Department of Geological Sciences College of the Sciences Central Washington University

Department of Geological Sciences at Central Washington University

Central Washington University (CWU) Department of Geological Sciences produces professional geoscientists who are able to plan, evaluate, and operate original scientific research.

CWU lies on the Columbia River Basalt plateau, in Ellensburg, Washington, near the crystalline core and volcanoes of the Cascade Mountains. CWU is near the active volcanism of the Cascadia subduction zone and the highly deformed rocks of northern Washington and southern British Columbia. Being at the center of the Cascadia zone, CWU is the natural location for the Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array (PANGA), a data analysis center for over 1400 world-wide GPS-precision seismic stations.

Faculty members and graduate students have worked on projects around the globe including in Antarctica, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Tibet, and the Western United States.

MS in Geological Sciences at CWU

The Department of Geological Sciences offers a Master of Science (MS) in Geological Sciences. Graduate students can specialize in field-based studies in regional tectonics, continental dynamics, GPS geodesy, seismology, climate change, environmental geochemistry, geomorphology, and petrology.

The MS program requires a minimum of 60 quarter hours of credit. Fifty-four credits are earned from coursework and research and six credits are allowed for thesis. Normal completion of the program requires two academic years and an intervening summer of field study.

Research at CWU

Faculty members and students at CWU research diverse areas of geological exploration, including volcanology, tectonics, structural and surficial geology, geochemistry, hydrology, climate change, mantle dynamics and modeling, the geochemistry of magma bodies, weathering, and earthquakes.

Outstanding Faculty

Many outstanding and peer-recognized scientists are in the faculty at CWU. Professor Carey Gazis is one of several geochemists involved in a multidisciplinary study of the Nanga Parbat-Haramosh Massif of the northwestern Himalayas, Pakistan. Professor Gazis is also one of the leaders of an outreach project, funded by the National Science foundation, called Yakima WATERS. This project is an attempt project to bring environmental science into public school classrooms.

Professor Jeff Lee studies structural geology and tectonic processes. A Fellow of the Geological Society of America, Professor Lee's work on fault systems and the tectonic events causing them carries him to projects ranging from Cascadia to the Himalaya Mountains of Tibet and Nepal.

Professor Timothy Melbourne's research is focused on modeling seismic waveform and GPS deformation data. He heads the Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array, which uses continuous GPS to monitor crustal deformation throughout the Cascadia subduction zone, and in particular the slow earthquakes which frequently occur along the Cascadia plate interface fault. He teaches seismology, geophysics, and introductory geology.

PANGA and Other State-of-the-Art Facilities

The Geology Department at CWU serves as the data analysis center for PANGA at its Geodesy Laboratory. PANGA consists of over 1400 GPS stations including over 350 continuously operating, high-precision GPS receivers located throughout the Pacific Northwest. PANGA at CWU also serves as a data analysis center for the Earthscope Plate-Boundary Observatory project of the NSF. Research funding comes from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the NSF, the US Geological Survey, and the State of Washington.

Students also have access to state-of-the-art equipment in the department laboratories, which includes a Phillips PW 3400 Powder X-Ray Diffractometer, a stable isotope lab, a ThermoElemental series mass spectrometer, and a positive-pressure clean lab for the processing of samples.

Small Town Atmosphere in an Arts Community

CWU's main 380 acre campus lies in the heart of the Kittitas Valley in central Washington State in the small town of Ellensburg (population 17,226). The town and campus offer small town life in a thriving arts community with all the intellectual amenities of a great university.

A Top-Ranked University with Vibrant Student Life

"US News and World Report" consistently ranks CWU among the top 20 public universities in the western United States. CWU was founded in 1891 as Washington State Normal School. Since that time its mission has expanded to include such wide-ranging fields as geophysics and animal communication -- the school was host to "Washoe," the first chimpanzee to learn sign language, from 1980 until her death in 2007.

CWU is home to a $58 million Student Union and Recreation Center with a full-sized rock wall, fully equipped gymnasium, and an outdoor recreation office; which rents everything from rafts to snowshoes and ice axes.

• Degrees Offered
• Major Degree Levels Offered
• Master of Science (MS)

• Degrees Awarded
• Master's Degrees 5
• Doctoral Degrees Not reported
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported
• * Shows the number of degrees awarded for the last academic year that data was reported.

• Earning Your Degree
• Part-time study available? Yes
• Evening/weekend programs available? No
• Distance learning programs available? No
• Terminal master's degree available? Not reported

• Degree Requirements
• Master's Degrees Required
• Doctoral Degrees Not reported
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported

• Acceptance Rate
• Applied33
• Accepted19
• Acceptance Rate57%
• Enrolled19
• Applying
• Application Fee - Domestic $50
• Application Fee - International $50
• Electronic applications accepted? Yes
• Applications processed on a rolling basis? Yes
• Application Deadlines
• Type Domestic International Priority Date
• Fall deadline February 1st Not Reported Yes
• Winter deadline October 1st Not Reported Not Reported
• Spring deadline January 1st Not Reported Not Reported
• Entrance Requirements
• Master's DegreesGRE General Test, minimum GPA of 3.0
• Doctoral's DegreesNot Reported
• First-Professional's DegreesNot Reported
• Other Advanced DegreesNot Reported
• International DegreesTOEFL (minimum score 550 paper-based; 79 iBT) or IELTS

• Tuition & Fees
• In-state tuition *$8,517
• Out-of-state tuition *$18,972
• International student tuitionNot Reported
• * Tuition for full-time graduate student per academic year
• Fees
• Per-academic year fees$978.00
• Per-term feesNot Reported
• One-time feeNot Reported
• * Fees for full-time graduate students
• Financial Support
• Financial award applicants must submitFAFSA
• Application deadlines for financial awardsMarch 1
• Types of financial support availableResearch Assitantships, Teaching Assistantships, Career or Field-Related Internships, Federal Work-Study, Health Care Benefits, Graduate Assistantships

• Gender
• Total Graduate Students22
• Female Percentage59%
• Male Percentage41%
• Participation
• Total Graduate Students22
• Part-time Percentage14%
• Full-time Percentage86%
• Ethnicity
• Hispanic / Latino0%
• Black / African American5%
• White / Caucasian82%
• American Indian / Alaskan Native0%
• Asian5%
• Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander0%
• Two or more races0%
• Unknown8%

• Faculty Breakout
• Total Faculty12
• Full-time Percentage100%
• Part-time Percentage0%
• Female Percentage67%
• Male Percentage33%