Application deadline for Fall 2010: January 4, 2010.

Degrees offered:
MS Geology; PhD Geology
MS Geophysics; PhD Geophysics

Application Requirements

Students entering the PhD program who have pursued an MS at another institution should have the degree in hand before beginning study at UW-Madison.

BS or BA is required.

Graduate students may enter the department with a bachelor's degree in geology or a related earth science, or some other field relevant to the intended field of specialization.

Minimum Standards
Minimum Standards have often already been completed at the time of application. Course deficiencies should be removed before enrollment.

• Calculus - 2 semesters (or equivalent)
  
• Chemistry - 2 semesters (or equivalent)
  
• Physics - 2 semesters (or equivalent)
  
• Field camp - 6-8 credits mapping course equivalent to UW-Madison's Field Camp (Geology 459). Students with a geology degree must take field camp before starting Graduate School.

• GPA must be a minimum of 3.0 on the equivalent of the last 60 semester hours of the undergraduate record. The average GPA of applicants offered positions with funding in the last three years was 3.6.
  
• GRE (Graduate Record Exam) is required. Subject test is not required. The average scores for students offered positions with funding in the last 3 years were: verbal, 77%; quantitative, 76%; and the average score for the analytical writing section in the last 3 years was 60%.
  
• TOEFL is required for students for whom English is not the first language and who have not attended an institution with English-language instruction. The minimum required score is 550 (paper), 213 (computer), or 80 (Internet).

Areas of Interest
Please see links below. For further information, see individual faculty member websites by following the “People” link.

Quaternary, Hydrogeology, Environmental Geochemistry and Biogeochemistry

Petrology, Geochemistry, Economic Geology and Structural Geology

Tectonics

Sedimentary Basins, Paleoclimate and Paleontology

Geophysics

Financial Support
Financial support is available to the most highly qualified applicants. A completed application file serves as an application for Department financial support and the Department will contact the best applicants about opportunities for funding. You will be considered for either a Teaching Assistantship, Research or Project Assistantship (2009-10 academic rate: $16,506) or a University Fellowship (2009-10 annual rate: $22,224). All appointments include excellent health care benefits and remission of non-resident and resident tuition. All students are required to pay segregated fees - $445/semester for 2009-10. Please see: http://www.grad.wisc.edu/education/funding/assistantships.html.

We also want to draw your attention to other benefits that are made available through generous gift funds to any graduate student who is in good standing within the Department. First, the Department will support your travel to scientific meetings; in a typical year a student may receive up to $600 to this end. Second, as a back-up to your own applications to organizations such as the Geological Society of America, Sigma Xi, and AAPG, the Department provides support for field and laboratory components of your research; in a typical year students are eligible to receive on average $2,400 in research support.

Considering the annual stipend, meeting travel, and research support together, our guarantee is equivalent to approximately $19,500 per year. These components of support are outlined on our web pages at: http://www.geology.wisc.edu/prospective_stu/grad_funding.html.

International Applicants
International applicants whose native language is not English are not eligible for teaching assistantships during their first year of graduate work. Exceptions to this eligibility criterion for non-native speakers can be made if the student's undergraduate degree was obtained from an English-speaking university, if the student obtained an M.S. from an English-speaking university, or if the student completed other undergraduate or graduate study for a period of at least one year in a country where the native language and the language of the instruction at the university is English. The SPEAK Test is required if you plan to be a teaching assistant. International students are eligible for research assistantships but these are available only through individual professors in their area of specialty, and each student must contact the professors on an individual basis. More information on financial help for international applicants is available here: http://info.gradsch.wisc.edu/admin/admissions/financialinfo.html

Application Deadline
The application deadline is January 4, 2010 for the fall of 2010 for those interested in Department support. Note that this deadline applies both to the university application and the items to be submitted to the department listed below. Admission for other sessions are on an individual basis and must be approved through an individual faculty member.

How to Apply
Applicants should first check the Graduate School admissions requirements at http://info.gradsch.wisc.edu/admin/admissions/requirements.html

1. Complete Graduate School Application form: https://www.gradsch.wisc.edu/eapp/eapp.pl

   Application fee should be paid directly to the Graduate School as instructed at: http://info.gradsch.wisc.edu/admin/admissions/gschecklist.html

   Supplement to Application form (please indicate your top 3 areas of Supplement to Application form (please indicate your top 3 areas of interest): must be submitted online at: https://www.gradsch.wisc.edu/eapp/secapp.pl):
   

   Letters of Recommendation: Please follow instructions at: http://info.gradsch.wisc.edu/admin/admissions/elorinstructions.html Three letters of recommendation are required.

   GRE Scores: The Department requires the General Test of the GRE. GRE registration information may be obtained at http://www.gre.org. To insure timely receipt of GRE scores, please use Institution Code 1846 when completing the "Score Report Recipients" section of the GRE Registration form.

   TOEFL Scores (for international students). TOEFL registration information may be obtained at http://www.toefl.org

2. Transcripts - Two official copies of all transcripts must be sent to:
   Graduate Admissions
   Geoscience Department
   University of Wisconsin-Madison
   Weeks Hall-1215 West Dayton Street
   Madison, WI 53706

Department Contact Information
Department of Geoscience
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1215 West Dayton Street
Madison WI 53706
Tel: (608) 262-8960
Fax: (608) 262-0693
Email: gradapps@geology.wisc.edu

 

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