Initial Publication Date: June 11, 2015

Professional Certificate in Hydrogeology, CSU Bakersfield

Information for this profile was provided by CSU, Bakersfield. Information is also available on the program website. CSU Bakersfield is a university with graduate programs, primarily masters programs. Students in this program are pursuing a professional certificate.

Program Design & Assessment

Overview

In addition to the MS degree, the Department of Geology offers a post-baccalaureate Certificate in Hydrogeology. The certificate is designed primarily to give professionals additional training in Hydrogeology and Hydrogeochemistry.

Strengths of this program

The Department of Geology offers a comprehensive graduate program leading to the Master of Science in Geology degree. A Hydrogeology option is available for the MS degree. The program is intended to prepare students for professional positions in the petroleum industry, the environmental and geotechnical consulting industries, government agencies, and for graduate studies at the doctoral level. A broad range of faculty research interests, the proximity of the campus to the petroleum industry, easy access to diverse geological environments, and a range of modern research facilities permit the student to select from a wide spectrum of research topics.

Types of students served

Program Goals

The goals of this program are as follows:

At the completion of their geology degree programs students will have basic knowledge and understanding of the content of modern geology, will have acquired knowledge and demonstrated skills to collect and analyze Earth's minerals and rocks, and will understand the philosophical, mathematical and physical science foundations of geology. The ten detailed student learning objectives that support these broad goals can be found at http://www.csub.edu/geology/SLO_Geology.pdf.

The learning goals were informed by the following resources:

How program goals are assessed

Design features that allow goals to be met


Alumni Careers

Graduation rate

Careers pursued by our alumni

Courses and Sequencing

Diagram of course sequencing and requirements

The certificate will require at least 25 units of credit, 15 units of which must be completed at the CSUB campus, and shall be composed of the following required and elective courses.

Entry into the program

Applicants must be accepted as post-baccalaureate students at CSUB. Admission Requirements for Certificate in Hydrogeology Applicants should have a BA or BS in Geology or a directly related field. Applicants in related fields should have completed course work in Physical and Historical Geology, Stratigraphy and Sedimentation, Structural Geology, and one year each of college chemistry, physics and calculus. Some of the courses in the Certificate program may have additional prerequisites.

Core courses

  • GEOL 475 - Hydrogeology
  • GEOL 525 - Applied Hydrogeochemistry
  • GEOL 555 - Contaminant Hydrogeology

Other required courses

  • GEOL 420 - Environmental Geochemistry
  • GEOL 477 when pertinent - Special Topics in Geology (variable credit)
  • GEOL 580 - Advanced Research Participation (variable credit)
  • GEOL 625 - Shallow Subsurface Exploration Methods
  • GEOL 650 - Groundwater Flow Modeling
  • GEOL 577/677 when pertinent - Advanced Topics in Geology (variable credit)

Other key features of this program:

Supporting Materials

CSU Bakersfield MS Geology Curriculum (Acrobat (PDF) 46kB Jan11 10)