Geosciences/Geochemistry

Geoscience/Geochemistry Department Head Dr Doug Cameron (406) 496-4247 CBB 215 Department Overview

Option in Geochemistry
Geochemistry is an interdisciplinary field of study in which the science of chemistry is used to solve earth science problems. Areas of study include the full spectrum of topics from the determination of the thermodynamic properties of minerals, to the determination of the migration of pollutant species within a soil or hydrologic environment and the geobotanical/biogeochemical search for ore deposits. The geochemistry option is centered in the Chemistry and Geochemistry Department. Students acquire relatively strong backgrounds in chemistry and can choose thesis topics ranging among a large variety of geochemical/environmental topics.

Admission requirements: B.S. in chemistry, geology, or any science or engineering.
Option: Thesis, Publishable paper, or Non-Thesis
Seminar Requirements: 

• ENGR 5150 Graduate Writing Seminar
• GSCI 5940 Geoscience Seminar

Placement
Many of our graduates continue their graduate work in a Ph.D. program. Other graduates have found employment with various minerals industry companies such as the Pegasus Gold Corp., Applied Technology, Inc., Chemex Labs, the Atlantic Richfield Chemical Co., Marathon Oil Co., Westinghouse, American Geochemist, Corp., and Stauffer Chemical Co.

Curriculum
The following are pre-requisite courses for the Geochemistry curriculum and if the student has not received at least a grade of C in these courses, they would have to be taken as deficiencies:

• CHEM 3356 Physical Chemistry I
• CHEM 3366 Physical Chemistry II
• GEOE 3080 Hydrogeology
  

The following sequence of 14 credits of courses constitute the core of the Geochemistry Program:

• Fall (Year 1):
  • CHEM 5406 Water Chemistry (3 cr)
  • GEOE 5520 Hydro-Geochemistry (3 cr)
    
• Spring (Year 1):
  • CHEM 5426 Fate and Transport of Organics in the Environment (3 cr)
  • GEOE 5320 Geochemical Modeling (2 cr)
  • ENGR 5150 Graduate Writing Seminar (1 cr)
    
• Fall (Year 2):
  • CHEM 5946 Graduate Geochemistry Seminar (1 cr)
  • CHEM 5996 Thesis Research (4 cr)
    
• Spring (Year 2):
  • GSCI 5940 Graduate Geoscience Seminar (1 cr)
  • CHEM 5996 Thesis Research (4 cr)
    

In addition to the coursework listed above thesis students must choose 8 more credits and non-thesis students 12 more credits from among the following courses (courses outside of this list would have to be approved by the student's graduate committee):

• CHEM 5306 Chemistry Literature (2 cr)
• CHEM 5316 Surface Chemistry (3 cr)
• ENVE 5030 Water Quality Engineering II (3 cr)
• ENVE 5240 Surface Water Modeling (3 cr)
• ENVE 5300 Subsurface Remediation (3 cr)
• ENVE 5390 Bioremediation (3 cr)
• ENVE 5610 Advanced Water Quality (3 cr)
  
• GEOE 4020 Groundwater Flow Modeling (3 cr)
• GEOE 5200 Groundwater Resource Evaluation & Management (3 cr)
• GEOE 5210 Acid-Rock Drainage (3 cr)
• GEOE 5220 Groundwater Monitoring (2 cr)
• GEOE 5230 Groundwater Monitoring Laboratory (1 cr)
• GEOE 5280 Contaminant Transport (3 cr)
  
• MATH 4316 Experimental Design (3 cr)
• MATH 4326 Regression and Model Building (3 cr)
  
  Note: only a total of 9 credits of 4000 level work can be counted toward your graduate degree.

Questions or Comments? Contact Cindy Dunstan
406-496-4304 • Fax: 406-496-4710