The Concentration Program
          Colgate's Geology Department is recognized as having one of the best undergraduate geology programs in the nation. With nine full-time faculty, the department is unusually large for a liberal arts college and can offer a rich diversity of courses. The department supports a vigorous student research program, and it promotes active participation of faculty and students in off-campus study groups. Faculty members are active researchers who tailor their research so that undergraduate students can become involved in significant independent work. The department is exceptionally well equipped with instrumentation that was chosen with students in mind and is readily available for student use. Nearly all of our students are involved in research and many present their results at professional meetings or publish articles in the Colgate Journal of the Sciences.

          While majoring in geology or environmental geology, students learn how to study and interpret the Earth in all of its complexity and beauty through field observation and use of analytical equipment. Research projects that span the globe enable students to become involved in faculty research on mountain-building events, global climate change, volcanism, acid rain, aquatic and glacial sediments, and ecosystem change through time. Students also often participate in the department's off-campus summer field program or attend an international study group in England, Wales, or Australia. Academic credit may also be earned during a SEA Semester or Environmental Semester, both affiliated programs at Woods Hole, MA. These experiences provide students with the foundation to become professional geologists in the earth and environmental sciences or to pursue successful careers in business and finance, law, medicine, education, journalism, government, and public service.

          The geology department offers two majors: