Majors and Programs

Howdy!

Bienvenido, welcome, to the Geology Program at Sul Ross State University located in the heart of the Trans Pecos region and the Chihuahuan Desert. Below you will find brief answers to some questions you may have.

WHO: The Geology Program is a friendly, dedicated community of faculty, staff, and students, both graduate and undergraduate.

We get to know our students and camaraderie is fostered because class sizes are small and much of our education happens in the hands-on settings of lab and the field.

Students usually find a common interest with the geology faculty who have specialties in a broad range of geologic areas: vertebrate paleontology, invertebrate paleontology, igneous petrology, surface and groundwater hydrology, sedimentary petrology, structural geology, geochemistry, tectonics, sedimentology, geology of west Texas, and geology of the western United States.

WHAT: Two Bachelor of Science degrees in Geology and a Master of Science degree in Geology are offered by the Geology Program.

The geology bachelor’s degrees are designed so that our graduates can either work as an entry-level geologist in the environmental, petroleum, water, or mineral industries; work as a teacher at public or private K-12 schools; or continue study in graduate school. The master’s degree is designed so that upon completion our graduates can either obtain a job as a professional geologist or continue study toward a Ph.D.

WHERE: The Trans Pecos is one of the best natural, outdoor, geologic laboratories in the United States. Local rock exposures make up some of the most striking scenery in Texas. We utilize this natural asset in most of our classes, both undergraduate and graduate, through field trips that are a fundamental part of the learning experience.

WHY: The Geology Program offers a phenomenal education and experience at a good price.

The geology faculty are passionate about Geoscience and it shows in our teaching and emphasis on experiential learning in the lab room and in the field. Sul Ross is one of the more affordable universities in Texas and it is a great place for learning, studying, working, and relaxing.

We encourage you to contact us or drop by for a visit. Individual contact information can be found under the Faculty tab.

The Geology Program thanks you for your interest.

Happy trails, adiós, hasta la vista.

Our Outdoor Laboratory

Sul Ross State University, located in mountainous far west Texas, is an ideal locale for geologic studies. The campus is surrounded by the Cenozoic-aged Trans Pecos Magmatic Province. A short 20-minute drive from campus is the Marathon Basin and the Glass Mountains (including the Marathon-Ouachita fold and thrust belt) with exposures of Paleozoic-aged sedimentary rocks. The Christmas Mountains, owned by the Texas State University System and only 70 miles from campus, expose Mesozoic-aged sedimentary rocks and Cenozoic-aged igneous rocks. Big Bend National Park, Davis Mountains State Park, and Big Bend Ranch State Park are all within 100 miles of the campus and Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park are within 200 miles of campus.

Notable geologic features in and around these parks include significant karst and cavern development, the Permian reef system, exposures of lavas, welded tuffs and intrusive rocks, large and small caldera systems, structural domes related to laccolith emplacement (the Solitario and the Christmas Mountains), and evidence of such tectonic events as the late Paleozoic Ouachita Orogeny, the late Cretaceous through Paleogene Laramide Orogeny, and Cenozoic crustal extension. Hydrologic features of far west Texas include numerous major and minor aquifers, multiple spring systems, and drainage basins of the Rio Grande, Pecos, and Devils rivers.

Learning by Doing

For the BS and MS degrees, the Geology Program emphasizes lab examination of samples, diagrams, and maps, and also use of computer applications to analyze geologic data. Field experience is also fundamental and requires students to use critical thinking skills and classroom information in order to describe and explain a geologic problem.

Most courses are composed of a lecture/lab format where conceptual knowledge is applied through firsthand experience with geologic materials. The curriculum incorporates hands-on work that builds students’ knowledge, skills, and experience. Day-long or weekend-long field trips are an important component of most courses and incorporate field exercises as part of course requirements. Some courses incorporate research report writing either based solely on a geologic-literature search or based on a field problem and subsequent literature search. Undergraduate students are encouraged to do a research project outside on classes and are mentored by geology faculty members.

The Geology Program curriculum is broad-based, incorporating practical application of geologic content, and so provides an excellent background that allows graduates to find employment in industry (oil & gas, hydrogeology, environmental resources, geologic hazards, and mining), state and federal agencies, teaching, or to pursue advanced Geology degrees.

Funding

The Geology Program has several merit-based scholarships. Undergraduates and graduates are eligible for these scholarships and are encouraged to apply. Some part-time employment opportunities for undergraduates are available in the program. Also, eligible undergraduates can be funded to do research under the McNair Scholars Program. See the Geology MS (Master of Science) page for more information about funding opportunities for graduate students.

