Overview
Georgia State University is responsive to students' career goals and provides educational and research programs relevant to the practical needs of both the students and the community. The University offers nearly fifty undergraduate and graduate degree programs covering some 200 fields of study through its five colleges—Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Health and Human Sciences, Law–and its School of Policy Studies.

Georgia State University is a public institution with more than 24,000 students. The graduate student population of more than 7,000 is one of the largest in the Southeast. The average age of graduate students is 33. Students from 113 countries and all fifty states attend the University.

The Community
The University is located in the heart of Atlanta's central business district. The city is a rapidly growing metropolitan area characterized by a spectacular skyline and a culturally diverse population. Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport is one of the world's largest and busiest, making the city easily accessible from anywhere in the world. The climate is moderate, with a mean July temperature of 23°C and a mean January temperature of 10°C. Atlanta is located in the foothills of the southern Appalachian mountain range and is close to both the Great Smokey Mountains and the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Programs of study and degree requirements
The department offers programs leading to the Master of Science (M.S.) degree in geology and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in geochemistry. Instruction and research opportunities are provided in the areas of low-temperature and aqueous geochemistry, soils and clay mineralogy, hydrogeology, mineralogy, paleontology, petrology, Quaternary geology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, structural geology/tectonics, experimental petrology and geoscience education. The department stresses but does not restrict students to field-related studies. Atlanta is situated on the Brevard Zone between the Piedmont and Blue Ridge provinces of the southern Appalachians, underlain by intrusive and high-grade metamorphic rocks. A wide variety of geologic settings are easily accessible for thesis research. The Valley and Ridge and Coastal Plain provinces are within a short drive of Atlanta. Faculty members have supervised M.S. thesis field research outside of Georgia and the United States. The department also offers an Advanced Certificate program in hydrogeology. A minimum of one academic year of residence is required for the M.S. degree. Thirty-six semester hours of graduate-level credit are required for the thesis-option master's degree, including 9 hours of thesis work and 3 to 6 hours of courses in related disciplines outside the department. Master's degree students must demonstrate knowledge of a foreign language or an approved alternative research skill, complete a thesis, take a written general examination, and orally defend the thesis. A nonthesis M.S. degree option is also available to qualified applicants. The Ph.D. program requires 80 semester hours, four semesters of residence, and writing and defending a dissertation.

Facilities & Resources
The department has facilities and equipment for field and laboratory research, including vehicles; plane tables; fossil curation equipment; a sedimentological laboratory; a hydrogeochemistry laboratory; a clay mineral separation lab and soil collection equipment; microscopes with full accessories; a rock preparation laboratory; a heating/freezing fluid-inclusion stage; video, photographic, and drafting equipment; microcomputers and mainframes; computerized XRF and XRD facilities; an ICPMS and laser ablation laboratory; cathodoluminescence; a high-pressure, high-temperature rock deformation apparatus; an argon ion mill for TEM foil preparation; and access to scanning electron microscopes and microprobe. Hydrogeology students also have access to logging equipment and geophysical and water-quality instrumentation. The department has access to facilities of the Skidway Institute and the Marine Extension Center on Skidway Island. The Georgia State University (GSU) library receives all major and many minor journals devoted to geology; most extend back to the first volume. GSU is a repository for USGS publications, has a good map collection, and subscribes to GEOREF and many other databases. Students also have access to the libraries of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, and the Georgia Geological Survey, all located in Atlanta.

Expenses and Aid
Costs: For tuition figures, students should visit the University's Web site at http://www.gsu.edu.

Financial Aid: Graduate research assistantships (GRAs) are available for qualified students. Stipends generally are $6,000 to $13,000 for two semesters plus tuition waiver. Some summer assistantships are also available. Cooperative programs with Atlanta-based geotechnical companies or government agencies normally can be arranged.

Housing/Living Expenses: Georgia State University has a nonresidential campus located in downtown Atlanta at the center of a network of highways and rapid-transit services extending throughout the greater metropolitan area. This transportation network makes it possible to live anywhere in the metropolitan area and get to downtown easily. The cost of living in Atlanta is moderate compared with that in other centers in the United States. Dormitory housing is available at the Georgia State Village, a short distance from Georgia State's downtown campus.

How to Apply
Application materials may be obtained from the department or from the Office of Graduate Studies of the College of Arts and Sciences. Applicants must submit the Application for Graduate Study and the University Information forms, a $25 application fee, official copies of transcripts from each institution attended, GRE General Test scores, three letters of recommendation, and a statement of educational and career goals. Applicants may obtain additional information about the Department of Geology by contacting the Director of Graduate Studies or by visiting the Web page, listed below.

Hassan A. Babaie, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Northwestern, 1984. Structural geology and tectonics of fold-and-thrust belts, ophiolites, mylonitic shear zones, and accretionary prisms; neotectonics of southwest Montana.

Pamela C. Burnley, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., California, Davis, 1990. High-pressure experimental rock deformation, mantle phase transformation and computer modeling of these processes; effectiveness of teaching methods and outreach strategies for geosciences.

W. Crawford Elliott, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve, 1988. Clay mineralogy, K/Ar dating, soil geochemistry and mineralogy.

William J. Fritz, Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies for GSU; Ph.D., Montana, 1980. Sedimentology and stratigraphy, volcaniclastic sedimentation, influence of explosive volcanism on depositional environment, Tertiary stratigraphy and neotectonics of southwest Montana.

A. Mohamad Ghazi, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Nebraska, 1992. Analytical geochemistry, petrogenesis of Iranian ophiolites, development of new applications of ICPMS and laser ablation ICPMS.

Vernon J. Henry, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., Texas A&M, 1961. Geology of coasts, barrier islands, and coastal plains; monitoring of shoreline changes; sub-bottom profiling of continental shelves.

Timothy E. La Tour, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Western Ontario, 1979. Metamorphic and structural geology, mylonites and mylonite zones, metamorphic geochemistry.

Seth E. Rose, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Arizona, 1987. Aqueous geochemistry, controls on groundwater quality and hazardous-waste disposal, regional hydrogeology.

David A. Vanko, Professor and Chair; Ph.D., Northwestern, 1982. Igneous petrology, geochemistry, fluid-rock interactions, and metallogenesis, especially in the young ocean crust along the mid-ocean ridge system.
Instructors

Kenneth J. Terrell, M.A., Cincinnati, 1980. Vertebrate paleontology and geomorphology.

Annette B. McCartney, M.S., Georgia State, 1995. Earth science education.

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