As of the Fall 2009 semester, geoscience will officially be offered as its own Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science major at UConn, as opposed to a degree that students could only attain through the Individualized Major (IMJR) Program.
According to an August 2004 letter addressed to UConn geology and geophysics Alumni from Ray Joesten, a professor of geology and chemistry, the Department of Geology and Geophysics was disbanded following a vote by the UConn Board of Trustees.
Students who had been pursuing a geology and geophysics degree completed the necessary courses over the subsequent years, but the degree was not offered for new students.
Following this closure, the Center for Integrative Geosciences, consisting of professors from many disciplines all of who share a common interest in geological sciences, formed in 2005.
In an e-mail, Abi Hastillo, Center for Integrative Geosciences program assistant, mentioned that from 2005 through the Spring 2009 semester, students interested in pursuing a degree in geology and geophysics had to do so through the IMJR program with assistance from the Center for Integrative Geosciences.
"Now that we have a geoscience major, this in essence updates and replaces the old geology and geophysics major that existed prior to 2004," Hastillo said.
The reconfiguring of the previous geology and geophysics major and instatement of geoscience as an official major is a result of a number of students who continued to pursue geoscience despite the extra work necessary to organize their own major.
"The geoscience major [curriculum] is largely built from introductory or basic geology and physics curriculum," Joesten said, in a statement unrelated to his 2004 letter.
However, according to an informational pamphlet entitled, "Geosciences at UConn," which contained information about the geosciences program, topics and curriculum may include courses associated with many more disciplines in order to provide students with a thorough, integrative education.
"Geoscience is about learning how our planet works today, how it worked in the past and how it might evolve in the future," said Hastillo. This requires an expansive curriculum that educates students in a mixture of fields, Hastillo continued.
Joesten believes that the declaration of geoscience as its own major should encourage more students interested in pursuing it to apply to UConn in the future. But this move raises the possibility of larger class sizes.
Hastillo did not express great concern about any increased financial strain when the major begins to operate through the Center directly, as opposed to being run through the IMJR program. She was only concerned about professors taking on the responsibility of teaching geoscience intro courses in addition to their already busy schedules.
"We have added new courses to be a part of the major, all staffed by our existing faculty," Hastillo said in an e-mail. "So it does make it a little harder to staff our larger intro courses."
Joesten was not worried about taking on the task of teaching intro courses - most of which, he said, are courses that the professors are already responsible for teaching.
"We look forward to increased interest in our major in the upcoming years, especially given the nature of important current topics such as climate change, global warming, natural disasters and more," said Hastillo. "And it really is a fascinating subject."
Hastillo encourages students and others interested in the new geoscience major, careers, or more information about geosciences in general to stop by the Center for Integrative Geosciences office in Beach Hall 207, or visit their Web site.
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