{"id":8784,"date":"2026-02-09T15:56:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T20:56:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/academics\/?page_id=8784"},"modified":"2026-04-09T17:26:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:26:27","slug":"earth-and-climate-sciences","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/academics\/majors-and-minors\/earth-and-climate-sciences\/","title":{"rendered":"Earth and Climate Sciences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Visit the full Earth and Climate Sciences site<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Earth and climate sciences are key to addressing scientific issues relating to energy, mineral, and water resource security; ecosystem and environmental stewardship; hazards risk assessment; adaptation and mitigation; and climate variability and change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Department of Earth and Climate Sciences strives to instill in students a lifelong curiosity of the Earth across vast spatial and temporal scales. We study the planet as a dynamic, interconnected system that evolves through time to shape our environment and to sustain life. At Bates, we investigate planetary history and habitability across diverse spatial and temporal scales \u2014 from the study of processes that affect our planet over deep time to the immediate impacts of sudden tectonic ruptures and rapid anthropogenic change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Contact Us<\/h5>\n\t

Dr. Beverly Johnson
\n44 Campus Ave
\nCarnegie Science
\n Phone: 207-786-6062\n<\/span>bjohnso3@bates.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>

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What You Will Learn<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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To work with your peers and faculty to build new knowledge and solve real-world problems<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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To translate complex data into compelling narratives for policymakers, the public, and the scientific community<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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How to design and conduct independent research and learn about new cultures while working with faculty and collaborators around the globe<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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To apply field observations from the Maine coast to global climate models and the geological history of other rocky planets<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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To gain hands-on mastery of sophisticated laboratory, field, and computational skills
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How to present your research at professional regional and national conferences, where you\u2019ll get the opportunity to network with global experts<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Life After Bates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We prepare students for professional careers and to be well-informed, engaged citizens who use their expertise ethically to contribute to equity and social justice. We count among our notable alumni project scientists at NASA, professors at Harvard and Boston College, hydrogeologists, policy shapers, and researchers. Our alumni network is a cornerstone of the EACS experience, serving as a professional bridge for students as they transition from the classroom to the workforce. We facilitate direct connections with graduates who are leaders in their fields, and our alumni frequently return to campus to mentor current majors and help them navigate their own paths from the Maine coast to the global stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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94%<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

of 2020-2024 Bates graduates are employed and\/or attending graduate school \u2014 settled into their next opportunity within 6 months of graduation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I loved geology because it combines every science: biology, ecology, chemistry, geochemistry, physics. It\u2019s a little bit of everything. And you get to be outside a lot; the opportunity for field work was incredible. A geochemistry course in particular is the class that finally helped me decide I wanted to become a geologist. It really opened things up for me. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Madeline Bruno \u201817<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Selected Places of Employment\/Service<\/h6>\n\n\n\n