INITIATION OF A NEW GEOPHYSICS DEGREE IN SOUTH TEXAS

Texas A&M University – Kingsville began offering a curriculum in geophysics beginning in Fall 2017. A Bachelor of Science degree in Geology with concentration in Geophysics is available, as well as a minor and a certificate in Geophysics. The Department of Physics and Geosciences has been increasing in numbers recently and has added several new faculty members. Degrees in geology and geography/GIS specialties have been granted in previous years. Geophysics was instituted because no institution in South Texas offers this curriculum. In addition, the university’s proximity to Gulf Coast petroleum exploration community offers opportunities for professional mentorship and employment upon graduation. This department is unique in South Texas for offering these three geoscience degrees.

Based on the department’s commitment to field-based teaching, we are working to acquire the tools to extend this into geophysical field work. Seismic structure of the Cascadia margin, Queen Charlotte margin, marine gas hydrate and slope failure studies of Cascadia and in the Arctic Beaufort Sea, and near-surface profiling of interesting features near the Rio Grande delta are early foci of research. We have in-house expertise in seismic full waveform inversion, which is a state-of-the-art method used in the Oil and Gas industry. Our emphasis on undergraduate research allows us to include students in these efforts as well as the use of donated petroleum industry data volumes. With four required geophysics courses for the B.S. degree, the interaction between classroom and research is our objective. Finally, this major requires a mathematics minor similar to the university’s Natural Gas Engineering department. We look to share classes and offer a quantitative geoscience degree for those who prefer exploration. We look to include underrepresented students and minorities in the geoscience professions.