The geology curriculum is designed to produce graduates in geology encompassing both specific (geological) and transferrable (general academic) skills that can either, take up employment as a geologist, or enter a graduate course (M.Sc., M.Phil., Ph.D.) at UWI or universities in Europe, North America and Japan (places our geology graduates have recently been accepted into). Student intake in geology is from across the UWI territories, and the curriculum has been developed to reflect this; furthermore, many geology graduates find employment in regions of the Caribbean other than their home territory (as well as elsewhere) and the UWI geology major prepares graduates for a career in geology regardless of where they may find employment.
The Caribbean region is particularly susceptible to climate change and increasing population density is straining natural resources. The curriculum is designed with an emphasis on these needs, particularly in regard to: finding and exploiting natural resources (metallic and non-metallic minerals, oil and gas exploration), water resources, natural disasters (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tropical cyclones) and infra-structural development (road construction, building.
The development of a geology programme based on 3 credit courses will enable students to acquire a broader basic grounding in geological science. The outcome will be students who have a better basic geological knowledge at Level II, and students that can develop specific career-specific skills at Level III.
The idealized UWI Geology B.Sc. graduate should: have a working knowledge of geology; be able to collect and interpret field and laboratory data; should have a range of linguistic, numerical and computer skills that allow them to analyze data and present their results in seminars, PowerPoint presentations and as written reports.
The Caribbean region is dependent on finding natural resources to meet the needs of its growing population and to drive its economic development, but is also particularly prone to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. The geology major seeks to train graduate students with theoretical knowledge, practical experience, and the specific and transferrable skills and have the necessary abilities to assess, analyse and solve the current and future geological needs of the Caribbean region. The programme will equip graduates with the necessary cognitive skills to become employed in the geosciences or to enter into a higher degree programme to develop more advanced skills.
Level I: – four 3-credit courses
Level II: – Field methods in geology plus five 3-credit courses
Level III: – Caribbean Geology (3 credits), Research Project (6 credits) and four other 3-credit courses
Level I
GEOL1101 Earth Science 1: Earth Materials and Plate Tectonics
GEOL1102 Earth Science 2: Earth Processes and Earth History
GEOL1003 Earth Science 3: Minerals and Mineral Deposits
GEOL1104 Earth Science 4: Geological maps & Environmental Geology
Level II
Compulsory
GEOL2204 Field Methods for Geology
And a minimum of five courses from
GEOL2201 Palaeontology
GEOL2202 Sedimentary Geology
GEOL2203 Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
GEOL2205 Plate Tectonics and the Caribbean
GGEO2233 Water Resources
GGEO2232 Introduction to Geographical Information Systems
Level III
Compulsory
GEOL3100 Research Project in Field Geology
GEOL3102 Caribbean Geology
And a minimum of 4 courses from
GEOL3103 Advanced Hydrogeology
GEOL3104 Sedimentology and Facies Analysis
GEOL3105 Petroleum Geology
GEOL3106 Engineering Geology
GEOL3107 Geophysics and Seismicity
GGEO3332 Disaster Management
GGEO3231 Karst & Coastal Geomorphology
GGEO3232 Climate Change in the Tropics
Our 7 faculties and 12 professional schools offer more than 200 programmes to some 18,000 graduate, undergraduate and continuing studies students.
The UWI, Mona ranks first in Jamaica among accredited tertiary-level programmes. In 2012, the University was again one of Jamaica’s Top 100 Employers.
