Earth Sciences
The Graduate Program
The Department of Earth Sciences offers programs leading to the MA and PhD degrees in earth sciences and prepares students for careers in academia, pure and applied research, employment with state and federal agencies, and positions of responsibility in private consulting organizations. Emphasis on the integration of field, laboratory, and theoretical analysis throughout the programs provides a well-balanced, in-depth training for all graduate students. The theme of interdisciplinary study of Earth as a system runs throughout the department’s research activities, which include: coastal dynamics, quantitative tectonic/climate geomorphology; ice-age dynamics, Antarctic paleoclimate, and arid landscape evolution; the tectonics, structure, and petrology of Earth’s major orogenic belts; earthquake seismology; geophysics; geochemistry of magmas; modern marine and shoreline processes; paleooceanography and paleoclimatology; marine biogeochemistry; surface and groundwater geochemistry; and hydrology and hydrogeology.
Research facilities include a wide range of geophysical, hydrologic, surface process, image-analysis, geologic, sedimentologic, and geochemical laboratories. The Analytical Geochemistry Laboratory houses state-of-the-art ICP-mass spectrometry and ICP-emission spectrometry instruments; XRF and AA instruments; an ultra-clean laboratory for isotopic research; and associated preparation facilities.
The Department of Earth Sciences welcomes cooperative research with other departments and other disciplines. The department participates in the Boston University Marine Program (BUMP). A group of courses is available with an earth science focus at BUMP. Access is also provided to present-day natural field laboratories in the local area. Other projects make use of the extensive facilities of the Center for Remote Sensing and the Geochemical and Biogeochemical Analytical Facilities. Graduate students may be supported through scholarships, teaching fellowships, and research assistantships.
Further information on graduate programs and financial aid may be obtained from the Department of Earth Sciences, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215; website: www.bu.edu/es; email: earth@bu.edu.
Admissions
The department welcomes applicants with undergraduate degrees in fields other than earth sciences, and applicants with backgrounds in other science disciplines are encouraged to apply. Students lacking one or more prerequisite courses can make up deficiencies after admission. Prerequisites normally include at least four semester courses in earth sciences and one year each of college-level courses in physics, chemistry, and calculus. All applicants for admission are required to submit their score on the Graduate Record Examination. Completed application for admission should reach the Graduate School Office no later than January 15 for admission in the fall semester. Under certain circumstances, applications will be accepted no later than October 15, for admission in the spring semester.
Cooperative Program with Boston College
This cooperative program permits degree candidates at Boston University to pursue courses in Earth & Environmental Sciences at Boston College.
