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Download the Guidelines for Advanced Degrees in the Department of Earth Science [pdf]
 

Rice is a private university with a substantial endowment. The University's relatively small size promotes interdisciplinary study and research. The Department of Earth Science has a large number of endowed fellowships for graduate students. Faculty research programs are funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), The Texas Advanced Technology Program, and the petroleum industry.

Thesis research and publication are the core of the M.S. and Ph.D. graduate degree programs.  These programs are customized to individual students’ needs, interests, strengths, and academic backgrounds.  A cross-disciplinary degree in computational science and engineering is available for students who wish to emphasize computational research in the earth sciences. The Department plays a key role in two Professional Master of Science programs: Subsurface Geoscience for Energy Exploration and Production and Environmental Decision Making and Analysis.The Department plays a key role in two Professional Master of Science programs: Subsurface Geoscience for Energy Exploration and Production and Environmental Decision Making and Analysis. 

We have strong ties to the oil and gas exploration and exploration-technology industry, and offer a Professional M.S. in Subsurface Geoscience that is geared toward the petroleum industry. Each fall, about a dozen oil and gas companies recruit students in our department for summer internships and full-time employment. Roughly two-thirds of our graduate alumni are employed in the oil industry; the other third pursue academic and other careers.

The department hosts a weekly seminar series with nationally and internationally known scientists from academia, government, and industry.

GeoUnion, the Earth science student organization, hosts additional speakers and is involved with campus and national organizations (AAPG, AGU, GSA, SEG, SEPM), and conducts and annual field trip.

Earth science research at Rice includes multidisciplinary programs with the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, Computational and Applied Mathematics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Physics and Astronomy. The Center for Computational Geophysics provides high-performance computers and large bed plotting facilities for participating faculty and students in a number of Rice departments.

Within the department we have three principal focus areas: Earth Structure and Dynamics, Earth Systems Science, and Energy Resources. We also have a growing research program in planetary science.

Faculty: Dasgupta, Gordon, Lee, Lenardic, Levander, Morgan, Niu, Sawyer, and Zelt

The Rice ESD group is focused on understanding continental evolution and the connections between continental tectonics and mantle dynamics using seismology, structural geology, tectonics, paleomagnetism, geodesy, petrology, geochemistry, and geodynamic modeling.

Global scale studies are unraveling the interactions among tectonic plates and the manner by which broad zones of deformation can form at the Earth's surface. This research is changing long-held paradigms about the workings of plate tectonics as we see that distributed deformation is a widespread phenomena and not simply an exception to plate tectonic "rules." The future for this research is moving us toward a refined theory of global tectonics that can incorporate observations related to concentrated and distributed deformation within oceanic and continental regions. Related studies include investigations of motion between hotspots, of global and Pacific plate paleomagnetism, and of true polar wander.(Gordon, Lenardic)

Research at the regional scale includes large-scale lithospheric structure and tectonics to study diffuse deformation zones at continental margins and orogenic belts.  Marine-and land-based active-source seismology provides detailed images of crust and upper mantle architectures to study continental formation, evolution and breakup, and its relationship to earthquake and volcanic activity.  Geophysical investigations are often combined with structural geology and geochemical investigations to provide synoptic views of an evolving orogenic system.  Field-based research is complemented by numerical simulations of plate interactions and crustal deformation.  (ESD group)

tructural and deformational processes near the surface of the Earth are investigated through the combination of geologic mapping, geophysical data analysis, and numerical modeling.  Of particular interest are gravitationally-driven extensional and contractional deformation associated with plate boundary interactions, continental slopes, and volcano growth and degradation.  Fault processes and the mechanisms of destructive earthquakes are studied through field mapping, seismic imaging of active continental and marine fault zones, and by numerical simulations that reproduce fault mechanisms and deformation.  (Morgan, Sawyer).

