The Department of Geology has cooperative programs with several nearby institutions, including the Delaware Geological Survey, U.S. National Museum, and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Departmental research is frequently carried out in cooperation with other departments and with the College of Marine Studies, which has a marine field station in Lewes, Delaware, and a seagoing oceanographic research vessel, Cape Henlopen. 

The department owns a scanning electron microscope with attached x-ray spectrometer, x-ray diffraction apparatus, paleomagnetic equipment, laser particle counter, stereo-zoom transfer scope facility, diverse computer capability including Sun Workstations, largescale digitizer, gas and liquid chromatographs, ground penetrating radar, multichannel seismic equipment, various coring and drilling equipment, laser theodolite surveying system, and has ready access to nearly all other commonly used tools of geological and geophysical research. The department has a stable graduate program with 20 to 25 graduate students. Recent graduates have found positions in environmental consulting firms, academic institutions, federal and state geological surveys, and petroleum and mining industries.

Admission to the graduate program in the Department of Geology is evaluated on the basis of the applicant's GRE scores, undergraduate record, three letters of recommendation and research interests. Applicants should have a combined verbal and quantitative GRE score of at least 1050. A minimum TOEFL score of 600 is required for foreign applicants for whom English is not the first language. The Department will consider qualified applicants without a previous degree in geology, although additional preliminary work may be required. Admission to the graduate program in the Department of Geology is selective and competitive based on the number of qualified applicants and the availability of faculty and facilities. Students who meet the minimum academic requirements are not guaranteed admission. 

Requirements for the Master of Science degree include 30 credits of graduate study (6 of which are thesis credits and 3 are one-credit 800-level courses), and the research, preparation, and defense of a thesis. Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree include a Master of Science degree, an oral and written comprehensive exam, a course program developed with the student's dissertation committee (including 9 credits of dissertation research and 7 one-credit 800-level courses), and the research, preparation, and defense of the dissertation. All course programs are developed on an individual basis to meet the specific needs of the student. The program of study and research is formed by student consultation with the adviser and thesis or dissertation committee. 

Because of the value of the teaching experience, Ph.D. candidates in geology must teach a course or laboratory section for at least one term.