KINGSTON, R.I. – Feb. 27, 2025 – What happens when sea levels rise, extreme weather events cause flooding, droughts cause wells to run dry, or soil water intrudes into aquifers? The University of Rhode Island’s Department of Geosciences is offering a new specialization — the only one of its kind in the state — to prepare students to address these pressing environmental questions.

While one might typically associate the field of geosciences with minerals, dinosaurs, or volcanos, every major environmental concern from clean water shortages to natural hazards relies on the study of earth, water, and climate sciences — the core areas of the Department of Geosciences.

Thomas Boving, professor and chair of the department, notes that this new specialization — which begins this fall with courses taught by faculty such as Ambarish Karmalkar, a renowned climate modeler and scientist — reflects both the expansion of the academic field as a whole and a timely response to workforce demand. There is a growing need for climate experts in various sectors, including private industry, non-governmental organizations, the nonprofit sector, and state and federal government.

“We are offering students a way to invest themselves in the problems of our time,” Boving says, noting that the university’s location in the Ocean State makes it the perfect setting for this type of study. Locally, the department is already putting their expertise into practice helping Rhode Islanders. “We’re working with many coastal communities where people are concerned about running out of water, saltwater intrusion, and water quality. Towns call us with particular concerns, and we work with students to identify how to get the data we need to study the problem.”

This is the third undergraduate specialization offered by the department. Students take courses on environmental data analysis, earth sciences, water resources, and climate science, and after their second year can choose to specialize in geological sciences, geological oceanography, or water and climate sciences by taking advanced level classes in the respective area. Most courses have a field component, including visiting local sites in Kingston and Providence, and national sites such as the Grand Canyon.

For questions about this new track, contact Boving, tboving@uri.edu.

This story was written by Anna Gray in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences.