Several Arizona colleges offer coursework and degrees in paleontology.
Students desiring education in paleontology can find undergraduate coursework along with graduate level learning and research at several colleges in Arizona. Paleontology is the study of the history of life on earth as depicted through the fossil record. The discipline incorporates biology, geology, ecology, anthropology, archaeology and even computer science, according to University of California Museum of Paleontology.
Northern Arizona University--Flagstaff
Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff offers coursework in paleontology as part of a bachelor of science in geology. Students can specialize in many areas of geological disciplines, including paleontology. The university also has a master of science program in quaternary sciences, which includes the field of paleontology. "The program uses a multidisciplinary approach for a balance between eclecticism and specialization. Students develop broad competence in several disciplines---geosciences, paleontology, paleobotany, archaeology and climatology---and depth of knowledge in one," according to NAU's website. The university is also home to the Laboratory of Quaternary Paleontology, in which NAU partners with the Colorado Plateau Biodiversity Center.
Northern Arizona University
College of Engineering, Forestry and Natural Sciences
Department of Geology
Campus Box 4099
South San Francisco Street
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
928-523-4561
nau.edu
Arizona State University--Tempe
Arizona State University (ASU) main campus in Tempe offers paleontology courses as part of a geological sciences degree in the School of Earth and Space Exploration. The college also has courses in paleobotany, anthropology, geoarcheology and more anthropological topics. ASU offers a study-abroad program called the "South Africa Paleontology, Paleoanthropology and Paleoecology Field School." ASU is home to the Archeological Research Institute as part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The institute strives to "undertake the preservation of archaeological materials and related data, to pursue research activities associated with the archaeological record, and to conduct educational programs to disseminate knowledge of the past to Arizona's citizens," according to its website. ASU also houses the Institute of Human Origins, which deals with fossil evidence of human evolution.
Arizona State University--Tempe
University Drive and Mill Avenue
Tempe, AZ 85287
480-965-9011
asu.edu
Archeological Research Institute
929 S. Mill Ave., Building 150, Room 165
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85287-2402
480-965-9231
archaeology.asu.edu
Institute of Human Origins
Arizona State University
Social Sciences Building Room 103
P.O. Box 874101
Tempe, AZ 85287-4101
480-727-6580
iho.asu.edu
University of Arizona--Tucson
The University of Arizona (U of A) in Tucson has paleontology coursework in the geosciences program. Paleontology at the university "focuses on the processes of fossilization (taphonomy) and on the late Cenozoic history of life and environments," according to the school's website. An active area of paleontological research is conservation paleobiology, which the university describes as "the use of fossil remains and proxy indicators to assess human impact and to guide restoration."
The University of Arizona
Department of Geosciences
Gould-Simpson Building, 208
PO Box 210077
Tucson, AZ 85721-0077
arizona.edu
geo.arizona.edu
520-621-6004
Arizona Western College--Yuma
Arizona Western College in Yuma offers paleontology coursework as part of a geology associate of science degree. Paleontological principles are covered in other geology courses, according to its catalog, along with archaeology and anthropology.
Arizona Western College
P.O. Box 929
Yuma, AZ 85366-0929
928-317-6000
azwestern.edu
Pima Community College--Tucson
Pima Community College in Tucson has paleontology coursework focusing on humans as part of an associate degree in anthropology. Pima is also home to the Centre for Archaeological Field Training.
Pima Community College
4905 E. Broadway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85709-1010
520-206-4500
pima.edu
Centre for Archaeological Field Training
Pima Community College
West Campus -- R20
2202 W. Anklam Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85709
520-206-6022
wc.pima.edu/~dstephen/
Tags: Arizona State, Pima Community, Arizona State University, Arizona Western, Community College, Northern Arizona, paleontology coursework
