"I find that the more rocks I hit, the more exposures I create. "
-Thomas Jefferson
We do not offer a summer field program. Therefore, in order to fulfill this important requirement, you have to enroll in one of the many programs offered by other universities in Pennsylvania and around the country. Attendance at any accredited geologic field camp yielding at least 4 semester units of credit is acceptable.
There are many field courses out there. Some emphasize environmental geology projects more than others, some will take 4 weeks while others may last 8, and there will be variations in the cost of tuition, room, board, and transportation. While there is a comprehensive list of field camps available in the departmental office, the short list at the end of this page reflects field camps that Pitt undergraduates have participated in and liked. Please feel free to look into other field camps!
NOTE: If you are taking field camp after your senior year and would like to graduate shortly after returning from field camp, be sure to bring back some sort of proof that you completed field camp (a letter certifying that you got a passing grade will do). It may otherwise take too long for the host university to transfer the official credit/grade information to the University of Pittsburgh.
There are two sources of scholarship money intended to help defray the costs of field camp:
1. The departmental Norman K and Margaret Flint Field Geology Fund was established to commemorate Dr. Norman Flint's devotion to teaching and field work. Funds are awarded on the basis of both merit and financial need. To apply for this scholarship, you need to submit a college transcript and a letter of application to
William Harbert, Chair
Department of Geology and Planetary Science
321 Engineering Hall
The letter should outline the general types of field work undertaken in your selected field camp, your past achievements of note (academic, good departmental citizenship, etc.), your general post-graduate career goals, the total cost of the field camp that you have selected, and a general indication of your financial need.
Not enough people have applied for this money in the past! If you do not apply, you will not get funding. If you do apply, you may get money and you may get a nice item to put on your resume. APPLY NOW! The deadline for applications is March 20, 2004.
2. The National Association of Geology Teachers (NAGT) has a Summer Field Scholarship program that awards up to $500 to cover the expences of field camp. I believe that this money is awarded solely on the basis of merit (about 1/3 of applicants get money). Follow the link for application information:
The deadline for this scholarship tends to be in February.
List of Field Camps Attended by Past Pitt Undergraduates
This field camps on this list are not necessarily any better or worse than those not on the. I just had to start somewhere. By all means feel free to look into other options and let me know what your experiences were.
Most of the camps are held out west where the exposures are far better than the vegetated and weathered east. Make a note of the relative costs, credit hours offer, the diversity of rocks and structures seen, types of mapping, data collection, and other field trip activities and experiences, and such things as whether you will be living in established cabins (wimps) or camping in tents (the only way to go).
Appalachian State University (costs extra, but goes to Italy! )
Indiana University (Bloomington)
Lehigh University (Bethlham, PA)
State University of New York at Buffalo
University of Alaska (Fairbanks)
You can easily find out about more field camps by using the list in the office to see which universities have field camps and using the following link to get to the appropriate home page: