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We are accepting applications for the Assistant Professor of Instruction in Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences, with a focus on GIS instruction. Apply here.

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Earth and Planetary Sciences

Our Programs and Curriculum

 
Undergraduate field trip

Undergraduate Major & Minor

The academic program covers traditional topics and the latest advances in earth science. Courses may include theory, descriptive studies, data analysis, computer modeling, laboratory exercises, and field training. The minor offers students in any major outside the department a flexible path to improved knowledge of earth and planetary sciences.

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Graduate student in a lab

PhD Graduate Program

Now Accepting Applications Fall 2025

We welcome students with backgrounds that span the range of STEM disciplines, including physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, computer science, and mathematics, in addition to those whose undergraduate preparation was in geology or earth sciences. The department is recognized for a supportive and collaborative atmosphere where research and teaching are pursued at the forefront of earth and planetary sciences.

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Our Research and Facilities

 

Research Areas

Externally funded projects within the department span a wide range of research areas. Many of these projects are collaborative both within and outside the department, with notable ties to Argonne National Labs, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), the Field Museum, and the Chicago Botanic Gardens.
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Research Facilities

Northwestern University invested significant resources in the renovation of a lab facility for the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.  The result, the Integrated Laboratories for Earth and Planetary Sciences, occupies over 5,000 square feet of space and is designed to foster interdisciplinary research.
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2024 NEMMERS PRIZE

 

Prof Barbara Sherwood Lollar

(Above photo credit: Diana Tysko)
Earth and Planetary Sciences awards our fourth Nemmers Prize in Earth Sciences to Barbara Sherwood Lollar "[f]or her groundbreaking discoveries across several fields of Earth and environmental sciences, illuminating fundamental aspects of Earth’s life-sustaining water and carbon cycles.”

Learn more about Nemmers

LATEST NEWS

 

Prof Dan Horton co-leads the Buffett Institute’s Defusing Disasters Global Working Group

 “Climate change is making heat waves more intense and last longer, and they’re going to happen more frequently. The compounding effects of climate change and urban heat islands can have severe consequences for public health,” said Daniel Horton, Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Read the Article Here

Prof Rosemary Bush was inducted into the Canvas Hall of Fame in recognition of excellence in DEI/Accessibility.

"I really loved this course a lot, and I think the Canvas page mirrored some things I loved so well: it’s very organized and easy to follow, and also it allows you to go above and beyond if you’re passionate about the week’s subject.”

–Earth - A Habitable Planet student nominator

Read the Article Here

Merger creates new Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences

We are delighted to announce that we are now the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (DEEPS)!
Read the Article Here