Program of Graduate Study
Overview and philosophy. The department serves graduate
students who seek the Ph.D. in earth, planetary, geological and environmental
disciplines of physical and chemical sciences, the mathematical and computational
disciplines of informational science, and the paleoclimatological, paleoceanographic,
paleontological and paleobiological disciplines of biological and historical
sciences broadly conceived.
The Ph.D. signifies the graduate’s mastery of the problems, techniques
and knowledge covering the full spectrum of intellectual pursuit in the
many disciplines listed above. The degree additionally acknowledges the
candidate’s contribution to specialized knowledge through original
research conducted in experimental, observational and theoretical venues.
The M.S. is also awarded to graduate students in the program, and is given
in recognition of post-undergraduate scholarship. Students considering
the program of graduate study should realize, however, that it is conceived
primarily for study and research leading to the Ph.D.
The Department of Geophysical Sciences was created in 1961 when the departments
of geology and meteorology of the university were united to better embrace
the multidisciplinary nature of research and scholarship applied to earth,
its place in the cosmos and its environmental and biological history.
The precursor Department of Geology was founded in the 1890’s and
reflected the University of Chicago’s distinctively modern philosophy
toward education and research. What is today lauded as “new”,
namely the approach to physical, chemical, biological and natural science
of earth that values connections and multidisciplinary ways of thinking,
was the original organizing principle of the university’s activities
in earth science at the time the university was first created. Faithful
to its original conception, the department is exemplified today by the
diverse, yet interactive, composition of the faculty, students and research
activities.
Our program distinguishes itself from those at other institutions through
our rigorous adherence to a principle that the path to knowledge in earth
sciences is best traveled when disciplinary ways of thinking are applied
interactively. To follow this path, our students and faculty engage each
other in a constant exchange of ideas that spans a variety of specialized
interests and disciplines. Indeed, the range of specialized interests
and disciplines encompassed by our single intimate community is, at typical
universities elsewhere, housed in separate departments. The exchange of
ideas our community offers is both literal (as when research techniques
from one discipline are applied in another) and figurative (as when students
of diverse background and interests attend a common seminar), and is marshaled
through our philosophical view that intellectual power is drawn from many
sources. The tension created by bringing together disparate disciplines
with differing traditions leads to constructive discourse in our community.
Areas of study. Research, classroom teaching and seminar activity
in the program reflects the long tradition of esteem directed toward multidisciplinary
knowledge. Graduate study and research today thus ranges from geochemical
approaches to nucleosynthesis and planet-forming cosmochemistry to geomorphology,
from evolutionary paleobiology to multi-cellular automata, and from oceanic
“conveyor belt” circulation systems and bio-geochemical cycles
to subduction-zone petrology. Graduate students are exposed to the breadth
of intellectual activity in the physical and natural science of the earth
through courses they take during their first two years of study and through
weekly attendance of seminars where both faculty and visiting scientists
present research lectures. Graduate students are expected to develop two
skills. First is the ability to conduct scientific discourse across the
full range of disciplines. Second is the ability to conduct original research
leading to unique contributions in an area of specialization.
Research and teaching within the program is further amplified by associations
with other groups within the university. The most notable programs allied
with ours are: the Committee on Evolutionary Biology (CEB, research on
the evolution of life), the Department of Chemistry (research on atmospheric
and environmental chemistry), the Materials Research Lab (research on
planetary and interplanetary materials at high pressure and temperature),
the Argonne National Lab (environmental chemistry, advanced computing,
the advanced photon source, CARS), the Environmental Science Program (teaching
and public policy debate) and the Environmental Statistics Program (analysis
of environmental trends).
Student advising. A distinctive element in the everyday life of
the department is the mentoring relationship the faculty of the department
provide for students of the program. In our program students are regarded
as colleagues, not subordinates. Students participate in an apprenticeship
which is designed to teach them through active learning both the tangible
and intangible professional skills needed of a scientist. Students are
guided in their learning and research activities by mentorship engaging
both the program faculty and fellow students. This mentorship oversees
both the coursework activity and the student’s research, and is conceived
as a means of establishing the student as a full partner in research and
scholarship. Formal mentoring activities involve regular academic advisory
committee meetings that include a combination of faculty covering the
student’s field of specialty and faculty covering allied fields where
cross-disciplinary exchange of ideas or techniques may prove helpful to
the student’s progress. In addition to formal activities, mentoring
also proceeds along informal avenues: the department faculty prides itself
in maintaining an ‘open door’ atmosphere, where students seeking
help or advice can readily find it down the hall.
Research. Dissertation research can address any aspect of physical,
chemical, biological and natural sciences of the earth, its life and environment,
and the solar-system environment from which the planets were formed. Typically,
dissertation research begins in the second year of the student’s
residence after courses taken in preparation for the preliminary examination
have been completed and an oral research prospectus has been defended.
Teaching, Outreach and Professional Skills Development. Young
scientists are faced with an ever-increasing demand for breadth in the
scope of their professional skills: from teaching to proposal writing,
and from website design to mountaineering. To help prepare our students
for the varied challenges they will encounter in their post graduate career,
we involve them to the maximum extent possible in teaching, research planning,
public outreach and field activity. While there are no strict requirements
for teaching activities, the majority of our students participate in at
least some teaching as laboratory assistants for the large, undergraduate-level
classes taught by our faculty. Typical demands on a graduate students
time might involve 4-8 hours a week of student contact time, and 4-6 hours
a week of preparation and grading. To emphasize the value the university
places on graduate student participation in undergraduate teaching, a
slightly larger stipend is provided to teaching assistants over research
assistants. In addition to teaching, our graduate students typically become
involved in the scientific funding process through exposure to the efforts
undertaken by faculty in the securing of research funds through the writing
of proposals. Public outreach is also an important element of professional
skills, and is emphasized through scientific web-site development (required
by funding agencies for grants funded in support of scientific research)
and other activities (e.g., local science fairs and lectures at surrounding
schools) which emphasize contact with the general public. Many of our
graduate students engage in deep field activity in various parts of the
world. Field activities in the recent past have included dive trips to
Central America for taphonomic research, fossil collecting expeditions
to the St. Elias mountains, and glaciological survey work on the Ross
Ice Shelf and its icebergs.
