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- The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences is the educational arm of
Columbia University in the fields of earth and environmental science. Its staff
and facilities overlap with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the
university's research arm in those fields.
The Department and LDEO work together to understand how planet Earth works, in
all of its physical manifestations. We are scientifically renowned throughout
the world for our problem-solving innovation, our unique geological and
climatological archives, and the outstanding achievement of our graduates. Our
scientists observe the Earth on a global scale, from its deepest interior to
the outer reaches of the atmosphere, on every continent and every ocean. We
decipher the long record of the past, monitor the present, and seek to foresee
the future of the planet. From global climate change to earthquakes, volcanoes,
nonrenewable resources, environmental hazards and beyond, our fundamental
challenge is to seek to provide an adequate and rational basis for the
difficult choices faced by civilization in its stewardship of our fragile
planet.
The Department has facilities in Schermerhorn Hall on Columbia's main campus in
Morningside Heights, Manhattan, and on LDEO's campus, located about 20 miles
north of Morningside in Palisades, NY. The Schermerhorn facilities mainly
support the undergraduate program. The LDEO facilities mainly support the
graduate program and research activities. The University provides regular
shuttle bus service between the Morningside and LDEO campuses.
The Department offers undergraduate majors and concentrations in both Earth
Science and Environmental Science, as well a a selection of elective courses
that fulfill Columbia College's science distribution requirement.
The Ph.D. program offers degrees in a wide variety of specialties, including
aqueous geochemistry, atmospheric science, climate science, ecophysiology,
geology, marine geology and geophysics, paleoclimate, paleontology, physical
oceanography, seismology and solid earth geophysics, and solid earth
geochemistry. The atmospheric science program is conducted in partnership with
NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Science and with Columbia's Department of
Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics. The paleontology program is conducted
in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History. Admissions to the
Ph.D. program are on a competitive basis, with virtually all students receiving
full financial support. Students typically take 5 to 6 years to complete the
program. In partnership with Columbia's School of Journalism, the Department
sponsors a two-year Master's program in Earth and Environmental Sciences.
http://eesc.columbia.edu/welcome/about.html
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