Earth & Planetary Sciences Major
Stonehill’s Earth & Planetary Sciences program benefits students with a strong interest in math, physics, chemistry and computational methods as applied to planetary sciences.

The Earth & Planetary Sciences program provides students with training and skills that can be applied to the understanding of complex processes that shape the Earth’s surface and its interior, ultimately influencing life on our planet.
The program is also designed for students interested more broadly in the Earth as a system (planetary science) and the study of other planetary bodies in the solar system and beyond (astrophysics and space exploration).
The major can serve industry careers in the fields of geology, geophysics, oceanography, climate science, meteorology, public policy, education, traditional and alternative energy production and storage, and prospecting of natural resources.
Three Things to Know About the Program
The program is interdisciplinary, a collaboration between the Physics, Chemistry, Environmental Science and Mathematics Departments.
The major would be useful to those wishing to pursue advanced degrees in areas such as:
- Planetology and space exploration
- Planetary astrophysics
- Geology/geophysics
- Earth’s evolution
- Climate modeling
- Meteorology
As part of an early introduction to research, those students who are interested in astrophysics and geophysics can join one of our faculty members in the summer of their sophomore and junior years, as well as the spring semester of the junior year, doing work at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Stonehill professors immediately took an interest in me — as a person and as a scientist. [They] personally engaged me in physics research that allowed me to become sure of which direction to take later in the program.
Exceptional Opportunities
Stonehill Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE)
Internship and Career Opportunities
Places where Stonehill graduates have recently completed internships and/or launched careers include: