Welcome

Dear Applicant:

Thank you for your interest in graduate study at USC's Department of Earth Sciences. We hope the enclosed materials will provide a good introduction to our programs. These materials include information about our faculty, major areas of graduate instruction and research, admission requirements, financial assistance, and application forms.

Our graduate program offers students both academic rigor and the chance to work closely with faculty members with diverse earth science backgrounds. Close faculty-student relationships as well as a friendly and supportive learning atmosphere are important aspects of graduate study at USC, and ones in which we take great pride. Our graduate and research programs are among the fastest growing and best balanced in the country, made possible by the vibrant atmosphere for doing geoscience in Southern California.

If you have any questions regarding the enclosed materials, please feel free to call or write me or Cynthia Waite, our Academic Administrator, at (213) 740-6109. Faculty members are always eager to talk with you about specific subject areas if you wish, so don't hesitate to contact any of them.

We look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Sincerely,

David J. Bottjer
Professor and Chair