Igneous Petrology (GES180) and Metamorphic Petrology (GES181) are offered
on an alternating basis every year. Taught at a level appropriate for
advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, these courses
are a good refresher for entering graduate students who took a combined
ig-met-pet course as undergraduates, or as a first exposure for entering
graduate students who have undergraduate backgrounds in fields other
than geology.
Other courses that are taught at a similar upper division/entering
graduate student level, and that should be considered by entering graduate
students with holes in their backgrounds, are Geochemical Thermodynamics
(GES171), Structural Geology and Tectonics (GES110), and Structural
Geology and Rock Mechanics (GES111). Depending on their intended research,
some students may also benefit from taking cognate courses in chemistry
or material science, as determined in discussion with their research
advisor.
Stanford University is located amidst some of the most complex, interesting,
and scenic geology in the world. To gain an appreciation of the regional
geology and an introduction to the research of faculty involved in tectonics
and magmatism of the western U.S., we recommend that entering graduate
students take Geologic Evolution of the Western U.S. Cordillera (GES210),
which is accessible to students with a wide range of backgrounds. For
a field experience of nearby geology, we suggest Field Seminar on Continental
Margin Volcanism (GES182) and Field Seminar on Eastern Sierran Volcanism
(GES284).
Additional courses of interest to graduate students in High-T and -P
Processes include:
Radiogenic Isotopes and Geochronology (GES165)
Stable Isotopes (GES164)
Tectonics, Topography, and Climate Change (GES287)
Petrogenesis of Crustal Magmatism (GES285)
Volcanology (GES185)
Advanced Structural Geology and Rock Mechanics (GES215)
Rock Fracture Mechanics (GES216)
Physics and Chemistry of Minerals and Mineral Surfaces (GES261)
Environmental Geochemistry (GES170)
Solution-Mineral Equilibria: Theory (GES267)