Resources

The Geology Program is housed in the Warnock Science Building. The building has 3 large lecture halls (each can accommodate 65 students). The Geology Program uses these for guest lectures, thesis proposals and thesis defenses, and also for class lectures when doing a class to Midland College (a lecture hall has the ITV equipment that is used for Distance Education). There are 2 smaller rooms specifically designated for Geology Program use. Each of these rooms can accommodate up to 20 students and are used for lab instruction and used as lecture rooms for classes with smaller enrollment. There are 2 lab rooms that have equipment dedicated to specific fields: a GIS lab and a petrography lab. The Geology Program also has a rock preparation room where rocks and sediment are processed for classroom use, and samples are processed for faculty and student research. Finally, the Geology Program has an Analytical Lab where images of material can be made and elemental composition of material can be determined. The lab equipment can be used by faculty and students and for classes and research.

Faculty offices are also located in the building. Adjacent to the faculty offices is the Geology graduate student office with desks for 7 students. There is also a room set-aside as a student study area which can be used by any student on campus.

Equipment/materials in the Geology Program:

• Basic field equipment includes back country camping gear, hands lenses, acid bottles, Jacob’s staffs, Brunton compasses, radios, and GPS units as well as equipment for river trips that includes 4 rafts, 15 canoes, life jackets, and trailers.
• Teaching laboratories are equipped with mineral testing kits, hand lenses, binocular microscopes, and petrographic microscopes.
• Labs and teaching/research collections contain hand samples and thin sections of minerals and rocks, invertebrate fossils, sedimentary structures, sand, and numerous topographic and geologic maps.
• Vertebrate paleontology collection comprises a variety of fossil bones and bone replicas of extinct animals which are utilized in teaching labs and student research.
• Access to several, geologically diverse, parcels of land (from 5 to 40 acres in size) in the Terlingua Ranch Properties which are owned by Sul Ross.
• Vertebrate Paleontology research lab equipped with tools for processing and studying vertebrate fossil bones.
• The rock processing lab includes one 18-inch and two 16-inch slab saws, one 8 inch trim saw, one lap wheel, and a thin sectioning cut-off and grinding unit for preparation of slabs and thin sections. Other equipment includes a Spex tungsten carbide and steel shatter box grinder, ceramic jaw crushers, high temperature oven, and a Spex pellet press for preparation of samples for chemical analysis. Miscellaneous equipment includes a Frantz isodynamic magnetic separator, various sizes of sieves and a sieve shaker, and non-toxic heavy liquids for mineral and microfossil separation.
• Geographical Information System lab/lecture room is a modern GIS lab with dual monitor computers, a plotter and a site license for the latest version of ArcGIS for Desktop. For Remote Sensing applications, the lab has access to multiple copies of ERDAS Imagine. Other available technical software includes Visual MODFLOW, Rockworks, Golden Software’s Surfer and Didger, Sigmaplot, Geochemist’s Workbench and general word processing, spreadsheet, database software. The laboratory benefits from cooperative agreements with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the National Park Service and Texas View. Through these and other sources, the laboratory has compiled an extensive spatial library for the Trans-Pecos and northern Mexico region, including Landsat scenes, complete coverage in standard GIS datasets (DRG, DOQ, NED, Transportation), and additional geologic, hydrologic and biologic datasets. The lab utilizes a robust network attached storage (NAS) system so that users can access the data from anywhere on campus or from anywhere with a network connection and VPN. The NAS system ensures redundant data backup. The GIS facilities have an emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach for upper-division and graduate GIS studies and for faculty research.
• Hydrologic equipment includes Teledyne RiverRay and StreamPro Acoustic Doppler Current profilers, and a Sontek Flow Tracker Hand-held Acoustic Doppler velocimeter to measure stream discharge and bathymetry. Portable flumes are available for measuring discharge in smaller streams and springs. A Trimble RTK GPS unit and a fully robotic Focus 35 total station are available for field survey projects. These instruments can be used with the available DJI Inspire quadcopter for photogrammetry projects. Access to a RIEGL VZ-400i 3D Laser scanner which is used in combination with the other survey equipment for geomorphic change detection analysis and other 3D characterization projects. A portable particle size analyzer, field water titration and filtration equipment, and a variety of pressure transducers for measuring water levels are also available.
• The Interdisciplinary Analytical Laboratory that houses an array of equipment accessible to students and faculty for a number of analytical purposes. Equipment in the lab includes a JOEL JSM-6010LA Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with an attached Energy Dispersive X-Ray spectrometer. The lab also includes a Denton Vacuum sputter coater (Au, Au-Pd, and C) for SEM sample preparation and a Branson ultrasonic cleaner. The laboratory also has an ARL Perform’X X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF). The lab also has a Bruker D2 Phaser X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD). The lab also houses a DIONEX ion chromatograph which is used to analyze anions in water samples.