Curriculum. The diversity of intellectual pursuit encompassed
by the program places students and faculty into a challenging position
when confronted with the need to design a curriculum capable of preparing
students of the program to become Ph.D. scientists. Our approach to this
challenge is to focus on thinking tools that prepare students for research.
Thinking tools embody knowledge of methodologies, awareness of fundamental
scientific problems, understanding of current research areas and creative
thought when encountering difficult questions. These tools are taught,
in part, by a curriculum of courses that delve deeply into various subsets
of knowledge covered by the department’s scholarly interests. While
a student may enter the program with the ultimate goal of writing a dissertation
in one area of specialization, courses taken in closely allied areas of
specialization are often, by virtue of practicality, all that our curriculum
offers. While this may seem detrimental to progress toward specialized
research, in practice, the specific subject material used to build the
student’s base of knowledge and rigorous understanding of thought
and methodologies is not strongly correlated with the student’s subsequent
success. Our curriculum of courses thus focuses on teaching notions of
understanding and methodologies that are universal in their application
to a wide range of specialized phenomena.
Required course activities. The typical time taken to achieve
the Ph.D. is 4 -7 years. This time period is divided into two parts, the
pre-candidacy phase where the student focuses on course work and general
scholarship, and the candidacy phase where the student focuses on specialized
research directed to the completion of the dissertation. While flexibility
is a distinct advantage of the department’s small, intimate setting
of graduate study compared to other, larger programs, graduate students
are normally expected to progress through their study as follows. Classes
are taken through the first 2 years of residence at the university, and
a preliminary examination is taken normally in the spring of the second
year. Classes are selected from the department’s graduate courses,
appropriate upper-level undergraduate courses and courses offered elsewhere
in the university. Selection of courses is made through consultation with
a faculty advisory committee, which meets regularly through the first
two years of the student’s residence.
The preliminary examination taken at the end of the second year of residence
serves to promote students to candidacy for the Ph.D. The purpose of the
examination is to ensure the student’s progress in the two goals
of graduate study: breadth of fundamental knowledge, and depth of knowledge
in a particular area of specialization (chosen normally to be consistent
with the student’s anticipated dissertation topic).
The preliminary examination has two parts. The written part (taken either
in one single sitting or as a series of written tests taken in conjunction
with final exams of courses, depending on the particular situation) covers
the aspects of knowledge addressed in courses and in the weekly seminars
which students are expected to attend. The oral part requires the student
to present a research prospectus to a committee of faculty advisors. The
topic of this prospectus is normally expected to be the student’s
planned research activity directed toward the dissertation.
The dissertation. The Ph.D. degree is awarded to the candidate
who has completed a written dissertation, defended it orally to a body
of scientists which includes members of the department’s faculty
(who have the responsibility to vote in favor or against acceptance of
the dissertation), and who have submitted the dissertation to the university
dissertation office in proper form.
Programs of Study
The degrees of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy are granted
to students who have met all requirements of the division and of the department
and who, in the judgment of the department, have qualifications that will
enable them to make positive contributions in any one of several areas
of the geophysical sciences. Emphasis is on the Ph.D. degree and preparation
for careers in research and teaching. It is usual for graduate students
to have two years of combined course work and independent reading and
research prior to the candidacy exam. After passing the preliminary examination
and being admitted to candidacy, students are encouraged to proceed rapidly
with their research so as to produce a major work in as short a time as
possible, commonly two to four years. Courses in the department may also
be applied to the Master of Science in the Environmental Science and Policy
degree program conducted with the Harris School for Public Policy Studies.
The Degree of Master of Science
The divisional requirement for the degree of Master of Science is nine
courses. In addition the department requires:
- Approval of the departmental counselor and an individualized advisory
committee of a program of study and an essay. Normally the program of
study shall include the following: (a) Three or more physical and/or
biological science courses of which, at most, three may be of 20000-level,
the rest of 30000-level.
(b) Three or more 30000-level courses in the department. (c) At least
one, but not more than three, reading/research courses.
- An average grade of B and no grade less than C in courses offered
for the degree.
- An essay, thesis, or publication in conjunction with the research
course and a seminar delivered to a general departmental audience.
The master’s degree is not required for work toward the Ph.D. in
the department.
The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
The requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy are as follows:
- GEOS 30200 must be taken in the student’s first or second year.
- A program of study approved by the student’s advisory committee.
- A reading comprehension examination in a modern foreign language may
be required if deemed appropriate by the advisory committee.
- A preliminary examination consisting of a written part covering fields
that the student has selected for a program of study, and an oral part
based upon the student’s proposal for a dissertation topic that
has been submitted as a research prospectus.
- Admission to formal candidacy for the degree, based upon 1, 2, 3 above
and upon the advisory committee’s assessment of the student’s
competence and promise in independent research.
- A dissertation by the candidate on the results of independent research
in the geophysical sciences.
- An oral final examination, concerned mainly with the subject of the
dissertation and the field of specialization.
For more detailed information concerning the department contact: Mr.
David J. Leslie, Department of the Geophysical Sciences, The University
of Chicago, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, telephone: (773)
702-8180, fax: (773) 702-0207, e-mail:
info@geosci.uchicago.edu.
This text was last revised on 9/12/2003.
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