Getting out into the field is an important part of a geologist’s education, but often is difficult for metropolitan university earth science students to accomplish. So professors at UALR’s Department of Earth Science have developed a unique spring and summer course series that allows UALR students to gain field experience without interrupting family and job obligations.

Professors Beth McMillan, Jamey Jones , Jeff Connelly, and Jay Sims of UALR’s Department of Earth Science have developed a spring semester Field Geology I class followed by a three-week summer field research class to substitute for the traditional six-week field camp.

“Field camp is an important and unique experience in the geology curriculum that provides immersive, hands-on, experiential learning in geologically significant settings. Balancing the educational value of the six-week field camp against the resources it takes to run and/or attend has led us to develop an innovative alternative.”

UALR’s alternative includes two separate three-credit courses, Field Geology I and Field Geology II. Field Geology I, a sophomore-level spring semester course, serves as a gateway to the major. Students meet twice weekly to complete a series of related exercises focused on one field area in central Arkansas.

The goal of the course is to introduce basic field and office skills that will continue to be used in upper-level geology courses. Students are evaluated on a research paper, stratigraphic column, geologic map, cross-section, and poster presentation. Field Geology II is a senior-level, three-week camp taught during the summer in Colorado.

“This summer, students completed an introductory project measuring sand dune morphology, or shape, at Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colo. They also completed three progressively more advanced projects mapping folded and faulted rocks in the Needle Mountains near Durango, Colo.” McMillan said.

“The goal of each project is to build or reinforce the fundamental skills of field observation and interpretation through a combination of geological mapping, structural analysis, and written synthesis of findings.”

For more information about the Earth Science program at UALR or the field study classes, contact McMillan at  memcmillan@ualr.edu.