Prospective Graduate Students

Our Department can offer you an academically challenging graduate program in a variety of areas that will prepare you for a career in teaching, industry, or government service. We offer M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geological sciences, which require a thesis or dissertation, respectively. Opportunities exist for theoretical, experimental, analytical, and/or field-based research; many projects combine aspects of each. Members of the Department are actively engaged in research in:

Admission to the Graduate Program in Geology is competitive. The Graduate School requires a grade point average greater than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, and a cumulative Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score (verbal + quantitative + analytical) greater than 1500 for unconditional admission. For those taking the newer version of GRE, the scores required for unconditional admission are: verbal + quantitative greater than 1000, and analytical writing in the 50th percentile or greater. It takes up to eight weeks for exam scores to reach us, so you should take the exams as soon as possible. If your native language is not English, you will also need to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The minimum TOEFL score for unconditional admission is 550 for paper-based test and 213 for computer-based test.

A variety of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and fellowships are available with 9-month stipends that currently range between about $12,000 (Teaching Assistantships) and $15,000 (Graduate Council Research Fellowships), plus a full tuition and fee waiver presently worth up to an additional $13,500. College of Arts and Sciences Dean Merit Assistantships are also available and offer an additional award of $5,000. Summer support is often available. Teaching assistantships are awarded by the Department on the basis of the student background and academic credentials, and our curriculum requirements. Research assistantships are awarded at the discretion of the professor holding the research grant. If you wish to be considered for financial assistance, your application (application form and fee, statement of purpose, original letters of reference, original transcripts, and original exam scores) should be submitted by March 1 for August admission or by about October 1 for January admission. You should apply much earlier if you wish to be considered for a fellowship or are going to require a student visa.

Please feel free to discuss your research interests with any members of the faculty whose interests you share. Many of our students are supported on grants and contracts that are supervised by individual members of the faculty. Thus financial support usually requires a faculty member to recommend you for a position as their research assistant. A faculty member in your research area will be happy to advise you on your prospects for admission and financial support. You should provide the faculty member with a statement of your interests and the personal information data requested below. If English is not your native language, a good score on the Test of Spoken English (TSE) exam will also be helpful. Please note that non-native English speakers must submit a score on the TSE in order to be considered for a teaching assistantship.

You can obtain the application form on the web and can even submit your complete application over the web. If you file a printed application, you will need to pay the application fee with a money order. If you file electronically, you can pay your fee by credit card over the web. After you fill out the electronic form, another form will open and ask for your credit card information. We look forward to hearing from you.

For more information contact:
Andrew Goodliffe
Assistant Professor & Graduate Program Director
Telephone: (205)348-7167
E-mail: amg@ua.edu

UA Department of Geological Sciences | Box 870338 | Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 | Phone: (205)348-5095 | Fax: (205)348-0818