Program Overview

University of Iowa Programs

The University of Iowa offers various programs through its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, specifically within the School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability.

Undergraduate Programs

• Majors:
  • BA in Earth & Environmental Science
  • BS in Earth & Environmental Science
    • Track in Earth and Planetary Science
    • Track in Environmental Bioscience
    • Track in Environmental Geoscience
  • BA in Geographical & Sustainability Sciences
  • BS in Geographical & Sustainability Sciences
    • Track in GIScience
    • Track in Sustainability Science
  • BA in Environmental Policy & Planning
    • Track in Planning
    • Track in Policy
• Minors:
  • Minor in Earth and Environmental Sciences
  • Minor in Environmental Policy & Planning
• Certificates:
  • Certificate in Geographical Information Science
  • Certificate in Sustainability
• Undergraduate to Graduate Programs:
  • U2G in Environmental Policy & Planning
  • U2G in Geoinformatics

Graduate Programs

• Degrees and Certificates:
  • MA in Geography
  • PhD in Geography
  • MS in Geoscience
  • PhD in Geoscience
• Admissions Process
• Advising
• Awards and Funding

Research Areas

• Climate Variability & Change
• Ecology & Paleontology
• Environmental Management & Policy
• GIScience, Modeling & Remote Sensing
• Health, Vulnerability & Natural Hazards
• Human-Environment Interactions
• Natural Resources & Sustainability
• Tectonics, Solid Earth & Planetary Geology
• Water, Soil & Surface Processes

Research Facilities

• Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory (APLL)
• Ecoclimatology of Carbon & Water Lab
• Geochemistry Lab
• Geographical Information Systems Instructional Lab (GISIL)
• Hydrogeology Lab
• Lab for Observing & Quantifying Aquatic & Terrestrial Ecosystems (LOQATE)
• Micropaleontology Lab
• Mineral Separation & Sample Processing Facility
• Paleontology Repository
• Planetary Exploration Lab
• Sedimentary Materials Lab
• Thin Section & Sample Preparation Lab

Track in Environmental Geoscience

The Track in Environmental Geoscience focuses on understanding earth surface processes, materials at the surface, including rock, soil, water, and how these materials behave under various conditions. Environmental geologists assess and address surface and groundwater conditions, evaluate natural hazards, and manage land use and land degradation problems. Their expertise is crucial to environmental protection, ensuring that human activities do not adversely impact geological and hydrological systems, which may degrade biological systems.

With major environmental challenges such as climate change, urbanization, and the need for sustainable resource extraction, the role of environmental geoscientists has never been more critical. Their unique blend of skills allows them to pursue graduate studies or work across disciplines as disparate as biology, engineering, policy and planning, agriculture, and others. They can be found in government regulatory agencies, stream restoration companies, groundwater consulting groups, bridge and tunnel engineering companies, county wetland monitors, to name just a few.