Geology

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Geology & Environmental Sciences Major & Minor

The major offers three tracks: the geology track – preparing students for careers in the petroleum or mining industries as well as other traditional career paths in geology; the environmental track – preparing students for careers in the environmental sciences, including hydrology, oceanography and meteorology; and the education track – preparing students for certification to teach earth science.

Graduates pursue careers as:

Geoscientists
Hydrologists
High School Teachers
Environmental Scientists & Specialists
Geographers
Atmospheric Scientists

Putting geology & environmental sciences to work

Hartwick alumni at work.

Hartwick geology and environmental science majors have gone on to careers in a wide variety of fields, working for national and international organizations:

Stork Technical Services
Specialized Environmental Monitoring
Weston Solutions
The Museum of Science – Boston
Grand Canyon National Park
Freeport-McMoRan, Inc.
Moody and Associates

Alumni in graduate school.

Many of our graduates go on to study at some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions:

Harvard University
Cornell University
University of California at Berkeley
South Dakota School of Mines
Colorado School of Mines
University of Arizona
Notre Dame University

Beyond the basic.

Oneonta is close to several important geological provinces: the Catskill Mountains, the southern and northern Appalachians, and the Adirondacks. The department takes full advantage of its location and runs day and weekend (and longer) field trips to all of these mountain ranges. Hartwick’s Geology and Environmental Sciences Department also offers off-campus study and fieldwork opportunities across the country.

A closer look.

Majors conduct a wide range of exciting research; recent projects have analyzed soils and lava flows in Hawaii, determined the pressure and depth for the intrusion of granite bodies in the Northwest Adirondacks, examined fossil reef structures in the Bahamas, and so much more. Most students have the opportunity to visit their field study areas first hand and collect their own research data.