Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University is one of the few departments in the country with an integrated program of instruction and research that treats Earth as a planet and makes direct use of knowledge gained by exploring the solar system. Areas covered within the department include geology, geobiology, geochemistry, geodynamics, and planetary sciences. Field work, laboratory measurements, data analysis, and theoretical work are integral components of the research efforts carried out within the Department. The Department offers undergraduate and graduate programs leading to bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees. At the graduate level, students with undergraduate backgrounds in earth sciences, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and engineering are encouraged to apply. Undergraduate students are also urged to study in these fields as part of the major in earth sciences.

The Department benefits from the presence of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, the Geosciences Node of the NASA Planetary Data System, extensive analytical laboratory equipment and computer facilities, and a department library with more than 50,000 monographs, journals, and maps. These resources support a faculty dedicated to excellence in teaching and research. Students are exposed to a thorough and comprehensive course of study, with the opportunity to participate in ground-breaking research in the earth and planetary sciences.

Since the summer of 2004, the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences has been housed in a state-of-the-art new building with 133 labs.