The Department of Geology, in collaboration with the KU Edwards Campus, offers a nearly all online graduate certificate in environmental geology. The certificate consists of 13 credit hours and coursework is completed in online or online-hybrid mode, with the exception of the required 1-credit-hour field techniques workshop course, which is offered in-person. The field course typically meets on a Saturday on the Edwards or Lawrence Campus and is supplemented with online material.
The certificate courses are a subset of the graduate science courses taught in the Professional Science Masters in Environmental Geology (PSM-EG) degree program. The graduate certificate can be completed as a stand-alone graduate certificate; as a graduate certificate paired with an appropriate graduate degree that the student is simultaneously enrolled in; or as a precursor to starting the full PSM-EG program.
Contact:
Admission to Graduate Studies
An applicant seeking to pursue graduate study in the College may be admitted as either a degree-seeking or non-degree seeking student. Policies and procedures of Graduate Studies govern the process of Graduate admission. These may be found in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog.
Please consult the Departments & Programs section of the online catalog for information regarding program-specific admissions criteria and requirements. Special admissions requirements pertain to Interdisciplinary Studies degrees, which may be found in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog.
Graduate Certificate in Environmental Geology – Admissions Requirements:
Individuals interested in applying to the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Geology should have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in geology or closely related field (natural, physical, or applied sciences, engineering) OR coursework of at least 20 credit hours in the natural and applied sciences (biology, chemistry, geology, physical geography, environmental sciences, or engineering). For those without the necessary background and courses in undergraduate science and mathematics, some additional coursework may need to be completed prior to the start of the graduate certificate program. Prospective applicants to the program are encouraged to contact the program to discuss past coursework.
Individuals who are not already enrolled as KU graduate students must complete an application to the Graduate School for admission into the certificate program and submit an application fee along with the following materials:
- Statement of interest: This 1-2 page narrative should succinctly summarize the applicant’s education, employment history, long-term career goals, and how this graduate certificate will help achieve these goals.
- Official undergraduate and any post-graduate transcripts.
- A letter of recommendation from persons qualified to offer judgment on the applicant’s ability to undertake graduate-level work; (former professor of instructor, workplace supervisor).
Current KU graduate students wishing to enroll in the Graduate Certificate in Environmental Geology program will apply through the Graduate School. A student must be in good standing with their graduate degree program in order to participate in the certificate program. A graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher is required for admission. Awarding of certificates will be handled consistent with guidelines and timing of degree awards of the Graduate School. Completion of the certificate will appear on the graduate transcript. KU graduate students should submit the following materials:
- A Statement of Interest in the environmental geology certificate program and its relationship to the applicant’s current graduate course of study.
- An unofficial copy of the applicant’s KU transcript.
- A letter of endorsement/support from the applicant’s graduate degree program (thesis/dissertation advisor or graduate director)
For more information on admission to a graduate certificate program at KU, see the policy on Admission to Graduate Study. Applications may be submitted at https://gradapply.ku.edu/apply.
This program may be completed entirely online, with the exception of the field workshop requirement. The field courses typically meet at the Edwards or Lawrence campus on a single Saturday, and are supplemented with online materials over the course of 8 weeks. Students may, alternatively, attend a week-long summer field course which is held in Colorado, and earn three workshop credit hours to fulfill the program's workshop requirements.
Students must complete 5 courses for a total of 13 graduate credit hours:
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| EVRN 721 | Environmental Regulation and Policy | 3 |
| GEOL 751 | Physical Hydrogeology (Students with no previous hydrology courses must take GEOL 552, Introduction to Hydrogeology prior to taking this course; GEOL 552 will not count toward graduate elective credits for the environmental geology degree or certificate. ) | 3 |
| GEOL 753 | Chemical and Microbial Hydrogeology | 3 |
| GEOL 755 | Site Assessment | 3 |
| |
| Geological Log Analysis | |
| Field Methods in Hydrology | |
| Environmental Site Operations, Management, and Safety: HAZWOPER Health and Safety Standards | |
| Advanced Topics in Geology: _____ (Direct-push Methods for Site Characterization) | |
| Field and Laboratory Methods: Physical Hydrogeology | |
| Field and Laboratory Methods: Chemical Hydrogeology | |
| Field and Laboratory Methods: Environmental Geophysics | |
| Field and Laboratory Methods Special Topics: _____ (Environmental Geophysics) | |
