advisor: Encarnacion

• Guo, Xiaoyu (Michele) -- program: PhD, semester: 9, advisor: Encarnacion

• Hawley, Veronica -- program: MSR Geophysics, semester: 3, advisor: Koper

• Liu, Wensu -- program: PhD, semester: 1, advisor: undecided

• Luetkemeyer, Ben -- program: MSR Geology, semester: 2, advisor: Kirschner

• Osburg, Timothy -- unclassified student, interested in MS Geophysics

• Qiao, Lei (Charlie) -- program: PhD, semester: 5, advisor: Kirschner

• Sufri, Oner -- program: PhD, semester: 1, advisor: Koper

• Xu, Yan -- program: PhD, semester: 9, advisor: Koper

• Yang, Hongfeng -- program: PhD, semester: 9, advisor: Zhu

• Zhao, Li -- program: PhD, semester: 5, advisor: Encarnacion

• Zhou, Yunming -- program: PhD, semester: 3, advisor: Zhu

• Crossley, David

• Encarnacion, John

• Herrmann, Robert

• Kirschner, David

• Koper, Keith

• Londono, Ana

• Ripperdan, Robert

• Zhu, Lupei

• Dr. Donald Brennan, Dean of the Graduate School

• Dr. Alexa Serfis, Associate Dean of Student Affairs

• Dr. Reinhard Andress, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs

• Ms. Cathy Zimmer, Business Manager of the Graduate School

• Ms. Rachel Phillipone, Master's Candidacy Advisor

• Ms. Susan Jacobsmeyer, PhD Candidacy Advisor

• Dr. Bill Dannevik, Chair of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

• Dr. Keith Koper, Director of Graduate Geoscience Programs in EAS

• Ms. Cyn Wise, EAS graduate student administrator

1. How do I apply to be a graduate student ? You can fill out a formal application online on this this web page. Note that even if you have emailed a resume or other information to a specific faculty member, you MUST officially apply through the Graduate School.

2. How do I apply for financial aid ? There is no separate application for financial aid. If you are accepted, your regular application will be automatically considered for financial aid by the graduate faculty in EAS.

3. How much does it cost to live in St. Louis ? Please see this estimate from the Graduate School. The base salary for students supported on a departmental TA/RA is about $1,550 per month (before taxes).

4. How much is the graduate tuition at Saint Louis University ? For the academic year of 2008-2009 the tuition was $885 per credit hour. A full load is considered to be 9 hours per semester. Students awarded a departmental TA/RA slot receive a scholarship for 21 credit hours per year. (9 in the fall semester, 9 in the spring semester, and 3 in the summer).

5. How can I find out more about research opportunities ? The best way is to view individual faculty web pages, and to send them email.

6. What sort of things do SLU graduates do ? Many of our Master's students go on to pursue a PhD degree while others take jobs mainly in the petroleum and environmental industries. Our PhD students commonly find jobs in academia (professorships and post-docs), the petroleum industry, and govnerment agencies (AFTAC primarily). See our Alumni Page for more information.

1. How can I get funding to attend a conference ? In most cases you will need to obtain funding from your advisor; however, the graduate student association (GSA) does provide partial support to attend meetings. See the GSA web page for more information.

2. Should I register for classes in the summer ? If you are on a standard 11-month contract with 21 hours of tuition support you should register for a 3 hour course during the summer. Generally, this will be an independent study course with your advisor. If you have already passed your preliminary exams, you should still register for 699 for 0 hrs in the summer.

3. Why aren't there more geology graduate classes ? Technically, our PhD program is a Geophysics program. Currently, we do not have enough geology faculty to offer a traditional Geology PhD program. But, you are eligible to take graduate classes at Washington University to supplement the courses in our department.

4. How do I pick an advisor ? Some students know who they want for an advisor before they arrive and other do not. If you do not know who your advisor will be when you arrive, it is very important that you find an advisor the first or second semester you are at SLU. You should find out as much as possible about the research opportunities available with each faculty and try to best match your interests. But keep in mind that not all faculty will have time to take on a new grad student so you might not get your first choice.

5. How do I pick a research commitee ? You should do this in close consultation with your advisor. You will need to find two EAS faculty in addition to your advisor to serve on this committee. They should have interests which are complementary to what you are working on for your thesis. Note that this committee is different than the exam committee for the PhD preliminary exam. See the timeline document for details on when to form this committee.

6. How do I schedule my preliminary exams ? Again, this should be done in close consultation with your advisor, and also with the Graduate Director. The student does not necessarily get to choose the members of this committee. It is a consensus process between the student and the graduate faculty. The Graduate Director will facilitate the scheduling of the exam. See the timeline document for details on when to take this exam and what the format is.

7. Is my funding guaranteed ? Technically, no; all funding is awarded on a year-to-year basis. But, once a student has been approved for funding via an RA/TA then that student does not need to re-compete for a funding slot in the future. It is very unusual for a funded student in good academic standing to lose financial support.

8. Why is my contract 11 months long ? The standard graduate student contract for being a TA or RA is 9 months for the first year, and 11 months for subsequent years. In order to receive funding for the "extra" month during the summer you need to work on a research grant from one of the faculty. Typically, it is the month of June that is not automatically funded.

9. Do I have to turn in an annual report ? What do I write about ? Yes. Every year each graduate student must turn in an annual report. Generally, the report will be due in late April and should cover your activities over the previous year. See the template for more details.

10. Should I take EAS591 Journal Club for credit ? All grad students must register for this course every semester. MS students must take it for 1 credit once, otherwise take it for 0 credits. PhD students must take it twice for 1 credit, and otherwise take it for 0 credits. The same work is required whether you take it for credit or not. It is sometimes helpful to take this course for credit when you also have a 2 hr seminar and are trying to get to 9 credit hours.

11. How do I register for classes ? The best way to register is to give Laurie Hausmann a sheet with the classes you want to take. You should include the name, number, and number of credit hours for each class. Your sheet must be signed by either your advisor or the Graduate Director. Otherwise, Laurie is not allowed to register you. Also, in some cases you will need to get the permission of the instructor. Laurie will tell you if this is necessary.

12. How do I change my class schedule ? Fill out and return a change of registration form.