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2013-2014 SDSM&T Academic Catalog 
    
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2013-2014 SDSM&T Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Geology and Geological Engineering Department

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Contact Information

Dr. Laurie Anderson
Department of Geology and Geological Engineering
Mineral Industries 303
(605) 394-2461
E-mail: Laurie.Anderson@sdsmt.edu

Geology Faculty

Professors L. Anderson, Duke, Paterson, Price and Uzunlar; Associate Professor Masterlark; Assistant Professor Belanger, Oner and Pagnac; Professors Emeritus Fox, Lisenbee, Martin and Redden; Adjunct Professors Benton and McCormick; Adjunct Professors Bapst; Haslem Post-doctoral Fellow Boyd.

Geological Engineering Faculty

Professors Davis and Stetler; Assistant Professors Katzenstein and Sawyer; Professor Emeritus Rahn; Adjunct Faculty M. Anderson, Iles, Long and Roggenthen.

Paleontology Faculty

Professors L. Anderson and Price; Assistant Professors Belanger, Pagnac and Sawyer; Associate Director and Instructor Shelton; Haslem Post-doctoral Fellow Boyd; Adjunct Professor Benton; Adjunct Assistant Professor Bapst; Professors Emeritus Fox and Martin.

Geology and Geological Engineering Graduate Degree Programs

The Department of Geology and Geological Engineering offers advanced study in three degree programs:

M.S. degree in geology and geological engineering
M.S. degree in paleontology
Ph.D. degree in geology and geological engineering.

Geology and Geological Engineering Degree Programs

For the programs in geology and geological engineering, students must elect to pursue either a Geology Specialization (includes paleontology) or a Geological Engineering Specialization, each of which has different background and program requirements.  The available coursework and current faculty expertise support the following areas of concentration.

  1. Energy and Mineral Resources
  2. Environmental/Exploration Geophysics
  3. Ground Water/Environmental Studies
  4. Mineral Deposits/Mineralogy/Petrology
  5. Sedimentation/Stratigraphy
  6. Paleontology*
  7. Structural Geology/Tectronics
  8. Geomechanics/Engineering Geology

*Students concentrating in paleontology at the Master’s level may apply for the separate M.S. in Paleontology.

Paleontology

The Department of Geology and Geological Engineering offers advanced study leading to an M.S. degree in paleontology.  Resources available to graduate students in paleontology include the extensive collections of  the Museum of Geology.  The M.S. in paleontology has a strong emphasis on field-based research as well as couses in museum studies.

Background Requirements for M.S. and Ph.D. Programs

The Graduate Record Examinatin (GRE) is required of all applicants.  The TOEFL exam is required for students whose native language is not English.

Geology and Paleontology Specializations

Incoming students are expected to have substantial preparation in general science, math, and geological sciences; successful applicants will ideally have completed the subjects listed below.  The student’s graduate committee may require that deficiencies important to the student’s area of interest be remedied by taking additional undergraduate courses that will not count towards the graduate degree credit requirements.

  • Calculus I and II
  • Statistics
  • General Chemistry I and II
  • General Physics I and II, or General Biology I and II
  • Stratigraphy/Sedimentation
  • Petrology
  • Structural Geology
  • Field Geology

Geological Engineering Specialization

Incoming students are expected to have substantial preparation in science, math, geological sciences, and engineering; successful applicants will ideally have completed the subjects listed below.  The student’s graduate committee may require that deficiencies important to the student’s area of interest be remedied by taking additional undergraduate courses that will not count towards the graduate degree credit requirements.

  • Calculus I, II, and III
  • Differential Equations
  • General Chemistry I and II
  • General Physics I and II
  • Stratigraphy/Sedimentation
  • Petrology
  • Structural Geology
  • Statics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Fluid Mechanics, or Rock Mechanics

Geology and Geological Engineering Master’s Program and Degree Requirements

The M.S. thesis option requires 30 credits, including six (6) credits of thesis research and twenty-four (24) credits of coursework.  The non-thesis option includes 32 credits of coursework and is available to students at the discretion of the department head.  Candidates for the M.S. degree must fulfill all degree requirements of the graduate office and the program, including an oral comprehensive exam covering course material.

Geology Specialization Requirements

The candidate’s committee is responsible for assisting the student in developing a program of study that prepares the student for his/her intended field of study. 

  is required the first fall semester of enrollment.  In addition, the program of study must include at least one GEOL/GEOE course emphasizing field/analytical methods and one GEOL/GEOE course emphasizing computational methods.  The student’s advising committee determines the courses that meet these criteria.

