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Geology
Rock solid connections.
To understand the Earth, you need to study its minerals, rocks, soils, and landscapes in many different settings. You have to study it at all scales, too, from vast landscapes to microscopic soil particles. You have to interact with it through hands-on experiences in labs and on field trips. That is exactly what you get in Earth science’s geology emphasis. The faculty love getting out in the field with students, and when they can’t go out, they bring the field into the classroom through maps, rock samples, slides, and stories.
You’ll learn how the Earth works and how society interacts with it. You’ll learn how fundamentally important our relationship with the Earth is and how geology influences all ecosystems. Delve into the remarkable history of the Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the physical, chemical, and biological changes that the Earth is continually undergoing. Northland’s geology program gives you a thorough understanding of how the physical earth—its minerals, rocks, soils, water, landscapes—form the foundation on which all ecosystems exist.
Program Highlights
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Build Your Foundation with Core Classes
Students will study everything from physical geology to sediments and soils, hydrology and geochemistry, geomorphology, minerals and rocks, tectonics and structural geology, and other related fields.
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Study in the Classroom and in the Field
Your classroom studies will take you through the history of the earth and your work in the field will show you the remarkable effects time has on earth’s geology.
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Natural History
Gain in-depth ecological knowledge and skills to help you connect people to nature, preparing you for a career as an outdoor education instructor, naturalist, interpretive park ranger, or environmental educator.
Why Northland?
Experiential Learning
An education at Northland involves more than just sitting in lecture halls. We combine classroom learning with immersive field studies and opportunities within the community to create a one-of-a-kind learning experience. Our career-focused curriculum will provide you with the tools and confidence to succeed in anything you do.
Access to Financial Aid
Think all private colleges are expensive? Think again. With 99% of all Northland College students receiving some form of financial aid, you can receive a private school education at a public school price.
Proven Outcomes
A degree from Northland is your pathway to opportunity. Our student-to-faculty ratio allows our professors to personally invest in your success, and the results of this approach speak for themselves. 93.5% of our recent graduates are employed or in graduate school.
Full-Spectrum Sustainability
At Northland, we live our sustainability mission every day. Going green is a part of everything we do as an institution and everything you’ll do as a student—from how you’ll live, to what you’ll learn, and ways you can contribute.
Live & Learn in a Natural World
Our location in Ashland, WI, a small, safe community of just over 8,000 tucked along the south shore of Lake Superior near the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and over a million acres of national forest, creates truly unique educational and recreational experiences.
Work with the Best & Brightest
Our faculty are passionate about learning—and not just student learning. They are dedicated learners and scholars, and that shines through in the classroom and in the field. And they’re more than just teachers. They are mentors who often establish life-long relationships with students.
