Marietta College

What you'll study

Students gain a solid foundation in geoscience topics and practical skills. Core subject matter and typical course emphases include:

• Climate change, plate tectonics, sedimentation and stratigraphy, erosion and deposition
• Structural geology, faults, earthquakes and volcanology
• Hydrogeology, groundwater resources and subsurface pollution
• Mineral deposits, petroleum geology and resource exploration
• Paleontology (vertebrate, invertebrate and plant fossils), field paleontology and museum-quality work
• Field and laboratory techniques, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), scientific writing and research methods

Students may pursue one of three concentrations that add discipline-specific electives and a related minor:

• Environmental & Engineering Geology — pairs with a minor in Environmental Science or Environmental Engineering; coursework includes GIS, Structural Geology, Sedimentation & Stratigraphy, Hydrogeology, Environmental Engineering Geology and Statics.
• Petroleum Geology — pairs with a minor in Petroleum Engineering; coursework includes Petroleum Geology, Structural Geology, Sedimentology & Stratigraphy and related electives.
• Paleontology — pairs with a minor in Biology; coursework includes Invertebrate Paleontology, Dinosaurs, Sedimentology & Stratigraphy, Structural Geology, Microbiology, Zoology, Evolution and Ecology.

All majors complete a two-semester senior Capstone project under faculty mentorship; these projects frequently yield publishable results and train students in sustained scientific inquiry and reporting.

Entry requirements

Geology majors complete Marietta College’s liberal-arts core in addition to a rigorous geology curriculum. The program expects students to follow the undergraduate major requirements for a B.S. in Geology and to select either concentration-specific electives and a related minor when pursuing a concentration. Prospective students should consult the college’s undergraduate requirements and admissions pages for specific enrolment criteria.

Career prospects

Graduates work across energy, mining, environmental and government sectors. Typical employers and sectors named by the program include:

• Oil & gas and mining companies
• Environmental and engineering consulting firms
• Federal, state and local agencies (U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, NOAA, Environmental Protection Agency, National Park Service, Departments of Transportation, Energy and Natural Resources)
• Academic and research careers leading to graduate schools (examples of graduate destinations listed by the department include Texas A&M, Ohio University, West Virginia University and others)

The department reports that 90% of its geology graduates since 2020 were employed or attending graduate school within six months of graduation, 100% of students have the opportunity to conduct faculty-mentored research, and cites an average U.S. mid-career salary figure for geology graduates.

Scholarships & funding angle (general)

Marietta’s geology program emphasizes funded undergraduate research and close faculty mentoring; students are regularly involved in publishable projects and field-based work that can strengthen scholarship and graduate fellowship applications. Prospective students should review Marietta College’s tuition and financial aid resources and contact the department about program-specific scholarships, research assistantships and external funding opportunities.