Geological Engineering Specialization Requirements

All M.S. students in the Geological Engineering specialization are expected to focus in one of three areas of ground water/environmental, geomechanics, or energy/mineral resources.  The candidate’s committee is responsible for assisting the student in developing a program of study that prepares the student for his/her intended focus area. 

  is required the first fall semester of enrollment.  In addition, the program of study must include at least one GEOL/GEOE course emphasizing field methods, one GEOL/GEOE course emphasizing analytical methods and one GEOL/GEOE course emphasizing computational methods.  The student’s advising committee determines the courses that meet these criteria.

Paleontology Master’s Program and Degree Requirements

The M.S. thesis option requires 32 credits, including six to eight (6-8) credits of thesis research and twenty-four to twenty-six (24-26) credits of coursework.  The candidate’s committee is responsible for assisting the student in developing a program of study that prepares the student for his/her intended field of study. 

  is required the first fall semester of enrollment.  In addition, the program of study must include at least one GEOL/GEOE/PALE course emphasizing field methods, one GEOL/GEOE/PALE course emphasizing computational methods, and one GEOL/GEOE/PALE course emphasizing the systematics of a taxonomic group.  The student’s advising committee determines the courses that meet these criteria.  All thesis samples, specimens, and their documentation collected while a registered student must be curated into the collections of the Museum of Geology.

Candidates for the M.S. degree must fulfill all degree requirements of the graduate office and of the program, including an oral comprehensive exam covering course material.  The thesis option is the only option for the M.S. in paleontology.

Doctor of Philosophy Program

Admission to the Ph.D. program in Geology and Geological Engineering is normally limited to qualified students who have already earned an M.S. degree in geology, geological engineering, paleontology, or a related field.  Students with a B.S. degree who apply to the Ph.D. progra will be admitted to the M.S. program in Geology and Geological Engineering until they accumulated sufficient course credits for an M.S. degree.  Students holding an M.S. but with extensive undergraduate deficiencies may be placed into the M.S. program in Geology and Geological Engineering until these deficiencies are remedied.  Students placed into the M.S. under one of these two circumstances will be admitted to the Ph.D. after passing the qualifying exam.

Ph.D. Curriculum

A minimum of eighty (80) credit hours are required beyond the B.S. degree.  At least fifty (50) of these credits must be for coursework.  Up to twenty-four (24) course credits and six (6) research credits from the M.S. degree can be applied toward the total required credits if the student’s committee agrees.  The candidate’s committee is responsible for assisting the student in developing a program of study that prepares the student for his/her intended field as well as provides general knowledge for the discipline.  It is recommeded that six (6) to twelve (12) hours of coursework be taken outside the department.

Geology Specialization

  is required the first fall semester of enrollment.    also is required.  In addition, the program of study must include at least one GEOL/GEOE/PALE course emphasizing field methods, one GEOL/GEOE/PALE course emphasizing analytical methods, and one GEOL/GEOE/PALE course emphasizing computational methods.  The student’s advising committee determines the courses that meet these criteria.

Geological Engineering Specialization

All Ph.D. students in the Geological Engineering specialization are expected to focus in one of the three areas of groundwater/environmental, geomechanics, or energy/mineral resources.  The candidate’s committee is responsible for assisting the student in developing a program of study that prepares the student for his/her intended focus. 

  is required the first fall of enrollment.    also is required.  In addition, the program of study must include at least one GEOL/GEOE course emphasizing field methods, one GEOL/GEOE course emphasizing analytical methods and one GEOL/GEOE course emphasizing computational methods.  The student’s advising committee determines the courses that meet these criteria.

Geology and Geological Engineering Laboratories

The Department of Geology and Geological Engineering has laboratory facilities that include a groundwater laboratory with digital and analytical modeling capabilities, a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) laboratory, an InSAR laboratory, a van-mounted geoprobe unit, a geotechnics laboratory, a drilling fluids laboratory, a 3D photogrammetric camera system, a ground-based LIDAR camera, and an operational well field with data loggers and transducers.  Instrumentation includes geophysical equipment, ground-probing radar, a hydrologic analysis system, a portable wind tunnel, and a mobile drilling rig.

The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing Laboratory is a facility for generating and analyzing spatially-referenced digital information, including maps and remotely-sensed data.  The computing facilities are continualy updated and contain high-speed computers with GIS and other analytical capabilities.  Computer programs are available for digital modeling of ground-water flow and contaminant migration, petroleum engineering, slope stability, geophysical applications, and geochemical modeling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

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