Earth and Space Sciences

Job Postings

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Internships/Experiences

View the Internships/Experiences page (WCU username and password required)

Welcome Graduate Students!

Access documents relating to the M.S. Geoscience final research project:

• Download the "Graduate Handbook" (pp. 8-10) for expectations and rubrics
• Proposal Form
• Research Manuscript Example #1
• Research Manuscript Example #2
• Research Presentation Example #1
• Research Presentation Example #2

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!

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 Schiable 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.

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Scholarship applications are disseminated via e-mail the middle of each semester. Contact the Scholarship Committee Chairperson, Dr. Daria Nikitina (dnikitina@wcupa.edu), for more information.

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Other awards including research and travel grants in areas of geology, astronomy, meteorology, or oceanography are available as well. Those applications are also disseminated via e-mail during each semester.

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."

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 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

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Click HERE for more information on the NSE program.

Interested? Contact either Dr. Joby Hilliker at jhilliker@wcupa.edu, or Daniele Clay (program coordinator) at nse@wcupa.edu. Deadline is February of each year.

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 Ask Maggie Ferry, B.S. Geoscience senior, who spent a semester at the University of Utah in Fall 2017:

Department Clubs

Sigma Gamma Epsilon (SGE) - National Geology Honor Society

• President: Lukas Berry
• Vice President: Zachary Reed
• Treasurer: Kym Willis
• Secretary: Katie Dowling

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 Hilliker

and

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 Hilliker

Professional 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.