2025-2026 Academic Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Geosciences offer exciting opportunities for students with an interest in applying a diverse range of science skills to understand the earth's properties and dynamic processes. This is a highly interdisciplinary program that applies physics, chemistry, biology, computational techniques, and mathematics to understand and manage all aspects of Earth and the environment. Geoscientists work everywhere in the world under almost any condition as they search for earth resources, address environmental risks and natural hazards, and supervise technical and business enterprises. For more information about exciting careers in Geosciences consult www.agiweb.org/careers.html. The extensive scientific and quantitative skills of geoscientists, along with their broad field experience, allow them to pursue careers in many related fields ranging from material science to technical management and scientific reporting.
Virginia Tech’s internationally recognized Geosciences faculty has developed six challenging options, described below, that lead to a B.S. in Geosciences. Coursework emphasizes the acquisition and processing of field data beginning with a special course in field methods taken in the spring of the first year. The geology option requires, and the other options recommend, that the student participate in a six-week field camp. The B.S. in Geosciences provides pre-professional preparation that will allow students to continue their education in post graduate programs in science, law, and business.
Earth systems and processes are enormously complicated and require a broad range of intellectual skills to decipher and manage. Geoscientists must possess strong quantitative skills and a solid understanding of physics, chemistry, and biology. They must be able to read maps, identify rocks, minerals, and fossils as well as visualize earth structures in three dimensions. They must have strong communication skills, both written and verbal. Learning to use these skills in an integrated way is a challenging and rewarding experience.
The Geology option offers a detailed coverage of the broad range of classic disciplines within the geosciences. This option emphasizes the study of minerals, rocks and fossils, and teaches the student how to understand the processes and history of the earth based on the occurrences and relationships of these materials at or near the Earth's surface.
The Geochemistry option is designed for those students who have special interest in the fundamental chemical aspects of the Earth and its materials with applications to a broad range of geochemical and environmental problems.
The Geophysics option offers students the opportunity to specialize in the branch of the geosciences that investigates physical earth processes such as earthquakes and that images the interior of the earth through surface-based physical measurements.
The Earth Science Education option provides students with a broad Earth Science curriculum that meets the content goals for secondary earth science teaching. Certification for Earth Science teaching is not provided in the program. Information about teaching certification in Virginia can be obtained from the School of Education.
The Environmental and Engineering Geosciences option is designed for students with interests in applying geosciences to solve problems related to human interaction with the natural environment and to apply geologic principles to engineering issues.
The Geobiology and Paleobiology option is designed for students interested in studying the interactions between life and its environment in the modern Earth and ancient past (geobiology) and in reconstructing the biology and relationships of extinct life (paleobiology).
The requirements to earn a minor in Geosciences can be found on its checksheet by visiting the University Registrar website at http://registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/index1.html.
The department offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geosciences with specializations in many sub-disciplines. (See the Graduate Catalog for further information.)
University policy requires that students who are making satisfactory progress toward a degree meet minimum criteria toward the General Education (Curriculum for Liberal Education) (see "Academics") and toward the degree.
Satisfactory progress requirements toward the B.S. in Geosciences with any of the available options can be found on the specific major checksheet by visiting the University Registrar website at http://registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/index1.html.
Head: W.S. Holbrook
University Distinguished Professors: R.J. Bodnar, P.M. Dove, G.V. Gibbs (Emeritus), and M.F. Hochella Jr. (Emeritus)
National Academy of Science: P.M. Dove
Professors: R.J. Bodnar, P.M. Dove, W.S. Holbrook, J.A. Hole, S.D. King, R.D. Law, N.L. Ross, M.E. Schreiber, J.A. Spotila, R. Weiss, and S. Xiao
Associate Professors: M.J. Caddick, B.C. Gill, F.M. Michel, S.J. Nesbitt, R.M. Pollyea, B.W. Romans, M. Shirzaei, D.S. Stamps, and Y. Zhou
Assistant Professors: G. Allen, M. Duncan, C. Dura, M.R. Stocker, S. Werth, and M. Willis
Research Professor: M.C. Chapman
Research Scientists: S. Bemis, R. Reid
Collegiate Associate Professor: J.A. Chermak
Senior Instructor: N.E. Johnson
Instructor: L.R. Neser
Adjunct Faculty: P. Prince, K. Weber, and W. Schmachtenberg
Affiliated Faculty: M. Murayama and S. Singerling
E-mail: geosciences@vt.edu
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