Geosciences minors have the chance to extend their learning outside the classroom by participating in research, internships, and study abroad.
Field Trips
Students observe rock formations at Purgatory Chasm in Sutton, Massachusetts.
Our location in central Massachusetts is an ideal place to study geosciences. The geology of Massachusetts is the result of a process that started more than a billion years ago. Massachusetts lies at an edge of a continent, and has been the location of many continental collisions that have created a wonderfully complex geologic setting.
Field trips are frequently made to sites that offer students opportunities to explore the geology of the area, including the Blackstone River Watershed, Connecticut River Valley, Narragansett Bay, Purgatory Chasm and Woods Hole.
Research
Several faculty members advise students on projects relating to the geosciences. Check out their faculty web profiles and speak with them about opportunities working in their labs.
Summer Research
Opportunities for summer research through Holy Cross are available through the College’s Weiss Summer Research Program.
Off-campus summer research opportunities are available at the following organizations:
- NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates program
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History research experiences
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
- Geological Society of America (GSA) Undergraduate student research program
- The Student Conservation Association (SCA)
There are a wide variety of summer research programs in the geosciences offered by other colleges and universities that are available to Holy Cross students by application.
Semester Away and Study Abroad
Many Geosciences students choose to take courses through a semester or year abroad experience.
The School for Field Studies offers one-semester programs in many beautiful locations that integrate field studies with environmental studies. Their program in Chile is based in the Patagonian Andes and has a geoscience and climate science focus.
The SEA Semester at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, offers field-based environmental education at sea. Many of the programs focus on marine science and climate change and provide a chance to conduct oceanographic research.
Williams Mystic, a collaboration of Williams College and the Mystic Seaport Museum, educates undergraduate students in a semester-long academic investigation of the sea accompanied by original research opportunities and travel throughout the United States.
Geoscience students can also participate in the College's university-based study abroad programs. Former geoscience minors have taken classes at the University of Melbourne in Australia and at St. Andrews University in Scotland. New programs at the University of Otago and Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand also have exciting geoscience opportunities.
Consortium Courses
Holy Cross students may take courses at other schools in the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts. Clark University and Worcester State University have relevant courses in geography and earth sciences. Contact the Holy Cross registrar for course listings or call the consortium school directly for course information.
Eco-Action Student Group
Eco-Action is a student environmental concerns organization at Holy Cross. The group grows campus consciousness of humans’ relationship to the environment by organizing education, service, and action opportunities in the community.