Academic Programs

Department of Earth Sciences

The University operates on a two-semester academic year. Each semester consists of fifteen teaching weeks. The fall semester runs from September to December and the spring semester from February to June. Course structures arc based on an American style credit unit system with a normal three credit science course consisting of two lectures and a two hour laboratory session each week. A normal semester load is around fifteen credits. Students' level of English is assessed on entry and they may spend their first year in language study before entering the academic program which takes a minimum of eight semesters to complete. A total of one hundred and thirty five credits and a grade point average of at least 2.0 are required to graduate.

The Department of Earth Science offers broadly based undergraduate degrees. The Oman Mountains provide a magnificent outdoor teaching laboratory with beautifully exposed examples of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks within easy reach of the University. Therefore field work is an important part of the program. The Geology project  is designed to integrate the theoretical knowledge obtained in formal classes and to train students in report writing and oral presentation skills. Field work is impossible during the hot summer months so it is completed during the cooler winter season in the four weeks of the January vacation.

The Department is currently running two bachelor programs, in Earth Sciences and in Geophysics and a master program in Earth Sciences (option Hydrogeology):