Current Students & Alumni
Job Postings
View the Job Postings page (WCU username and password required)
Places to explore:
- PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
- PA Department of Environmental Protection
- USGS
Internships/Experiences
View the Internships/Experiences page (WCU username and password required)
Places to explore:
- Delaware State Parks
- Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
- PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
- PA Department of Environmental Protection
- USGS
- Stroud Water Research Center
Welcome Graduate Students!
Access documents relating to the M.S. Geoscience final research project:
Scholarships
The Department offers scholarships to students majoring in Geoscience and Earth and Space Science Education to reward them for their outstanding academic achievements.
Since 2005, The Department has distributed over $40,000 to dozens of our majors!
Jacob Thompson, B.S. Geoscience Alumni, receiving scholarship from Sandie Mather,
donor.
Several undergraduate scholarships are offered each semester under the award names:
- The Sandra Pritchard Mather Scholarship
- The Herbert Beller Geology Scholarship
- The Geology and Astronomy Alumni Scholarship
- Travis Schaible Memorial Scholarship
Similarly, graduate students are offered one scholarship each academic year under the award name:
- The Sandra Pritchard Mather Graduate Scholarship
Successful candidates will receive up to $1000. The scholarships are awarded to those who have: a) demonstrated academic achievement, b) provide a statement or trajectory of their academic and/or career goals, and c) articulated their financial needs most effectively.
Contact the Scholarship Committee Chair, Dr. Kim Yong Hoon (ykim@wcupa.edu), for more info.
Other awards offered by the Department include research and travel grants to present at local and national conferences.

National Student Exchange (NSE) Program
As a WCU student, you are eligible to take geology-related courses that count toward your degree at a different University for a semester! For example, you can take courses that complement your research or general interest, such as:
- Glacial Geomorphology
- National Resource Management
- Petroleum Geology
To find out what geology-related schools are available, go to: https://www.nse.org/exchange/find-campus/ and search "Geosciences" under "Find a Plan of Study."
Here is a sample of the some of the schools at which you can study:
- University of Wyoming
- University of Hawaii
- University of Alaska
- Colorado State University
Click HERE for more information on the NSE program.
Interested? Contact either Dr. Joby Hilliker or Daniele Clay (program coordinator). Deadline is February of each year.
Ask Maggie Ferry, B.S. Geoscience senior, who spent a semester at the University of Utah in Fall 2017:

"NSE allowed me to travel and learn more about sedimentary rocks and their depositional environments in Utah's beautiful national parks. The University of Utah really made me strive to become a better geologist." - Maggie Ferry


Department Clubs
Sigma Gamma Epsilon (SGE) - National Geology Honor Society
- President: Ellie Johnston
- Vice President: Aileen Wallace
- Treasurer: Robert Cote
- Secretary: Madison Gooding
Sigma Gamma Epsilon (SGE) was established to recognize scholarship and professionalism in the Earth Sciences. Its objectives are the scholastic, scientific, and professional development of its members who are devoted to the advancement of the Earth Sciences. Any person who has completed at least 10 semester hours in any of our programs, and maintained a minimum of 3.0 GPA in all Earth Science courses, is qualified for membership. If you qualify and wish to join, please contact any of the above officers, or
Dr. Joby Hillikerand
Dr. Daria Nikitina- advisers of the Zeta Beta Chapter at West Chester University. Initiation of new members is held both fall and spring semesters.
The Earth and Space Science Club (ESSC)
The Earth and Space Science Club enhances appreciation of the Earth and Space Sciences (e.g., Geology, Astronomy, Oceanography, Meteorology) through social activities, including trips to quarries, museums, and parks. Fundraising is done several times a year, including bake and t-shirt sales. ESSC is open to any student or faculty member on campus. Interested students should contact
Dr. Joby HillikerProfessional Societies
There are many professional societies in the area of Earth and Space Sciences. A sample of websites for such societies are listed below:
- United States Geological Survey
- Pennsylvania Geological Survey
- American Association of Petroleum Geologists
- American Geophysical Union
- American Institute of Hydrology
- American Institute of Professional Geologists
- The Clay Minerals Society
- Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society
- Geological Society of America
- Geoscience Departments WWW Directory
- National Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists
- National Association of Geoscience Teachers
- Paleontological Society
- Seismological Society of America
- The Society for Organic Petrology
- Society of Economic Geologists
- Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Alumni
We are interested in keeping in touch with our past students and finding out what they are up to now. If you are an alumna/alumnus of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences (formerly the Department of Geology and Astronomy), please provide us with current contact information by filling out the short Alumni Distribution Form.