Geology is an Earth Science that includes the study of the Earth Systems of the geosphere (rock of the crust, mantle, and core;) the hydrosphere (all of Earth’s water at and near its surface;) the atmosphere (gases not only above our heads but also in soils, caverns, and ice;) and the biosphere— making geology a broad science encompassing work in many fields. Some of Sul Ross’ Geology graduates have found employment and made careers in the following areas both in private industry and in government (local, state, and federal) in a variety of locations all over the United States.

• Ground water resources
• Surface water (river) resources
• Environmental Remediation
• Environmental Monitoring
• GIS
• Oil and gas production
• Seismic hazard mapping
• Metals mining
• Soil science
• Laboratory work
• Research
• Teaching

A bachelor’s degree in geology not only opens doors to employment in the geosciences but also prepares students for further study at the MS level. An MS degree opens more doors. Modern research fields in Earth Science are diverse. Geoscientists in graduate studies or in research positions at academic institutions or at national laboratories might study:

• Paleontology
• Sedimentology
• Volcanology
• Igneous petrology
• Geodynamics (processes of Earth’s interior)
• Plate Tectonics
• Geomorphology (how the landscape is formed)
• Planetary geology (other planets)
• Seismology
• Geologic hazards
• Ground water studies: flow, resources, geochemistry
• Drainage basin evolution
• Structural geology
• Orogenesis (mountain-building)
• Glaciology
• Paleoclimate
• Geochronology (using Earth materials as clocks)
• Metamorphic petrology
• Oceanography
• Geochemistry
• Critical Zone Science
• Microgeobiology

The Sul Ross Geology Club (aka Sul Ross Geological Society) has been active for years and is open to all students at the university. The students share a common interest in being outdoors, hiking, camping, enjoying scenery, collecting geologic specimens (minerals, rocks, and fossils), good food, and good company. The club offers at least one trip a semester which can be a day hike or a weekend campout. Every semester the club does a highway cleanup of a very scenic part of Highway 118 just a few miles south of town. The club raises funds at several university sponsored events: Fall on the Mall, Homecoming, Fall Carnival, and Spring Carnival. There is an annual Gem and Mineral Show in Alpine, Texas and club members also use that venue for fund-raising. Club members also enjoy looking at and buying geologic samples at the Gem Show.

The Geology Program is closely associated with the Sul Ross Hancock Hill Club (aka The Hill Club). This club is also open to all Sul Ross students. The common interest is hiking and cycling. There are trails on Hancock Hill, which is on Sul Ross property adjacent to campus, that are open to all enthusiasts. The Hill Club plays a pivotal role in the maintenance of those trails. The club has also helped with trail maintenance in Big Bend Ranch State Park.

SUL ROSS FIELD GEOLOGY

IN TEXAS’ BIG BEND REGION AND IN NEW MEXICO’S NORTHERN MOUNTAINS

GEOL 4601 | MAY 30 – JULY 3, 2024

PLEASE SEND YOUR APPLICATION TO BE RECIEVED BY MARCH 1.

For 2024, all field camp fees will be covered by a SRSU Title III grant. In addition, a $1,000 tuition scholarship is available to all students.

* The Geology Program is currently working on establishing a competitive scholarship which will make the non-resident cost the same as the cost for Texas residents.

Field Geology description:

The SRSU 2024 Field Geology course will start and end at the Alpine campus in the Davis Mountains of West Texas. The course departs Alpine for two weeks mapping in Big Bend’s Cretaceous sedimentary rocks and Paleogene igneous rocks, then to Proterozoic metamorphic rocks of the Van Horn area on our way to northern New Mexico for the final two weeks, investigating structures related to Laramide contraction and Rio Grande rift extension.

Instructors:

Thomas A. Shiller II, Ph.D.
thomas.shiller@sulross.edu

Jesse Kelsch, M.S.
jkelsch@sulross.edu

Dr. Shiller will be the primary instructor for the first half of field camp.

Ms. Kelsch will be the primary instructor for the second half.

