Geology at University of Alabama

<p>Hey! So I’m a current freshman at a combination LAC/REU, which offers challenging academics, but a poor geology program. If I do decide to major in the subject (only discovered my interest in it over the summer), I’d have to transfer. While I love LACs, as a transfer it makes more sense to go to a larger research university which can offer more regularly scheduled classes, hence why I’m looking at University of Alabama. Based on Mom2CollegeKids postings, I’ve read UA has recently poured money into its engineering facilities, but I was wondering if they’ve done the same with their earth science department. </p>

<p>Does anyone have any familiarity with geology at UA? Do any current posters know what the departmental strengths are (ex: petrology, structural geology, hydrogeology, etc)? How strong is the program?</p>

<p>Other schools I’m considering (if I do decide to major in the subject) are UC Santa Cruz, Colorado School of Mines (top choice), UMissouri S&T, CU-Boulder, and Montana State University (safety).</p>

<p>Hi, I don’t know much about the geo program, but I think someone who posts here might.</p>

<p>Have you looked at the website?
[Geological</a> Sciences](<a href=“http://geo.ua.edu/]Geological”>http://geo.ua.edu/)</p>

<p>[Facilities</a> Geological Sciences](<a href=“http://geo.ua.edu/facilities/]Facilities”>Facilities & Technology – Geological Sciences)</p>

<p>The geology program at the University of Alabama was established in 1847, and the Department has historically provided a focus for the mapping and development of the geological and hydrological resources of the State of Alabama.</p>

<p>As the University of Alabama grew and established itself as a major research university, the Department of Geological Sciences also expanded its research activities which now span the entire range of geological science and cover all corners of the globe. Financial support for these activities has been provided by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Gas Research Institute, the Gulf Coast Hazardous Substance Research Center, and numerous mining and petroleum companies. Graduate student research has been supported by the Geological Society of America, the Southeastern Section of the Geological Society of America, the Petroleum Research Fund, the Alabama Geological Society, Sigma Xi, and numerous mining and petroleum companies.</p>

<p>Departmental faculty have been recognized nationally and internationally for excellence in teaching and research. They publish regularly, many have served on the editorial boards of such internationally-circulated journals as American Mineralogist, Ground Water, Environmental Geology, Geological Society of America Bulletin, Geology, Journal of Paleontology, Tectonophysics, Water Resources Research, and several have been honored with distinguished lectureships.</p>

<p>The Department has undergone a major expansion of research space and equipment, and presently maintains office space, seminar rooms, and research laboratories in the new 145,000 square foot Tom Bevill Energy, Minerals, and Material Science Research Building, and lecture halls and teaching laboratories in Smith Hall (old Geology Building). Expansion of the Bevill Building has added 5500 square feet of additional research space primarily for Environmental Geology.</p>

<p>The Department holds a weekly “GEO Seminar” series, sponsors a number of special lectures, including the endowed Drummond Lecture Series, and regularly hosts distinguished lectures sponsored by major scientific societies such as the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Society of Exploration Geochemists, the Mineralogical Society of America, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Faculty and graduate students give dozens of talks each year at national and international scientific meetings.</p>

<p>I’ve looked over the departmental website, and again in more depth, but still have a few questions about the classes. UA seems to list the courses [Department</a> of Geological Sciences < The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://courseleaf.ua.edu/artssciences/geology/#courseinventory]Department”>http://courseleaf.ua.edu/artssciences/geology/#courseinventory) but doesn’t show how frequently some are offered. Does anyone know this? </p>

<p>Also, and this is a more general question, how difficult are non honors courses? My current school is considerably challenging, and generally considered the most difficult division of Emory undergrad. If I do transfer, I would probably take at least a few courses outside of my major, and I don’t want them to be a walk in the park in terms of overall rigor.</p>

<p>@ whenhen
Hi Welcome to the Bama forum :)</p>

<p>I have no idea how difficult the Honors or Non Honors Geo courses are as my S has not taken any of them but I did a quick review of the Geo courses listed for the spring 2013 semester (not sure if I’m allowed to post a link here) and these are the courses being offered</p>

<p>GEO 101 47 sections (some have 110/class some 250/class)
GEO 102 6 sections (one class of 110 students all other sections 22)
GEO 105 6 sections (22 seats per class)
GEO 314 3 sections (15 or 30 per section)
GEO 355 4 sections (30 per section)
GEO 367 3 sections (35 per section)
GEO 399 14 sections (10 or less per section)</p>

<p>GEO 410, 420,424,436,470,497,499,510,513,525,536,570,583,597,598,599,626,636,698,699 are all offered with many having more than one section and all of them are small classes of 15 or fewer students.</p>

<p>My S is a Finance/Econ major and his largest class has been 50 students…</p>

<p>Students seem to be able to get needed classses at Bama…hope this helps!</p>

<p>Thanks CrimsonMomNC for the stats about the number of sections offered each semester. Looks good!</p>

<p>When I referred to non-honors courses, I meant to ask about the level of rigor for “regular” 200-300 level courses in the humanities and social sciences. How are the level of discussions, and how easy/hard is it to earn an A? I took a few regular classes in high school, and the expectations were so low that a student who included “you think” and “in my conclusion” in an essay, received an A on it. Are the expectations on what constitutes A work in regular Bama classes similarly low, or does an A truly mean exceptional?</p>