Faculty: Anderson, Dickens, Droxler, Dugan,  Lee, Lüttge, Masiello, Sawyer

Past responses of the Earth system to climatic and environmental changes are faithfully recorded at millennial, century, decadal, annual, and seasonal time scales in marine, lake, and terrestrial sediments, soil deposits, corals, tree-rings, and ice cores. These geological records provide a unique framework to understand the Earth surface dynamics in terms of environmental and climatic changes and assess to what extent recent natural and anthropogenic perturbations will impact those natural variations.

Current research focuses on rates of mountain denudation in glaciated regions by examining sediment flux to a number of fjords that extend from southern Chile to the Antarctic Peninsula. A second research initiative focuses on the Holocene climate history of the Antarctic Peninsula region using expanded sedimentary sections from bays and fjords, including recently acquired drill core.  We are also examining the history of advance and retreat of tidewater glaciers in the region.  The results of these combined studies will provide a basis for understanding why more than 80% of the glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula region are currently in retreat. (Anderson)

We have studied carbonate sedimentation in provinces such as Panama, the Bahamas, the Nicaraguan Rise, the Maldives and the Queensland Plateau. Despite considerable geographic and methodological diversity, these studies deal with many of the same fundamental problems, such as the geological record of sea-level fluctuation, ocean circulation, productivity, and climate changes. (Droxler)

The geochemistry laboratory at Rice offers state of the art technology to explore a wide variety of geochemical questions.  Optical interferometry is used to study the dynamics of dissolution/precipitation processes in mineral surfaces.  This approach adds a new dimension to studying the key factors in mineral solution kinetic rate laws (e.g., the effect of saturation state, catalysis or inhibition, pH organic acids).  Our work focuses on silicate/carbonate fluid interaction and the influence of bacteria on these processes.  Ongoing research programs have implications for global geochemical cycles and climate change through the effect of greenhouse gas variations and, in particular, CO₂ sequestration.  Biogeochemical applications are also being developed. (Lüttge)

Study of the evolution of the oceans and climate over space and time is another department focus area, primarily through chemical and stratigraphic analyses of sediments and rocks.  This interdisciplinary research area crosses many fields of earth science.  Recent work has included studies of oceanic gas hydrates; sediment-hosted metal ores, economic deposits of metals that were originally deposited on the sea floor; mixed clastic/carbonate continental margins characterized by significant inputs of riverine material and production of shallow marine carbonate; and extreme climate events in the Paleogene and Cretaceous, very rapid perturbations in terrestrial and marine ecosystems that occurred in our past, some that appear to be our best analogs for future climate change. (Anderson, Dickens, Droxler, and Dugan)

The hydrodynamics of shallow continental margin crust (0-5 km) are evaluated through observation, theory, and experimentation. We study the interaction of subsurface flow, sediment deformation, and slope failure with seismic data, core/log data, and physical properties measurements. Laboratory experiments constrain physical behavior of sediments over a wide range of stresses and temperatures. Experimental sedimentation models are being designed to observe active fluid flow and deformation processes. These results are combined with numerical sedimentation-flow models to describe fluid flow dynamics, sediment deformation, and sediment failure at scales ranging from kilometers to hundreds of kilometers. (Dugan)

The modern carbon cycle is studied using a range of isotopic and geochemical techniques, including radiocarbon (¹⁴C) and ¹³C isotopic measurements and nuclear magnetic resonance. This research is motivated by the problems of understanding the fate of anthropogenic CO₂ in the oceans and atmosphere and the responses of the Earth system to climate change. The organic geochemistry of rivers and soils is a research focus, as these two carbon pools act as conduits between the atmosphere, biosphere, and the oceans. The organic geochemistry of ocean sediments is another focus, as sediments record a history of past carbon cycle processes. (Masiello)

