In the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, students develop a curriculum that suits their educational objectives. The four most popular areas are petroleum geology, mineral deposits/economic geology, geotechnical engineering and hydrogeology/ waste management. Students also may pursue a basic geoscience sub-discipline such as petrology, geochemistry, or structural geology.

Research

Our faculty supports both traditional and modern research fields such as predictive sediment modeling, paleohydrology, petrophysics, aquifer-contaminant flow modeling, waste management, and water-rock interactions. The educational experience is enhanced through departmental research centers including the Lewis Shale Project, the International Ground Water Modeling Center, the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council: Rocky Mountain Region, Petroleum Exploration and Production Center, and the ChevronTexaco Center of Research Excellence. In addition, personnel and resources of the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver are readily available, and cooperative research programs are common. Current research areas of the Department include.

Current research areas of the Department include:

• Geohydrology
• Economic Geology
• Remote Sensing and Computing
• Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
• Petroleum Geology
• Engineering Geology
• Structural Geology

Degree Programs

The Department of Geology and Geological Engineering offers the Master of Engineering, Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees in geological engineering. Three specialty areas are offered -- Engineering Geology/Geotechnics, Ground Water/Hydrogeology, and Mining Geology. Requirements for these programs are explained in further detail.

Master of Engineering - Geological Engineer

This non-thesis program requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework and 6 credit hours of independent study. The independent study requires a project and report that demonstrate competence in the application of geological engineering principles. All students must complete the core course GEGN 532 Geological Data Analysis. In addition, students must satisfy requirements specific to their chosen field of specialization. Free electives can be taken in addition to the outlined requirements.

Engineering Geology/Geotechnics

• Engineering Geology & Geotechnics
• Groundwater Engineering
• Case Histories in Engineering Geology or Advanced Engineering Geology
• Geological Engineering Site Investigation
• Landslides: Investigation, Analysis & Mitigation or Advanced Geotechnics
• An advanced course in both soil and rock engineering

Ground Water/Hydrogeology

• Groundwater Engineering I
• Mathematical Modeling of Groundwater Systems
• Aqueous Geochemistry or Principles of Aquatic Chemistry
• Vadose Zone Hydrology or Advanced Hydrogeology
• Ground Water Engineering Design or Hazardous Waste Site Remediation
• Applications of Geographic Information Systems
• One additional advanced course in hydrogeochemistry

Mining Geology

• Engineering Geology & Geotechnics or Groundwater Engineering
• Advanced Mineral Deposits-Magmatic and Syngenetic Ores
• Advanced Mineral Deposits-Epigenetic Hydrothermal Systems
• Special Topics-Surface Mine Design or Special Topics-Underground Mine Design
• Mineral Exploration or Mining Geology
• Applied Structural Geology

Combined B.S./M.E. Geological Engineering

Geological Engineering undergraduates at Mines may enroll in the non-thesis M.E. degree as combined students. This program will allow students to double count six of their undergraduate course credits towards both degrees. Students must receive a B or better in all courses submitted for double counting and receive approval from their advisor. Students must then fulfill all other degree requirements as stated above for the M.E. in Geological Engineering. Students interested in this program should contact their advisor in their sophomore or junior year to plan an appropriate curriculum.

Master of Science - Geological Engineering

This research-oriented degree requires a minimum of 36 credit hours. At least 12 of these credits must be research hours culminating in a graduate thesis. All students must complete two core courses, GEGN 532-Geological Data Analysis and GEOL 607-Geology Seminar. In addition to these requirements, students must satisfy requirements specific to their chosen field of specialization.

Engineering Geology/Geotechnics

• Engineering Geology & Geotechnics
• Groundwater Engineering
• Case Histories in Engineering Geology
• At least two of the following::
• Advanced Engineering Geology
• Geological Engineering Site Investigation
• Landslides: Investigation, Analysis & Mitigation
• Advanced Geotechnics

Ground Water/Hydrogeology

• Groundwater Engineering
• Mathematical Modeling of Groundwater Systems
• Engineering Geology and Geotechnics I
• Groundwater Engineering Design
• 2 courses selected from the following
• Principles of Environmental Chemistry or Introduction to Aqueous Geochemistry
• Environmental Pollution or Advanced Groundwater Engineering

Mining Geology

Students must take either Mining Geology or Mineral Exploration.

