Dept. of Geology

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Dept. of Geology Geophysics Teaching Overview,
SOEST Retreat, 12/03/07
-Degrees offered -Degree requirements -Student
statistics -Strengths Opportunities -Issues
Challenges
The GG Mission To identify and solve
fundamental and applied problems in the
Geosciences to acquire new knowledge about
Hawai'i, the Pacific Basin, and Earth to serve
society by teaching and training future
geoscientists, teachers, and citizens and to be
a principal resource for objective geologic
expertise to the state of Hawaii.
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DEGREES OFFERED
Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Geology Bachelor of
Science (BS) in Geology Geophysics Master of
Science (MS) in Geology Geophysics -Thesis
(Plan A) -Non-Thesis (Plan B) Doctor of
Philosophy (PhD) in Geology Geophysics
IN A TYPICAL YEAR, WE HAVE 20-40 UNDERGRADUATE
MAJORS (BA AND BS) AND 50-60 GRADUATE MAJORS (MS
AND PhD)
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GG BS DEGREE REQUIREMENTS (required GG courses,
upper-division GG electives, non-GG support
courses all require a grade of C or better)
Required Geology Geophysics Courses (37
Credits) GG 101 Dynamic Earth or GG 103 Geology
of the Hawaiian Islands (3) and GG 101L
or GG 170 Physical Geology (4) GG 200
Geological Inquiry (4) GG 250 Scientific
Programming (3) GG 301 Mineralogy (4) GG 302
Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology (3) GG 303
Structural Geology (3) GG 304 or 450 Geophysics
(4) GG 305 Geological Field Methods (3) GG 309
Sedimentology Stratigraphy (4) GG 325
Fundamentals of Geochemistry (3) GG 410
Undergraduate Seminar (2)
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Approved Upper Division Geology and Geophysics
Courses (11 credits) GG 300 Volcanology (3) GG
312 Geomathematics (3) GG 313 Geological Data
Analysis I (3) GG 399 Directed Reading (V) GG
401 Introduction to Mineral Physics (3) GG 402
Hawaiian Geology (3) GG 407 Energy and Mineral
Resources (3) GG 420 Coastal Geology (3) GG 421
Geological Records of Climate Change (3) GG 423
Marine Geology (3) GG 425 Environmental
Geochemistry (3) GG 426 Sedimentary Isotope
Geochemistry (3) GG 430 Geology and Mineral
Resources of Asia (3) GG 444 Plate Tectonics
(3) GG 450 Geophysical Methods (4) GG 451
Earthquakes (3) GG 454 Engineering Geology (3) GG
455 Hydrogeology (4) GG 460 Geological Remote
Sensing (4) GG 461 Geospatial Information (3) GG
466 Planetary Geology (3) GG 499 Undergraduate
Thesis (3)
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Support Courses (28 credits C or better in each
course) General Chemistry (CHEM 161, 161L, 162,
162L) Calculus I and II (MATH 241, 242, and
242L) General Physics (PHYS 170, 170L, 272,
272L) Biological Science course (BIOL 171L, ZOOL
101, BIOL 103 or MICRO 130)
The BA in Geology differs by requiring fewer
courses in all three categories, thereby allowing
more flexibility in a students overall course
load. It is designed for students who plan to go
into teaching, resource management, or other
non-research fields.
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GG MS DEGREE REQUIREMENTS (Plan A Thesis)
At least 30 credits of coursework and directed
research. The exact set of courses is determined
by the students advisor and thesis committee. A
written thesis An oral defense of the thesis
work (lots more official steps than this, with
associated forms, signatures, and
paperwork) For the Plan B Non-Thesis MS, the
research project is not as complicated, and
instead, more coursework is required. A written
report and oral defense of the students research
project are required. The Plan B Masters is
discouraged, except in specific cases that are
deemed beneficial to both the student and Dept.
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GG PhD DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Students entering the PhD program with a Masters
degree have no coursework requirements other than
those deemed important by the students advisor
and committee. Students entering the PhD program
without a Masters degree are required to
complete the equivalent of a GG Masters degree
coursework. A written dissertation and oral
defense of the dissertation research are
required. (there are more steps along the way
than for the MS, and consequently more forms)
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UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENT STATISTICS
Since 1994 Average number of undergraduates 36
(an average of 3.8 graduate per
semester) Average number of graduate students
55 (an average of 5.5 graduate per semester)
-mahalo to Leona Anthony for compiling these data-
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GG TEACHING STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES

1. Faculty are active researchers
2. Passion for topics spills into classes
3. Opportunities for research participation (student
   help, short cruises, long cruises)
4. Modern classrooms and teaching equipment
5. Small class sizes, even in intro.-level courses
6. Many nearby field-education opportunities
7. Undergrad. thesis topics available

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GG TEACHING CHALLENGES

1. Cost and hassle of inter-island and mainland
   travel
2. Insufficient utilization of field-education
   opportunities (Oahu, inter-island, beyond)
3. Need to react to ever-changing workforce
   expectations of graduates
4. Need to react to ever-changing expectations of
   students
5. Need for more 300-level course coordination and
   capstone-ization
6. Math and Physics (support-subject) instructors
   often poor
7. Need for tutoring of Undergrad. majors in
   support subjects (Math, Chem., Phys.)
8. Need for another TA position
9. Need for graders to help increased intro-level
   course load
10. Intro.-course teaching load is unevenly
    distributed
11. Need tangible incentives to teach more courses

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