The Geosciences Department offers a variety of baccalaureate and advanced degrees as well as minors in both geology and geography. Study and training in the geosciences are designed to provide students with an understanding of the fundamentals of science, and to prepare students to enter either industry, teaching, or graduate school. The department offers a master of science degree in geology, and this program prepares the student to function as a professional, and also provides a background for those wishing to pursue a Ph.D. at another university. Fort Hays State University is located at the eastern margin of the High Plains, an area of one of the most complete sections of Late Cretaceous rocks in North America. Hays is a days drive from numerous classic igneous, metamorphic, paleontologic, and structural locales in Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, and New Mexico.
Field work is emphasized in the department, and undergraduate research is encouraged.
Scholarships and graduate teaching assistantships are available for qualified students.