GEOL 3666 is a 6 credit course that consists of 7 field-based projects over a 6 week period in a variety of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic settings. Our field camp philosophy is simple: learn by doing. We give students instruction and advice, but we encourage them to think and work independently, and to formulate their own hypotheses based on data that they collect and features they discover. Each project incorporates the fundamental disciplines of geology with a single goal in mind: to produce geologists capable of collecting and analyzing field data anywhere in the world. Students are required to work in pairs for safety reasons but project submissions represent individual effort.
Much of the work is done at or near the 1300-acre field station while students reside at the Camp facility. Some project areas are too far from Camp for daily commute, so students and staff tent camp at these areas during field study. A few days are free for resting, visiting Colorado Springs, or taking self-led road trips through Colorado. Details are outlined in the Sample GEOL 3666 schedule.
Freshmen field camp fulfills 8 credit hours of the natural science requirement at LSU (GEOL 1001, GEOL 1601, GEOL 1003, and GEOL 1602) in 6 weeks. Students receive lectures, perform laboratory exercises, and take exams in the Camp classroom. To complement the in-class component, students visit local geological exposures and go on week-long field trips to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Canyon National Park. During field excursions, students learn scientific observation, data collection, and geologic interpretation. Enrollment is open to all interested persons, but the number of openings is limited and is prioritized to recent High School graduates who intend to major in either Geology or Petroleum Engineering at LSU. Scholarships are available. ACT scores are included in admission criteria. See the Sample freshman course schedule.
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