Independent Study Projects
Students wishing to complete an Independent Study Projects must meet a minimum of requirements, obtain permission from the Undergraduate Program Director, and have a Faculty Advisor agree to supervise the project. If approved, they may register for 01:460:493: Independent Study in Geology for 1 to 3 credits. Students are required to complete 3-hours of work per credit, per week for the entire semester to earn a satisfactory grade in the course.
Honors in Earth and Planetary Science
Students may be admitted to candidacy for honors in geology if they make a written application to the department chairperson before May 1 of their junior year. To qualify, a student must have a minimum overall cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 and a minimum grade-point average in major courses of 3.4. In addition, the student must have completed all geology core courses except 01:460:410 and 01:460:476/480.
- 01:460:495 (3) Honors in Geology - Fall
- 01:460:496 (3) Honors in Geology - Spring
Honors students must successfully complete at least two additional 3-credit courses in geology (at the 400 level) and/or in the allied sciences as well as 01:460:495,496 Honors in Geology.
In consultation with a faculty adviser, students choose an honors research project which they document in a paper or a formal presentation to the department.
Recent Honors Theses
(email missing info to Dr. Lauren Neitzke Adamo)
| Year | Student | Thesis Title | Advisor(s) |
| 2023 | Jason Kawalec | Dangerous While Asleep: Applying UAV-facilitated Photogrammetry to the Dormant Barva Volcano | Lauren Neitzke Adamo |
| 2021 | Lucia Bellino | Presence of Hydrothermal Mineral Alteration in the Eridania Basin on Mars: Implications for Serpentinization, Magnetization, and Habitability | Lujendra Ojha |
| 2020 | Mariya Galochkina | Intensification of the North Atlantic subtropical thermocline during the Mid Miocene climate transition | Kenneth Miller, Maria Makarova, James Browning, James Wright |
| 2020 | Sophie Benaroya | Reconstructing Miocene sea surface, thermocline, and deep-water temperatures in the North Atlantic, Site 608 | Kenneth Miller, Maria Makarova, James Browning, James Wright |
| 2019 | Christian Rowan | Geologic controls on fossil distribution and recovery in the vertebrate fossil record: a case study from Koobi Fora, Kenya | Craig Feibel |
| 2015 | Michael Klaser | Lithospheric inventory: An exploration of Quebec, Canada with P-to-S receiver functions | Vadim Levin |
| 2014 | Sean Kinney |
Influence of mechanical stratigraphy on the development of thrust faults and associated secondary structures: A scaled experimental approach | Martha Withjack, Roy Schlische |
| 2013 | Corie Hlavaty |
Geological, social and political factors affecting carbon capture and sequestration deployment: The case of the proposed PurGen One power plant in Linden, New Jersey |
Robert Kopp, Kenneth Miller |
