Master of Science in Earth and Planetary Sciences

The Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) Graduate Program prepares students to be valued team members in their chosen careers and in their communities. Our program brings together formal education to learn advanced theoretical and practical knowledge, mentorship in research-driven scholarly inquiry to develop exceptional problem-solving, critical-thinking, communication skills, and service to society through generation of knowledge, teaching and community engagement. We provide a learning environment that respects the individual goals of our students by encouraging self-directed research projects, supporting professional development for diverse career paths, promoting community-based learning, and encouraging a practice of life-long learning and knowledge-sharing. To ensure equal access to and benefit from this learning environment, we endeavor to offer strong financial support for all of our graduate students.

Earth and planetary sciences provides a dynamic interdisciplinary environment for studies of the Earth and planets, as well as the history of life on Earth, and applied and environmental geosciences. Students gain advanced knowledge of plate tectonics, structural geology, geophysics, geochemistry, petrology, rheology, stratigraphy, and geomorphology, in relation to evolution of the earth and planets, paleoecology, phylogeny reconstruction, and functional morphology in relation to biological evolution and paleoenvironments, environmental geology, geomorphology, ocean chemistry, paleoclimatology, and sedimentology in relation to modern/paleo climate change. Students graduate with the qualitative and quantitative skills necessary for professional research and teaching of earth structure and evolution, resource geology, paleobiology, paleoenvironments, modern/paleo climate change. The campus is well situated to provide access to field areas exhibiting diverse geologic and tectonic phenomena, to the Bodega Marine Laboratory, and to other UC research stations.

Successful applicants must hold a bachelor's degree or the equivalent that is comparable to a degree from the University of California both in distribution of academic subject matter and in scholarship achievement. Regional accreditation for U.S. institutions and authorization by a national higher education authority for international institutions
A minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) from the institution where you have earned or will earn your bachelor's degree.
Statement of Purpose
Personal History Statement
CV/resume
Three letters of recommendation (to be submitted electronically by the recommenders, instructions are in the online application)
TOEFL or IELTS scores (International applicants)
Unofficial transcripts from previous institutions attended
TOEFL iBT - Minimum Score: 80
IELTS - Minimum Score 7.0 on a 9-point scale