Dates:  May 30 – July 3

Course Number:  GEOL 4601; Credit: 6 semester hours

Prerequisites:

-Structural Geology

-Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (Sed/Strat)

-Petrology/Petrography/Lithology Junior or Senior level

Please do not apply without having had, or currently taking, the prerequisites.  Your transcript is required to register. If you are enrolled in the prerequisites during registration time, documentation from your instructors that you are on track to pass the courses (C or better) will suffice.

Other Requirements:

-A physical evaluation form, signed by a medical doctor (MD) or certified nurse practitioner (CNP) confirming physical fitness for full day, strenuous hikes at elevations of 1,800-8,000 ft amsl on slopes of 10 to 30^o carrying a ~40-lb backpack in temperatures exceeding 110°F. PAGE THREE ONLY of this documentation is due by April 30. (We do not need pages 1 and 2; please do not send them.)

– Minimum of C grade in all geoscience courses. Preference will be given to applicants with higher GPA if more students apply than fit in the course.

Cap:  22 students

Logistics:

• For the camping portion of the trip, you are responsible for your own personal camping gear:  tent with useful rain fly, strong tent stakes, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, camp chair, flashlight(s), etc., plus your own drink cup and coffee mug (all other kitchen gear is provided.)  We will be car-camping for the duration of the camping portion, so you can even bring a pillow, but try to sensibly minimize your personal-gear footprint.  (However, you are welcome to bring the extra comforts you deem important.)  In the past, students have brought hammocks to sleep in, for the few sites where there are strong, mature trees.  (This is in addition to a tent, because not everywhere are there ample trees.)  Shower facilities will be available only at some of our camp sites. The field camp fee will cover 3 meals per day: breakfast, a sack lunch, and dinner. Students will rotate through kitchen-help duties.  Work tables will be set up at each camp for completing field assignments.
• You must also bring your own personal gear for comfort and safety:  sturdy, broken-in hiking boots that support the ankles, plenty of good socks; outdoor clothing for high temperatures (>100°F) and all-day sun, for cold nights and mornings at camp, for rain both in the field and at camp; waterproof shoes both for fluvial geomorphology work (wading in a shallow stream) and swimsuit for optional recreational swimming.  Sunscreen, a large-brimmed hat, and refillable water bottles are also required. Temperatures in Big Bend will likely exceed 100°F during the day, so you MUST carry at least a gallon of water into the field with you (there are no refill sites in our remote field areas).  Camelbak or similar bladder-type backpacks work well, as do Nalgene or Klean Kanteen bottles.  In addition to three meals per day, snacks will be provided daily but we will also intermittently stop for gas as we move between campsites, so you should bring spending money if you’ll want extra treats or soda.
• There will be commercial laundry facilities available on a few of the days off, so you should also bring quarters and soap.
• You also need to bring gear to operate as a field geologist:  notebook, a map board, colored pencils, quality mapping pencil(s), a scale and protractor, grain size card, a comfortable and sizeable back pack with a padded hip belt, and rock hammer with holster.  A field belt, and a field pouch to hang on your belt next to your hammer holster is VERY handy as well.  (Plateau Designs of Flagstaff, AZ has been providing good cheap field pouches to field camp students for a few decades.)  What will be provided to you:  a collection of literature pertinent to the geology on our traverse; stereonet paper; and base maps. Brunton compasses and hand lenses will be checked out to you at the beginning of the course, to be returned in exchange for your letter grade at the end of field camp.
• Campground fees, food and entrance-fee costs when we are on the road are provided.  Students are responsible for their own board and lodging for the night in Alpine.  SRSU dorm rooms will be available for rent to visiting students for the first night in Alpine, and Alpine has a few nice campgrounds and hotels as well.

Application:  Complete and email the one-page application form and your unofficial transcripts to thomas.shiller@sulross.edu or print and mail the application to the SRSU Geology Program, Department of Natural Sciences / Attn: Geology Field Camp / Box C-64 / Alpine TX 79832.  Applications must be received by ­­March 1. We will send notifications of receipt and acceptance shortly after. This course is being advertised in October of 2023 and it may fill before the end of the year; please do not wait to apply.

Photo gallery from previous SRSU Field Geology courses

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

Total Credit Hours Required for Bachelor of Science in Geology Certification:  121-125

This degree plan includes:
44 Core credit hours (42 + 2 labs)
8 Bachelor of Science credit hours
44 Geology major credit hours
24 Ed certification hours
TOTAL HOURS: 121-125