Faculty: Dickens, Droxler, Dugan, Levander, Lüttge, Masiello, and Zelt

Faculty in the Department Earth Science conduct research in a range of environmental areas (e.g., carbon cycling, greenhouse gases, oceanography, coral reefs, geobiology, water and contaminant transport, fate and transport of nanomaterials).  Rice earth science research addresses both modern and paleoenvironmental questions through field programs and laboratory research at local-to-global scales.  Ongoing projects include the focus on paleoclimate and periods of dramatic climate change in earth's history (Dickens).  Droxler's carbonate research includes coral reef studies, and the Dugan has active research in groundwater processes.  Levander and Zelt use geophysical techniques to understand subsurface pollutant transport, and Lüttge's group develops the fundamental chemistry related to microbe-rock interactions. Masiello's carbon cycle research includes foci in land-use change, carbon sequestration, and basic controls of carbon fluxes within the earth system.  Many opportunities exist for cross-disciplinary collaborations with the Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Civil and Environmental Engineering programs.

Faculty: Anderson, Dickens, Droxler, Dugan, Levander, Lüttge, Masiello, Morgan, Sawyer, and Zelt

Research projects explore seismic stratigraphy and well log stratigraphy in diverse regions that include many of the world’s petroleum producing regions, from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Siberia.  Anderson’s research, supported by an industry consortium, involves refining sequence stratigraphic models for prediction of reservoir occurrence and character.  Dickens characterizes and models the composition and biogeochemical processes of shallow gas systems, including gas hydrates.  Zelt is applying seismic images to gas hydrate systems.  Several research groups are studying the structural and stratigraphic architectures of hydrocarbon reservoirs, as well as simulating their mechanisms of formation and deformation (Morgan, Sawyer, Droxler).  Dugan uses geophysical and geotechnical data to assess shallow hazards (water-flows and gas hydrates) and flow pathways in hydrocarbon systems.  Lüttge’s low-temperature geochemical investigations also have applications in the petroleum industry.

Faculty: Lenardic, Lüttge, Morgan, and Sawyer

NASA-Johnson Space Center and the Lunar and Planetary Institute are located approximately 30 miles south of the campus. Rice faculty and students regularly use the NASA facilities and interact with institute scientists. Several NASA scientists are adjunct professors and offer classes and seminars in planetary science.

Recent planetary research in the department has had a strong Mars focus. Sawyer and his group are exploring rifting processes on Mars. Morgan and her group are exploring volcanic and slope related processes on Mars. Lenardic and his group are exploring models for the formation of the Martian hemispherical dichotomy and constraining the effects of the dichotomy on the thermal and tectonic evolution of Mars.

Up-to-date, vertical scanning interferometry is the only non-invasive imaging technique that is capable of quantifying both surface topography and processes occurring at the solid (mineral, rock) surface. Lüttge applies this measurement method in astrobiological studies.

All incoming M.S. and Ph.D. students take a written preliminary exam covering general earth science knowledge, usually in their second semester. Before their thesis project is formally approved and before concentrating fully on their thesis research, Ph.D. students also defend two research proposals, usually in their second year. M.S. students defend a thesis proposal before concentrating on their thesis research. Although the final M.S. and Ph.D. research are defended in the traditional manner, the written document may represent a traditional thesis, or can be constructed from a series of articles submitted to peer-reviewed journals with the student as a first author.  Each year, all students make an oral presentation to the department or at a professional conference, and submit a progress report to the faculty highlighting their past year’s accomplishments in research, course work, and service.

For the M.S., Rice requires one semester of residency and 30 credit hours. For students working toward a Ph.D. from an approved master's degree, four semesters of residency and 60 credit hours are required.  Students working for a Ph.D. directly from their bachelor’s degrees are required to complete 90 credit hours.  At least 20 of the credit hours for the M.S. and 40 hours for the Ph.D. must be lectures or seminars; the remainder may be research.  (Rice does not encourage part-time graduate study.  Full-time students may accept employment outside the university only with prior approval of the department and the graduate office.)

Requirements for Professional M.S. programs are different. For information on the Professional M.S. Programs in Subsurface Geoscience for Energy Exploration and Production and Environmental Decision Making and Analysis, please visit www.profms.rice.edu/.

