Peace
Corps Master's International Program in Geology, Geological Engineering
and Geophysics
Remote
Sensing for Hazards
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Graduate Studies in Geological & Mining Engineering &
Sciences at Michigan Tech
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The
Geological/Mining Engineering and Sciences department at Michigan
Technological University (MTU) invites applications from high-quality,
motivated students seeking MS and Ph.D. degrees in Geological
or Mining Engineering, Geology, and Applied Geophysics. The department's
graduate programs are challenging yet flexible; they are designed
to accommodate individual needs, background, and interests.
Interdisciplinary study is also encouraged.
Geological Sciences and Engineering Graduate Brochure
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Research News
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Research
Areas
- Research funding averages nearly $3 million per year.
- With $2.3 million from the National Science Foundation, students in the Master’s International program in Natural Hazards apply remote sensing to hazard mitigation and resource development in Central America and are building a new educational system of applied research and engineering.
- Students and faculty use seismic methods to better image underground reservoirs, often working in close cooperation with industry.
- Researchers in our Subsurface Visualization Lab help companies extract oil from abandoned or nearly abandoned fields, enhancing US energy independence.
Research Areas Contacts
The Geological Engineering
and Sciences programs have a wide variety of research strengths.
These include:
- Atmospheric Remote Sensing
- Environmental/Aqueous Geochemistry
- Geochemistry and Ore Deposits
- Geologic Hazards Mitigation
- Mineralogy and Petrology
- Paleomagnetism/Environmental Magnetism
- Physical, Environmental, & Social Hydrology
- Subsurface Remediation and Contaminant Transport
- Reflection Seismic Iimaging & Petrophysics
- Stratigraphy and Basin Analysis
- Subsurface Visualization
- Volcanology
- Water Resources Management
- Watershed Modeling & Analysis
The Mining
Engineering graduate degree programs for M.S. and Ph.D. have
a wide variety of research strengths. These include:
- Environmental
Impacts of Mining
- Geostatistics
- Mine
Health and Safety
- Rock
Mechanics
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Degrees
Offered
The department currently
offers MS degrees in geology, geological engineering, mining engineering
and geophysics and Ph.D. degrees in geology and geological engineering
and mining engineering.
Research activities include development of complex computational models of earth systems; laboratory experiments analyzing earth material phenomena; analysis of remote sensing data; and field measurements of volcanologic, hydrologic, and petroleum systems.
Specialized laboratories include the Laboratory for Atmospheric Remote Sensing, Subsurface Visualization Laboratory, Seismic Petrophysics Laboratory, and the Environmental Magnetism Laboratory.
The Master’s International program in Mitigation of Natural Geological Hazards is the first and only Peace Corps program of its kind. This MS-level program addresses disaster preparedness and mitigation in at-risk communities in the developing world.
Students in the department may also enroll
in Ph.D. degrees in computational engineering and science and
environmental engineering, which are interdisciplinary programs
through the College of Engineering. We tailor individualized programs
of study for MS and Ph.D. candidates based on their interests
and experience, and our current course offerings and research
interests.
A critical factor in admitting students into the Ph.D.
program is that there be a specific faculty member interested
in each potential student, and the interested faculty member has
research funds available to support the student. Successfully
completing a Ph.D. degree is a long process involving close and
extensive interaction with a faculty member (or members).
We try
to match students and faculty as carefully as possible, as this
results in the maximum educational benefits for the students and
insures completion of the degree in a reasonable amount of time.
For students with a M.S. degree, a period of three years is usually
required for completion of a Ph.D. Degree. Students entering a
Ph.D. program with a B.S. can expect to take four to five years
to complete their degree, depending largely on the number of courses
taken in their first two years here.
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Center,
Institutes & Facilities
Our department is housed
in the new Dow Environmental Sciences and Engineering building
featuring world-class computer and analytical laboratory facilities.
Major research labs and institutes associated with the department
include:
Location
MTU is located in the
small town of Houghton in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, on the
south shore of Lake Superior. Hundreds of miles of rocky coastline
surround the Keweenaw Peninsula and nearby Isle Royale National
Park; both areas also feature a rugged topography unusual to the
Midwest. The Keweenaw Peninsula, Isle Royale, and other areas
in the Upper Peninsula are ideal for outdoor recreational pursuits,
such as camping, fishing, canoeing, hunting, and cross-country
and downhill skiing.
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Financial
Aid
The Department offers
a variety of student support through Research Assistanships,
Fellowships, annd Graduate Teaching Assistantships which include
a stipend and cover tuition. The Department makes every effort
to see that graduate students receive funding throughout their
tenure as long as they are making satisfactory progress toward
their degree. Currently, the department has large research grants
from DOE, NASA, EPA, and NSF that include funding for graduate
research assistantships in contaminant hydrogeology and remediation,
limnologic remote sensing, petroleum geology and geophysics,
and volcanic/atmospheric remote sensing, especially at the Ph.D.
level.
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Admission
For consideration to
our program, we require a completed application, statement of
purpose, the verbal / quantitative / analytical Graduate Record
Exam (GRE) scores (the advanced geology or other specialty test
is optional), as well as transcripts of your undergraduate / graduate
courses. A minimum of three letters of recommendation are required
from faculty members or other professionals who are familiar with
your background.The Graduate School also requires that international
students take the TOEFL exam. Note that both the letters of recommendation
and your written statement of purpose are very important in helping
us evaluate your application.
Although we receive
many inquiries and a considerable number of applications, the
numbers and proportions of students from other countries in
our program are very small. Most applications by international
students are rejected because of low scores on GRE (verbal scores
less than 50 percentile and math scores of less than 80 percentile)
or TOEFL (less than 550) test. Most often, foreign applicants
are not considered for departmental teaching asistantships but
are considered for research assistantship if there is a match
between an individual researcher's interest and those of the
student. Most often, the majority of applicants who attend do
so with support either from their own country's program of scholarship
aid or with personal funds.
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Forms
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Graduate
Committee Chair
Greg Waite
Assistant Professor
204 Dow
Dept. of Geological & Mining Engg. & Sciences
Michigan Tech University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931-1295
Phone: (906) 487-3554
Fax: (906) 487-3371
Email: gpwaite@mtu.edu |
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