Earth Science

What sets Prin apart?

With a 2,600-acre campus perched atop steep bluffs overlooking the mighty Mississippi River and near-by proximity to the Ozarks, Principia College is at the heart of powerful forces shaping our land and planet. Your studies won’t be limited to on-campus classrooms and labs, though, because all courses include local and overnight field trips for hands-on learning in geology, earth history, oceanography—even astrophysics. What else makes Principia different from the rest?

• Principia’s earth science experience is unique because its primary academic scope includes land, sea, and space.
• Principia's extensive mineral, rock, and fossil collections provide rich material for hands-on learning opportunities.
• The numerous fossil-rich outcrops, karst topography, and mining operations in the area will give you excellent, real-world experience.
• Field research for Principia's mammoth dig is complete, and the results are on display as part of the Mammoth Museum in the Science Center atrium.
• Earth science courses such as Oceanography include opportunities to conduct field work with research oceanographers and to participate in sea-going deployments of submersibles and drifters.
• You’ll intern at top oceanographic research labs around the country, including Mote Marine Lab, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institution.
• You can engage in original research with faculty mentors.
• You’ll develop your scientific skills:
  • data collection and analysis
  • collaborative research
  • scientific writing
  • presentation of scientific findings
  • experience in GIS mapping and data analysis