Further education in Cave Science

Gfarrow

New member
I am looking into a Cave science related university masters course to aid my preexisting Geology degree. Something like Speolology or Speleomorphology and Hydrology, potentially something Paleoclimate orientated as well. I am happy to study anywhere in the world. I am a keen caver with a geological background and would love to combine the two in pursuit of a new career.

If anyone has any advice or knows of any courses they could point me in the direction of it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
 

Andy Farrant

Active member
There are no specific cave or karst related university Masters courses in the UK, and postgraduate opportunities are limited. The best options are to do a Masters in either hydrogeology or engineering geology, as these give the best opportunities for a career in which you can apply an knowledge of karst. In the meantime, read 'Karst Geomorphology and Hydrology' (Ford and Williams, 2007) or Art Palmer's 'Cave Geology'. Karst related Phd studentships do occasionally come up, usually related to hydrogeology, so that may be an option, but they are very competative.

There are possibly more opportunities in the States, see for example http://caves.org/section/geogeo/programs.html - but I think this is somewhat out of date. Hazel Barton has grad students doing stuff on geomicrobiology for example.

And get involved with the BCRA! A good start would be the Ghar Parau Cave Science weekend: see http://www.gharparau.org.uk/science-weekend/
 
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