Geology

Welcome to the Department of Geology at the University of Cincinnati, a nationally ranked department with high-caliber faculty and a strong research reputation.

Geology is an interdisciplinary science that emphasizes the study of major Earth systems and how they are connected. We teach and conduct research in a variety of areas in the geosciences including:

  • Paleontology — Paleobiology, evolutionary paleoecology. Our paleontology program is ranked 6th in the nation!
  • Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology — Glacial geology, Quaternary geochronology, fluvial and slope processes, desert geomorphology, tectonic geomorphology.
  • Sedimentology and Stratigraphy — Sequence stratigraphy, geology of shales, geochemical records of Earth history.
  • Tectonics — Mountain building, volcanism.
  • Environmental Geology — Groundwater studies, landslide and seismic hazard mitigation.

Our faculty and graduate students publish their work in leading journals and books and over the past two years have published over 100 research papers. The faculty and students at all levels present their research at national and international conferences. We also provide our students with opportunities to gain laboratory and field experience. The department has research equipment that allows for X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, cosmogenic nuclide and optically stimulated luminescence dating, advanced image analysis, and infrared-spectroscopy. Available in collaborating departments are environmental scanning electron microcopy, Raman spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectro-photometry. Research in the department is also largely field-based and funding is available to support field work. Many research projects require travel to locations such as the Himalaya, South America, Curacao, Iceland, Alaska, and California, as well as around the Cincinnati area.

As a department, our instructional mission is vast. The goal of our graduate program is to produce well-rounded graduate students who not only take part in advanced research, but also gain extensive field, laboratory, and teaching experience. Upon completion of the program, graduate students are prepared to continue on to doctoral or post-doctoral programs, pursue faculty positions, or obtain professional positions in industry and with the government. At the undergraduate level our students are introduced to the breadth of geology and are provided with the opportunity to focus on the key areas of expertise. Undergraduates leave the program prepared to pursue graduate work or to enter the professional geology field