Most applicants who receive an admission offer are invited to visit the campus at departmental expense. This visit provides an opportunity to meet current graduate students from whom you can learn more about graduate life, meet the faculty to discuss research directions, and explore Houston. Feel free to contact the department with any questions you may have about the university. We encourage you to visit Rice for a firsthand look at the department and the beautiful tree-lined Rice campus near the heart of historic Houston. Houston offers a wide range of cultural, entertainment, and sports activities

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Department of Earth Science - MS 126
Rice University
P.O. Box 1892
Houston Texas 77251-1892

Phone: 713-348-4880
Fax: 713-348-5214

E-mail: geol@rice.edu

Web site: http://earthscience.rice.edu

Rice is a leading American research university – small, private, and highly selective – distinguished by a collaborative, interdisciplinary culture and a global perspective.  Only a few miles from downtown Houston, it occupies an architecturally distinctive, 285-acre campus shaded by nearly 4,000 trees.  State-of-the-art facilities and laboratories, internationally renowned centers and institutes, and one of the country’s largest endowments support an ideal learning and living environment.

The university attracts a diverse group of highly talented students and faculty with outstanding graduate and professional programs in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, architecture, music, and business.  With just 1,938 graduate students and 2,988 undergraduates, it offers an unusual opportunity to forge close relationships with the university’s faculty and researchers and the option to tailor graduate programs to specific interests.

Houston offers all of the expected educational, cultural and commercial advantages of a large urban center, and more.  It’s home of the Texas Medical Center, the largest concentration of medical schools, hospitals, and research facilities in the world, as well as several other universities.  Rice has cooperative programs with the University of Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas Health Science Center, and Texas Southern University.  Houston is one of the few U.S. cities with resident companies in all four major performing arts – drama, ballet, opera, and symphony.  It also boasts a museum district featuring exhibits of national and international prominence.

How to Apply -

Students who majored in any science or in mathematics are encouraged to apply.  The department requires that all applicants take the Graduate Record Examination.  Letters of recommendation, previous academic records, and the student’s interests and objectives are carefully considered in making admission decisions. Therefore, students are encouraged to prepare a thoughtful expression of their goals and prospective plans of study as part of the application form or in an attached letter.  Students may also write or call our faculty members to discuss their potential programs.

Applicants are required to submit the following:

1. Completed application form.
2. Transcripts of all previous college or university work.
3. GRE scores---verbal, quantitative, and analytical.
4. Foreign students whose language of instruction was not English must submit TOEFL scores.  Minimum scores of 600/250 are required.
5. Four letters of recommendation.
6. Application fee of $40 (checks written in U.S. currency only) or request for a waiver written by the financial aid officer at the student's previous institution.

All of the application materials listed in 1 through 6 must be received before an application is considered. Decisions for admission and fellowships begin in January for fall admission. For a prospective student to receive full consideration, it is important to ensure that everything is received by January 1 **. All materials should be mailed to:

Graduate Admission Coordinator
Department of Earth Science - MS 126
Rice University
P.O. Box 1892
Houston, Texas 77251-1892

Online applications are accepted (use graduate application link)  but all other application materials should be sent by mail.

** Late applications are still accepted - if you receive the message, 'No Application Terms Currently Available', please designate the following semester in your application to ensure that you are entered into the system.

Financial Assistance

Most students who are admitted receive a tuition waiver and university fellowship, a research assistantship or other fellowship.  Requests for tuition aid and for fellowship support are included on the application for graduate study.

Rice University homepage:

http://www.rice.edu/

Rice University Office of Research and Graduate Studies homepage:

http://www.rgs.rice.edu

Graduate Student Association homepage:

http://gsa.rice.edu

City of Houston homepage:

http://www.houstontx.gov

Houston information from the Houston Chronicle:

http://www.chron.com

Houston information from Greater Houston Partnership:

http://www.houston.org

Houston information from Citysearch:

http://houston.citysearch.com