Student Research
Undergraduate Research
All undergraduates at the University are welcome and encouraged to participate in the department's research projects.
Participation in research projects can be - but is not required to be - in connection with the BC3997-BC3998 Environmental Research and W3901 Environmental Science Senior Seminar courses which guide the department's Environmental Science Majors through their senior thesis projects. It can occur both during the academic year and during the summer.
Students interested in participating in a specific research project should consult with the individual professors or research scientists leading it. The department's Directors of Undergraduate Studies can help you set up an appointment with the appropriate person.
The Department can also assist students in arranging research projects and applying for summer internships at other universities. Our own intern programs, the Earth Intern Program and the Lamont Summer Intern Program, sponsored jointly by the Department, LDEO and the Earth Institute, accept 10-15 Columbia and Barnard undergraduates each year.
Graduate Research
Students wishing to pursue graduate studies in the earth and environmental sciences will find the Department particularly well positioned to provide them with excellent advisors and support. In addition to offering a veritable treasure trove of accomplished faculty members, the department also maintains active relationships with its affiliate research institutions and university departments and their staff scientists and faculty, respectively. Students interested in taking an interdisciplinary approach to their research will find the necessary intellectual and material resources readily available. For an idea of the variety of research undertaken by students in the department, review the listing of Ph.D. dissertations and abstracts since 1997.
The Graduate Student Research Profiles and the Graduate Student Dissertation Topic List provide samples of the kinds of student research currently underway in the department.
General Information
The Research Areas section of this website describes the major fields of research encompassed by the department, and offers representative examples of research projects underway in each area.
The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) in Palisades, NY, houses the department's main office, faculty offices and laboratories, and the Geoscience Library, as well as the offices and labs of Lamont scientists. The Observatory is located about 30 minutes north of Columbia's Morningside Heights campus and is easily accessible via the Lamont shuttle bus.
Atmospheric research in the department is conducted in cooperation with the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (112th Street and Broadway), and with Columbia's Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics (200 Mudd).
Paleontological and petrological research is in cooperation with the American Museum of Natural History (Central Park West at 79th Street).
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