Master of Science in Environmental Geosciences

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences offers graduate study leading to the Master of Science degree in Environmental Geosciences, focusing on near surface and environmental geology, seismic hazards and Bay Area tectonics, and water and soil characterization and remediation.

This program is designed to prepare students for:

employment as geologists and environmental scientists in government (city, county, regional, state, and federal) and private consulting firms (environmental, engineering, and geotechnical firms, mining and oil companies, etc.),
professional licensing requirements,
doctoral study in environmental science, geology, geochemistry, and geophysics, and
teaching at the Community College level
The department also provides continuing education for professional geologists, engineers, planners, etc.

Our M.S. program is unique in the bay area in that many courses are offered in the evenings, and augmented by field experiences. Graduate seminars address diverse subjects, for example, geochemical evolution of groundwater, natural tracers of geologic processes, tectonic geomorphology, earthquake hazards, bay area tectonics, near-surface geophysics, and modern depositional environments. We maintain strong connections with East Bay Regional Parks, the California Environmental Protection Agency, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, NASA Ames, the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

The M.S. degree program is open to any student in possession of a baccalaureate degree in Geology, Environmental Science, or a closely related field, with coursework substantially equivalent to the core requirements for the B.S. degree in Geology or Environmental Science at CSU East Bay. Students who do not meet those requirements will be considered on an individual basis and accepted only after approval by a majority of regular faculty members.

Students may be admitted with Conditionally Classified Graduate until the qualifications listed under Classified Graduate status below are satisfied.

Applicants must have a GPA of at least 2.75 in all undergraduate work. Any undergraduate core course with a D grade will have to be repeated. Students transferring from another graduate program must have a GPA of at least 3.0 in all graduate geology or environmental science courses. (No more than 12 units may be transferred.)

Applications must be accompanied by two letters of recommendation from faculty members or work supervisors.

English language demonstration is required for all applicants processed in International Admissions. We accept the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) iBT version or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic version of the exams.
TOEFL iBT Total Score - 80
IELTS Academic Overall Score - 6.5