Campus fast fact: Geosciences Department

The Department of Geosciences, in Flarsheim Hall, is home to many physical, computer science and engineering students.

The department outlines its mission statement on its website, which is “to advance and communicate information to students and the community about earth processes and human interactions with the earth and the environment through teaching, research and service.”

The department offers coursework to students who are geared toward professional careers in geology, geography, urban studies and environmental studies within the undergraduate level.

As a graduate student the options for study are earning a Master of Science in Environmental and Urban Geosciences as well as an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program. In addition to these academic path options the Geosciences department offers two certificates: the Advanced Certificate Program in Geographic Information Systems and Waste Management.

Through implementing these two certificate programs the primary major/minor options such as geology, geography, environmental science and urban studies can be enhanced.

The staff of the department is very diverse and even have international origins such as China, India, Korea and Nigeria. All of the professors of the department hold doctorates from American universities. Also the department is heavily involved with environmental projects within Missouri and around the whole world. Some locales include Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Mexico, Spain, and Denmark.

“UMKC geoscientists are familiar with the World at large. During the past five years, for example, faculty and students from UMKC have conducted environmental research all over the world including in China, Denmark, the Lake Chad area of Nigeria, the Bahamas, Baja California, Mexico, South Sudan, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Tasmania, Uganda, and South Africa,” said Geosciences Principal Graduate Advisor and interdisciplinary Ph.D. Coordinator, Ray Coveney.

If you visit the departmental website you can find more information about regions currently being investigated by the Geosciences Faculty.

According to The Department of Geosciences, currently half of the graduate students are from overseas – from India, Europe, West Africa, the Far East and the Middle East.

“Graduates are prominent in the geosciences. One graduate, Dr. Randall Updike, is the chief geologist of the U.S. Geological Survey Central Division in Denver CO, where he supervises more than 200 PhDs who work on geological hazards, mineral resources, tectonics, and environmental geology. Dr. Lisa Morgan, also at the USGS, is an expert volcanologist who works in Yellowstone.  Recent graduate, Dr. David Drake, is a section chief for the EPA Superfund Division in Region 7 (IA, KS, MO, NE). Several others work for the Water Resources Division of the USGS in leadership positions in Missouri and Kansas, but most are employed by engineering and environmental firms such as Burns and McDonnell or Marshall Miller & Associates,” Coveney said.

According to The Department of Geosciences, most graduate students are supported by university funded assistantships and fellowships and grants to professors, but a significant number of students earn their degrees while employed full time by consulting firms and other businesses or by governmental agencies.

For more information about The Department of Geosciences and the academic paths they have to offer visit www.cas.umkc.edu/geo or the Department of Geosciences located in Flarsheim Hall Room 420.

khardaway@unews.com