Doctor of Philosophy - Geological Engineering

The PhD requires a minimum of 72 credit hours beyond the bachelor's. At least 24 of these credits must be research hours culminating in a doctoral dissertation. All students must complete two core courses, GEGN 532-Geological Data Analysis and GEOL 607-Geology Seminar. A minor area of study consisting of 12 credit hours of coursework is also required. In addition to these requirements, students must satisfy requirements specific to their chosen field of specialization.

Engineering Geology/Geotechnics

• Engineering Geology & Geotechnics
• Groundwater Engineering

Additional courses are tailored to the individual's interests. The minor course of study typically is in geotechnical engineering, rock mechanics/earth systems engineering, environmental engineering, groundwater engineering or geology.

Ground Water/Hydrogeology

• Advanced Groundwater Engineering
• Advanced Topics in Engineering Hydrogeology
• Vadose Zone Hydrology
• Advanced Groundwater Modeling

Additional course work tailored to the student's specific interests are likely to include chemistry, engineering, environmental science, geophysics, mathematics (particularly Partial Differential Equations), microbiology, organic chemistry, contaminant transport, soil physics, optimization, shallow resistivity or seismic methods.

Mining Geology

• Engineering Geology & Geotechnics or Groundwater Engineering
• Advanced Mineral Deposits-Magmatic and Syngenetic Ores
• Advanced Mineral Deposits-Epigenetic Hydrothermal Systems
• Special Topics-Surface Mine Design or Special Topics-Underground Mine Design
• Mineral Exploration or Mining Geology
• Applied Structural Geology

The minor area of study may be in geotechnical engineering, rock mechanics/ earth systems engineering, environmental engineering, groundwater engineering, mining engineering, mineral economics/engineering economics or geology.

Admissions/Entrance Requirements

Applicants should have completed coursework in the following or equivalent subjects: Mathematics (2 semesters of calculus and one semester of any two of Calculus II, Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics, Numerical Analysis, Linear Algebra, Operations Research, and Optimization); Chemistry (2 semesters); Physics (2 semesters); Mineralogy/Petrology; Stratigraphy/Sedimentation; Physical Geology/Historical Geology; Computer Programming; Structural Geology; 4 of the following (one semester each): Physical Chemistry/Thermodynamics, Soil Mechanics, Statics, Fluid Mechanics, Dynamics, Rock Mechanics, Mechanics of Materials; and Field Geology.

As part of the graduate program the student must take 1 semester in 2 of the following subjects if such courses were not taken for a previous degree: Mineral Deposits/Economic Geology, Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology.

In addition, as part of the graduate program the student must take 1 semester in 3 of the following subjects if such courses were not taken for a previous degree: Foundation Engineering, Engineering Hydrology, Geomorphology, Airphoto Interpretation or Photogeology or Remote Sensing, Petroleum Geology, Introduction to Mining, Introductory Geophysics, Engineering Geology Design, Mineral Exploration Design, Groundwater Engineering Design, or other engineering design courses as approved by the program committee.

Fall Admission	Yes
Financial support priority deadline	Jan. 15
U.S. citizen application deadline	April 30
International application deadline	April 1
Spring Admission	Yes
U.S. citizen application deadline	Nov. 1
International application deadline	Sept. 1
GRE required	Yes
Subject test required	No
Average accepted Verbal	505
Average accepted Quantitative	684
Average accepted Analytical Writing	4.2

Financial Assistance

Financial aid for graduate studies is available through teaching assistantships, research assistantships, scholarship, and grant programs. There is considerable competition for these awards, but financial assistance can generally be found for strong students, if not the first year then after an advisor is found and selected area of research determined. Decisions on financial support are made in conjunction with the admission process. No additional application is necessary.

Graduate students are also eligible for student loans through the Office of Financial Aid.

Western Regional Graduate Program

Contact

Dr. Greg Holden, Assistant Department Head
Department of Geology and Geological Engineering
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO 80401
Phone: 303-273-3800
FAX: 303-273-3859