Welcome!

Life as a Geoscience or Environmental Science major is one of the most challenging, fun, and rewarding on the MTSU campus. Currently, the faculty educates approximately 150 undergraduate majors, making the MTSU Department of Geosciences one of the largest undergraduate programs in the southeastern United States. However, with a student-faculty ratio of approximately 15 to 1 and a commitment to diversity and equality, we are able to provide each student with the personal attention necessary to ensure academic success. In addition to receiving high-quality technology-based classroom and laboratory instruction, students participate in departmental field trips, attend regional and national conferences, and engage in faculty-supervised research. Importantly, the faculty considers our students' education to be a year-long endeavor, and therefore encourages majors to participate in summer geoscience field courses, research programs, and pre-professional internships.

Our Programs

We have a lot of options to help you meet your post-university goals! To learn more about our degrees, check out the following links:

How do you get started?

The first step to becoming a part of the Department of Geosciences is to take one of our General Education courses, Introduction to Earth Science and Laboratory (GEOL 1030/1031), Physical Geology and Lab (GEOL 1040/1041), or Physical Geography (PGEO 1030). These courses provide an overview of the Geosciences, and each counts as four credit hours toward the required MTSU General Education curriculum category of Natural Science. We also encourage you to reach out and visit us to discuss if Geosciences is the right major for you!

The Department of Geosciences office is located on the second floor of Davis Science Building (DSB 241). If you are interested in either a major or minor in Geosciences, please contact our department Executive Aide, Ms. Karen Wolfe (DSB 241, 615-898-2726, karen.wolfe@mtsu.edu), who will put you in touch with a Geosciences advisor.

Mail address:

MTSU - Dept. of Geosciences
MTSU PO Box 9
Davis Science Building 241
Murfreesboro TN 37132

Dr. Melissa Lobegeier, Interim Department Chair
615-898-2379

Karen Wolfe, Department Secretary
615-898-2726

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Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Abolins in Snail Shell Cave with student.

Click the image above to see a larger version.

Dr. Mark Abolins teaches a course about earthquakes and folded and fractured rocks (Geol 4080/5080 Structural Geology), a Field Methods in Geology course (Geol 3050), and an on-line course about caves (Geol 3040 Geoscience of Caves).  His research foci include (a) the development of caves within folded and fractured rocks, (b) the geology of continental interiors, and (c) the accuracy of geologic maps.  In the computer sphere, he uses geographic information system (GIS) software and Midland Valley MOVE structural geology software in teaching and research.  He has incorporated state-of-the-art local and global LiDAR (light detection and ranging) elevation datasets into his work.