Whether you are a prospective student searching for information about our Department, an alumnus checking out the latest developments, or simply someone who is interested in the geology, welcome to our website. We hope that you find it informative, but if you do not find the information you are looking for, you are welcome to contact me.

The present Department of Geological Sciences is descended from the Department of Mineralogy and Geology, which is one of the oldest departments in the University. As a Department, we have maintained our commitment to providing high-quality training in the basics of geology, with an emphasis on field and practical training in the laboratory. The relatively small number of second and third year students helps us to maintain active and close relations between the academic staff and students. The small number of 4^th year (Honours) students permits small-group teaching, and allows us to provide each student with a meaningful research project for the Honours year. Feedback from our students indicates that they find our courses hard work, but a good preparation for a career in industry or research.

Our aim in recruiting of academic staff has been to maintain expertise across the various fields of geology (including geophysics, and geochemistry) and in our research we try to maximise the benefit of living in a country with the finest geology on the planet. One thing that has not changed in over 30 years is our commitment to producing high-quality analytical data using a variety of in-house facilities. In this we rely on our team of dedicated and highly-skilled scientific and technical staff.

Cape Town is a beautiful city and UCT campus is situated on the edge of the Table Mountain National Park. If you are interested in studying geology, looking for post-graduate or post-doctoral opportunities, or simply curious, I invite you to peruse our web site to see what we have to offer.

Philip E. Janney
Associate Professor and Head of Department