Photograph of Geosciences students standing on a rocky overlook in the Rocky Mountains. Behind them you can see the Sangre de Cristo mountains.

Department of Geosciences

Welcome!

Life as a Geoscience or Environmental Science major is one of the most challenging, fun, and rewarding on the MTSU campus. Currently, the faculty educates approximately 150 undergraduate majors, making the MTSU Department of Geosciences one of the largest undergraduate programs in the southeastern United States. However, with a student-faculty ratio of approximately 15 to 1 and a commitment to diversity and equality, we are able to provide each student with the personal attention necessary to ensure academic success. In addition to receiving high-quality technology-based classroom and laboratory instruction, students participate in departmental field trips, attend regional and national conferences, and engage in faculty-supervised research. Importantly, the faculty considers our students’ education to be a year-long endeavor, and therefore encourages majors to participate in summer geoscience field courses, research programs, and pre-professional internships. To read more about what we’ve been up to, check out our latest newsletter:

Photograph of students on field course standing in the bucket of 'Big Brutus' a decommissioned coal tailing shovel. Big Brutus is so large that eight students can easily stand in the bucket with room for many more.

Our Programs

We have a lot of options to help you meet your post-university goals! To learn more about our degrees, check out the following links:

Dr. Melissa Lobegeier and a student standing hip-deep in waders in a wetland while they collect water samples.

How do you get started?

The first step to becoming a part of the Department of Geosciences is to take one of our General Education courses, Introduction to Earth Science and Laboratory (GEOL 1030/1031), Physical Geology and Lab (GEOL 1040/1041), or Physical Geography (PGEO 1030). These courses provide an overview of the Geosciences, and each counts as four credit hours toward the required MTSU General Education curriculum category of Natural Science. We also encourage you to reach out and visit us to discuss if Geosciences is the right major for you!

The Department of Geosciences office is located on the second floor of Davis Science Building (DSB 241). If you are interested in either a major or minor in Geosciences, please contact our department Executive Assistant, Ms. Karen Wolfe (DSB 241, 615-898-2726, karen.wolfe@mtsu.edu), who will put you in touch with a Geosciences advisor.

Three students standing shoulder to shoulder with the center student wrapping their arms around the other two students. They are in the Rocky Mountains and in the background evergreen trees are visible, as well as bare rocks above the treeline and snow on the ground.

Follow Us!

Faculty Spotlight

Photograph of Alan Brown in the field, posing on one knee next to a dinosaur bone that is being uncovered.
Click the image above to see a larger version.

Alan Brown:

"I did not start out in college thinking I would be a Geology major. In fact, I had little idea what a Geologist even was. It was my first class in Geology that ignited my love of Geology and Paleontology. I had a strong interest in Paleontology while in school but decided to focus instead on environmental geology because the job market was much better. After getting my Master’s degree I worked as an environmental consultant for 7 years.

Then, in 2005, I was hired as an instructor at Middle Tennessee State University. Once I started at MTSU my interest in Paleontology was rekindled. In the summer of 2009, I was invited to go on a dinosaur dig in Montana and I have returned to Montana to dig up dinosaurs every summer since. I volunteered at two museums in the area but they both closed. I then got together with a small group, and we decided to start a new museum. This museum is Earth Experience the Middle Tennessee Museum of Natural History in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which opened in 2014. It is my passion and takes almost all my free time."

Photograph of the interior of the Earth Experience Middle Tennessee Museum of Natural History in Murfreesboro
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Contact Us

Mail address:
MTSU - Dept. of Geosciences
MTSU PO Box 9
Davis Science Building 241
Murfreesboro, TN 37132

Dr. Todd Moore, Department Chair
615-898-2379

Karen Wolfe, Executive Aide
615-898-2726