The geology program is designed to give students broad and formal training in the basic sciences as well as in the field and to provide extensive practical experience through research in their specialty. The exceptional flexibility of Cornell's graduate program provides ample opportunity for students to work across disciplinary areas. For example, arrangements exist for study of marine ecology, water resources, and various branches of applied geological science. Faculty members in other fields or divisions offer interdisciplinary courses including paleobotany, ecology and systematics, biogeochemistry, limnology, soil genesis, soil mineralogy, soil and rock mechanics, aerial-photograph analysis, environmental fluid mechanics and hydrology, fluid dynamics, elasticity, geotechnical and earthquake engineering, regional planning, hydraulics and hydrology, and materials science and engineering.

At least one minor subject outside the field is required for the doctoral degree. Before the end of their second semester in residence, all students must take a qualifying examination. This exam is in addition to those required by the Graduate School. It determines the candidate's fitness for undertaking advanced studies and enables the Special Committee to plan programs that will make the student familiar with the requisite knowledge in the chosen areas.

Research and study opportunities:
Research programs are being conducted by the field in such diverse areas as the study of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics on a global scale; the interaction of tectonics, topography, and climate in major mountain systems such as the Andes and Himalayas; investigation of igneous rocks in arc systems; experimental deformation of sediments; tectonics, seismology, sedimentation, and geomorphology of the central Andes; the study of rocks and minerals from the Earth's deep interior; the properties of minerals at high pressures and temperatures; the nature and movement of fluids in the Earth's crust; measurement of sea-level changes and recent crustal movement in the United States, South America, the Southwest Pacific, and elsewhere; seismic reflection profiling of the deep crust and upper mantle, with special projects in the United States, Tibet, Russia, Taiwan and the circum Indian ocean region; response of marine ecosystems to climate variablity and change; dynamics and mechanics of the lithosphere and asthenosphere; paleontological problems of New York State and elsewhere; engineering geology of selected localities; application of geophysical techniques to environmental and archaeological problems; marine ecological studies in the Caribbean Sea and Florida Keys; oceanographic studies in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans associated with the United States Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (GLOBEC) Prgogam; three-dimensional modeling of fluid flow in major oil basins; and synthesis of seismic and geologic oil exploration data in the Middle East.

The field maintains working agreements with institutions worldwide to facilitate research projects in those areas or to work on materials especially accessible there. A number of graduate students in the field conduct their research and write their thesis or dissertation based on projects sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Continents (INSTOC). Some of INSTOC's major projects are COCORP, INDEPTH, LEGENDS, SYRIASTOC, GBRN, and CAP. The Paleontological Research Institution, located near the campus, has facilities available to the specialized investigator.

The Ithaca region itself is particularly suited for research in stratigraphy, paleontology, geomorphology, and glacial geology. The nearby Adirondack area is classic for studies of igneous and metamorphic petrology, and much of the Appalachian orogenic belt is readily accessible.