A part of the SERC Teacher Professional Development Program Collection

Photo of Dr. Scott Linneman Department of Geology Department of Science Education SMATE program Western Washington University
Scott Linneman, Ph.D. Photo courtesy of Dr. Linneman
(Page prepared for SERC by Jennifer L. B. Anderson, Ph.D.)

Western Washington University Masters Degree in Geoscience Education


Program Type:
Masters Program

Program Size:
1 Masters Student


Program Summary


This is an example of a masters student in a geoscience department who did her research on a geoscience education topic.

What was the impetus for the program?

Dr. Linneman always had strong interests and ties to geoscience education and wanted to have a graduate student whose research focus would be geoscience education, rather than a strictly science-oriented degree. A prospective student interested in working on science education topics contacted him and became one of his masters students within the geology department at Western Washington University.

How is the program structured?

This masters student was advised by Dr. Linneman in the same manner as his other graduate students. However, in addition to taking the normal graduate level courses in geology, this masters student was performing research on a geoscience education subject. Therefore, she also needed to take education courses and social science statistics courses. One of her four committee members was from the College of Education.

How is the program maintained and funded?

The funding is the same as for any other masters student in a geoscience department.

Hints for starting a program like this:

Scott Linneman, Ph.D. (personal communication)
  • Why would someone want to take a Masters student whose research area is geoscience education?
    The research areas are wide open, even just for examining misconceptions in geosciences. The goal here is to help people learn the geoscience material more effectively.
  • How do you go about recruiting such a student?
    Basically, let the student find you through your interests and advertisements on your web page.
  • In choosing a research project, keep in mind that the project has to require a graduate-level understanding of geology so that the student can effectively compare graduate versus novice thinking.
  • Be prepared for the huge amount of time that it takes to advise a student in discipline-based education research.
  • Another concern is that the student feels somewhat isolated because her research is out-of-field.
  • You need to maintain good relationships with the Education departments as well as have a supportive Dean. And it helps to make sure that your colleagues are supportive of this idea.
  • Some people have asked, What are these students going to do? The answer:
    Whatever they want -- go on for a Ph.D. in Geoscience or Education, teach at a community college, work as a curriculum or professional development person in a school district or for a non-profit agency.