Our faculty members apply interdisciplinary approaches to four main themes: climate change, environmental research, evolution and ecology, and volcanology. Graduate studies are aimed at preparing students for careers in the private sector, government research organizations and in academia. Students receive specialized training in their selected focus areas but also are exposed to the full breadth of the department's expertise in order to provide balance and career flexibility.

When Sir Charles Lyell visited the falls and gorge of Niagara in 1841, he marveled that they were essential for understanding earth history, and calculated the first numerical constraint on the Earth?s age using the recession rate of the falls. Today, the UB Department of Geology carries on Lyell?s tradition at the source of American geology with cutting-edge research on volcanoes and geologic hazards, climate change and polar research, environmental science, and evolutionary ecology.

The University at Buffalo is a public research institution, with bachelor?s, master?s and doctoral degrees in geology. Our department provides a small college atmosphere in the midst of a large university.? Undergraduate class sizes are typically 15-25 students, and almost all taught by dedicated, full-time faculty.