Geology is the study of the solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change. The Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) in Geology at UGA is designed for students who desire a more flexible program of study than is provided by the B.S. degree. It may be used by those seeking a more liberal education or to supplement other fields. The A.B. is not intended to prepare students for professional or graduate work.
The curriculum includes extensive lab work and hands-on experience. Field exercises are standard in most core classes and form an indispensable link between lectures and real world observations and analyses. Students may examine coastal processes and organisms on Georgia's barrier islands, the outstanding mineral assemblages at Grave's Mountain in the Inner Piedmont, major fault systems in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the rich fossil assemblages and ancient depositional environments preserved in rocks of the Valley and Ridge and Cumberland Plateau.
Summer field courses include the department's six-week summer field school based in Canon City, Colorado (a requirement of the A.B. degree). Projects include field mapping in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, pollution monitoring of streams in the Colorado Plateau, and field trips to Utah and New Mexico. Students gain valuable experience with traditional and computer-based mapping tools, with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and geochemical analyses.
Study Abroad Options: Costa Rica spring program, Summer field experience in Argentina, Honors Interdisciplinary Field Program, Fall semester Antarctica program