Interested in the Earth Sciences? Learn more by watching this movie from the American Geological Institute.

   Geophysics is (since the Fall of 2011) an official track within the Geology major! This track includes several more globally oriented Geo science classes, such as Meteorology and Astronomy, as well as specific Geophysics classes in Shallow Subsurface Exploration and Seismology, which are also directly relevant for the geotechnical industry. The curriculum has been designed to be flexible and offers students the opportunity of choosing their own educational focus, by including a significant number of free units (within Geology) and several options for specific classes.

   I have also made a short list of additional classes that should be useful to students interested in pursuing graduate school in geophysics, although any curriculum should, of course, also depend on individual interests and career goals. I have underlined those classes that should look especially appealing on grad school applications. A minor in Civil Engineering, Physics, Math and/or Computer Science will also be a definite plus on any grad school application. I would also strongly suggest to look into summer internships and whenever possible attending seminars, workshops and conferences.

Relevant (Non Geology) Classes (at Cal Poly Pomona)

1. MAT201: Numerical Methods
   

2. MAT214/215: Vector Calculus
   

3. MAT216: Ordinary Differential Equations
   

4. PHY234: General Physics
   

5. PHY4??: Computational Physics
   

6. CE 538: Rock Mechanics
   

Internships

1. SCEC Internships
   

2. USGS Student Jobs
   

3. JPL Student Research Opportunities
   

4. IRIS Internships
   

5. Summer Research in Geosciences and Engineering (SURGE)
   

6. Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience (SAGE)
   

Seminars, Workshops, Events and Conferences

1. Our own Geology Seminar series, including The Distinguished Doctoral Student/Post-Doctoral Seminar Series
   

2. 2011 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 5-9 December 2010, San Francisco, California, USA
   

3. 2011 Seismological Society of America Meeting, 17–19 April in San Diego
   

4. 2011 Southern California Earthquake Center Meeting, 11-14 September in Palm Springs
   

Job Announcements and Useful Links

    If you are interested in learning more about the types of jobs that would be available to you with a degree in geophysics, you can check out this list of job announcements. This list is meant to give you an overview of some of the possibilities that exist, and is by no means complete.

    I also maintain a page with informative websites, blog entries and articles that I have come across about geophysics and geology as a career choice.

Senior Thesis Projects

    I can suggest many possible senior thesis topics if you are interested in pursuing research in geophysics or seismology, whether your main interest is in global tectonics, local seismic hazard, the structure of the crust and upper mantle of southern California, earthquakes on our very own San Jose fault, refraction seismology or other geophysical surveys. Most of these projects will involve the analysis of geophysical data, seismic waveforms and other earthquake data by the application of computational methods, but do not require a background in programming (although you will probably be a proficient computer user after completing your project!).

    A list of the senior theses completed (or started) under my supervision (still short, as I have only been at Cal Poly for a few years:

Susana Lino: Mircoseismicity of the San Jose Fault on Cal Poly Pomona campus (June 2012).

Rebecca Greenwood: Seismic events recorded during a short term temporary deployment near Kilauea, Hawaii (June 2013).

Kennis Ho: Microzonation of Cal Poly Pomona campus (June 2012).

Kevin Kwong: Using Aftershocks in Fast Estimates of Fault Rupture Parameters (June 2011).

Celia Pazos and Hannah Potter: Gravity Profiles Across the Proposed San Jose Fault Traces on Cal Poly Pomona Campus (June 2011).

Brian Oliver: A Pilot Study to Determine Shear-Wave Velocities for Earthquake Site Response at Cal Poly Pomona Campus using Refraction Micro-Tremor (June 2010).

Travis Avant: Determining Fault Kinematics For Earthquakes With Unknown Focal Mechanisms Using Seismogram Cross-Correlation Techniques: Test Case of the 2006/2007 Kuril Island Earthquake Sequence (June 2008).