Page 15 - Eureka-2013

Photo left: Fourth-year and graduate level earth sciences students
hiked in to Cajon del Maipo at the edge of the Andes mountains near
Santiago, Chile, in the spring of 2012. The group observed vertically tilted
sedimentary beds and the abundant fossils in the area. Earth Sciences

Geology student chiseling rock on a 1974 field trip.

students are studying, Cousens adds
Earth Sciences students are helped
at Carleton by a strong endowment
program and scholarships.
“For undergraduates who go on field
courses, they get $1,100 back,” Cousens
explains, adding that funds are also
used to award scholarships for students
who maintain a high grade point
average. “The endowments are critical,
and extremely valuable.”
While there is currently no specific
endowment fund available for graduate
students in earth sciences, three donors
came forward to cover a large part of
the expenses for the Antarctica field
trip. “Unless they could fundraise, no
one could afford to go,” says Cousens.
Allowing students to go on these field
courses is crucial in helping them get
jobs afterwards, adds Professor Bell.
He says the real-world work experience
on field courses makes earth sciences
students among the highest employed
after graduation. “Undergraduate
students at Carleton, after their second This black and white image captures geology students at their campsite while visiting Peyto
Glacier in Banff National Park in 1974.
field season, had more experience than
I did after my seven years studying in
England,” Bell says.

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