Schedule a Department Visit

Prospective students and those accepted for future academic terms are strongly encouraged to visit the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Western Michigan University. Finding the right program for you is a complex process that involves much more than what you read on a website; finding the right program also involves meeting the faculty, staff and students of a department, touring the facilities and experiencing the culture of a department for yourself. In the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at WMU, we are very proud of what we do and would be grateful for the opportunity to share it with you.

A typical department visit includes a tour of the department, WMU campus and our off-campus core lab, the Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education. We also schedule meetings with faculty and staff who align with your specific study/research interests, as well as a faculty advisor. Depending on the length of your visit, we also try to coordinate a lunch with current students in your program and have you sit in on one or two classes of interest.

In the fall and spring semesters, students are encouraged to visit on Mondays as that is when we hold our weekly seminar series. As a result, students have the opportunity to sit in on a student/faculty luncheon with our visiting scientist. In addition, the student can end their day by attending the seminar presentation. Visitors are certainly not required to come on Mondays, however. We are happy to accommodate whichever days/times suit your schedule. Note: Students are welcome to schedule visits during the summer, but because many of our faculty, staff and students are engaged in research activities which require them to travel, there may not be as many people around to meet with.

In order to help us customize your visit, please answer the questions below as specifically as possible. You will be contacted by a member of the department to follow-up on your request. A completed itinerary is typically emailed to the requestor 2 to 5 days ahead of their arrival. An informational packet about your visit, including a campus map and parking pass, will be mailed to the address provided below to make getting to campus on the day of your visit as easy as possible.

Thank you for your interest in our department. We look forward to meeting you, learning about your interests and showing you all we have to offer!

If known, please specify which research areas you are most inclined to pursue. This information will help us customize your visit with regards to who you meet with and which classes you sit in on (e.g.: hydrogeology, glacial geology, economic geology, etc.)
Please provide at least 1 to 2 weeks advance notice so that we have time to coordinate your itinerary and mail you a parking pass.
Please provide the earliest time at which we should begin your itinerary and the latest time we should end it.
Please provide your mailing address so that we can mail you information bout your visit as well as a campus map and parking pass. This address will not be shared with the university or used for anything besides this specific purpose.
If you would like lodging advice or have general questions about the area, feel free to state that or any other message here.

Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences
Western Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5241 USA
Phone: (269) 387-5485
Fax: (269) 387-5513

Location
1187 Rood Hall, Mail Stop 5241