Paleontology courses offer the study of fossils.
Paleontology is more than the study of fossils. It spans the entire history of life on Earth, and draws elements from physics, chemistry, ecology, botany, biology and geology. Often housed in the geology, earth sciences or geoscience departments of universities, paleontology courses look at the fossil record to answer questions about topics as varied as climate change, mass extinctions and ecosystem development. While there are no colleges in Pennsylvania that offer paleontology as a degree or even as a degree major, several schools conduct research and offer some courses in the subject.
Pennsylvania State University -- Penn State Main Campus
Penn State offers courses at the 400-level in different areas of paleontology in its Geosciences program. GEOSC 420, Paleobotany, looks at the classification, morphology and stratigraphic occurrence of fossil plants. The course involves a field trip. GEOSC 422 covers the history of vertebrates and related modern evolutionary thinking, and requires several field trips. GEOSC 424 uses fossils to solve scientific problems in several areas, including evolution, systematic paleontology and paleoecology. GEOSC 428, Micropaleontology, examines the biology and ecology of microfauna and microflora.
Temple University
Two paleontology courses are offered at Temple University. A course in Paleontology and Stratigraphy presents the fundamental concepts of stratigraphy alongside a functional and ecological analysis of fossil invertebrates. Two field trips are part of the course. In Vertebrate Paleontology and Taphonomy, students learn the basics of vertebrate physiology, and use them to reconstruct and interpret ecosystems.
University of Pittsburgh -- Main Campus
The University of Pittsburgh offers GEOL 1052, Paleoclimates, which presents an overview of the methods scientists use to reconstruct the Earth's climate history, as well as techniques to determine the timing of environmental changes. In GEOL 1200, the History of Life on Land, students examine fossilization, evolution and paleoecology.
Franklin and Marshall College
The paleontology facilities here include a morphosis imaging system. Students use this in GEO 433 (Paleontology) to transfer digitized video images to a computer for spatial analysis. The college has general and specialized fossil collections, along with four stereoscopic microscopes. Students hunt for fossils in the Fruitville Quarry, owned by the school.
Bryn Mawr
Paleontology at Bryn Mawr involves the study of paleoecology, stratigraphy and geochemistry, focusing on understanding Earth's changing life, climates and environments. Current research projects investigate mass extinctions and deep-time climate change, and organism-substrate interactions. Courses are offered that include paleontology issues such as Earth History, The Origin and Early Evolution of Life, and Invertebrate Paleobiology.
Tags: Bryn Mawr, climate change, field trips, Main Campus, mass extinctions
