<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I was interested in majoring in Geology, most likely hydrogeology. I am trying to decide if Penn State would be worth the out-of-state tuition or if I should stick with UT-Austin since I live in Austin. Penn State seems attractive since they get alot of funding from NSF and seems to be more focused on environmental study and I know UT is funded by alot of oil companies, but I would like to see some input from other people.</p>
<p>UT isn’t funded by a lot of oil companies. Here’s a list of current grants to the Jackson School of Geosciences. Almost a third of them are through NSF, with another third coming from other governmental agencies. [Dean’s</a> Desk - Contracts and Grants - Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin](<a href=“http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/dean/contracts-grants1106.htm]Dean’s”>http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/dean/contracts-grants1106.htm)</p>
<p>Geology is huge and well-funded at UT. The Jackson School of Geosciences is its own college – while chemistry and physics and biology are all part of the College of Natural Sciences, Geoscience is its own college and makes its own rules. The program overall is ranked in the top 10 nationally, and has one of the largest hydrogeology and environmental geology programs in the country. [Hydrogeology</a> and Environmental Geology - Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin](<a href=“http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/erg/hydro_environ/]Hydrogeology”>http://www.jsg.utexas.edu/erg/hydro_environ/)</p>