Graduate Programs

The Huffington Department of Earth Sciences at SMU offers the following graduate degree programs: Applied Geophysics, M.S., Geology, M.S., Geophysics, M.S., Geology, Ph.D. and Geophysics, Ph.D.

We are expecting new programs in MS and PhD Earth Sciences effective Fall 2026. Students in the current programs will be given the option to stay in the MS/PhD Geology and Geophysics programs or move to the newly named programs. Applicants for Fall 2026 should apply under the current MS Geology, MS Geophysics, PhD Geology and PhD Geophysics programs.

The department can award competitive research and teaching assistantships to students admitted to the department for graduate study. We invite applications from students with baccalaureate degrees in geology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, or engineering. The department offers doctoral and masters degrees with emphases in a diverse range of programs that are international in scope including:

Geochemistry: kinetics of fluid-rock interactions; surface chemistry of minerals; solubilities of hydrothermal minerals; history of atmospheric carbon dioxide; stable isotope geochemistry/geology (igneous & metamorphic petrology, fluvial processes, paleoclimates, soils and weathering processes, urban atmospheric chemistry, carbon cycle).

Geology: crustal evolution; structure/tectonics; paleogeography; computed tomography of vertebrate fossils; Cretaceous geology of the eastern Mediterranean; isotope paleontology; paleoecology.

Geophysics: core-mantle seismic properties; theoretical seismology; geothermal energy; seismic sources; thermal constraints on earthquakes; regional seismic wave propagation and crust-upper mantle structure; thermal constraints on plate tectonics/sedimentary basins; low frequency acoustic wave propagation; seismicity of mines.

The department possesses excellent laboratory, seismic array, and computational facilities with outstanding technical support.