Department of Earth & Environmental Studies

The Department of Earth & Environmental Studies provides a wide range of courses and extra-mural activities. Graduates find employment in federal government agencies, county and local planning agencies, schools and colleges, and in environmental consulting firms, with many pursuing graduate studies.

The Department houses a nationally and internationally recognized and research active faculty, working in modern research and teaching laboratories. Faculty perform research in locations as far as afield as Antarctica, Latin America, China, and New Mexico, as well as right here in New Jersey. The department is staffed by 14-full time and 4 adjunct faculty, a secretary, a full-time laboratory specialist, and a number of graduate teaching assistants. In recent years the department has grown substantially in faculty numbers, in the range of courses offered and in supporting facilities. Faculty have backgrounds and expertise in Geography, Geology, Hydrology, Environmental Science, Geographic Information Systems, and Remote Sensing: this allows our majors to learn subjects from many perspectives. The Geography and Geoscience programs at Montclair State University are amongst the largest in the State of New Jersey.

The Department offers graduate studies leading to Masters and Doctoral degrees. The Doctor of Environmental Management program began in Fall 2004 and now has about 25 students. The program includes broad, interdisciplinary classes, available through both the College of Science and Mathematics and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Our students are drawn from New Jersey, the United States, and many countries around the world.

The department maintains physical laboratories in Petrology, Environmental and Geochemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry, Geohydrology, Quaternary Soils and Sediments, and computer laboratories for Environmental Modeling, Geographic Information Systems, and Remote Sensing. Laboratories feature inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES), GC/mass spectrometer, x-ray diffractometer, gamma ray detector, kappabridge, scanning electron microscopes, research level optical and cathodoluminescent microscopes, petrology and soil preparation facilities. Computer laboratories with PC, Mac and Sun Workstations feature ArcGIS, ERDAS Imagine, ArcView, and GMS, as well as other specialized software.

Faculty and students also make use of an outdoor "living laboratory": the University's 250-acre School of Conservation field campus in rural northwest New Jersey. The mission of the Montclair State University's School of Conservation is to convey knowledge of how Earth systems operate and how human actions affect these systems.

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