Graduate studies include theoretical, experimental, and applied research in:
- earthquake hazards and national-security seismology,
- geophysical exploration and geotechnical assessments,
- hazards and environmental assessments,
- geodesy,
- planetary sciences, and
- remote sensing.
Graduate students conduct research within the Department and/or in association with the:
- Nevada Seismological Laboratory and ALERT wildfire,
- Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy,
- Nevada Geodetic Laboratory,
- Center for Neotectonic Studies,
- Ralph J. Roberts Center for Research in Economic Geology,
- Desert Research Institute,
- Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology,
- Nevada National Security Site,
- National Laboratories, and
- United States Geological Survey.
Both regional and international research programs are available. Field-related studies and research are among the strengths of our programs.
The University of Nevada, Reno is located near the boundary between the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada physiographic provinces, and is near many world-class localities for field studies, including active volcanoes, earthquake faults, and geothermal-energy production. Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, Great Basin, and Lassen Volcanic National Parks are all within easy reach of Reno. We have state-of-the-art field instrumentation for geologic, temperature, seismic, gravity, magnetic, electrical, geodetic, and rock properties studies. We also have one of the world's largest regional seismic networks and host the world's largest GPS analysis center.