|
FAQ 
Frequently Asked Questions
| Expense | Fee |
| Tuition | $1,466 |
| Field Transportation | $547 |
| Room and Board | $888 |
| Computing Fee |
$74 |
| Textbooks Total |
$75 $3,050 |
Are there jobs or scholarships that can help to pay my way?
Yes, a limited number of jobs and several scholarships are available. See the detailed information on the Jobs and Scholarships page.
Application & Scholarship Deadlines
We accept students for the course until the course if full. However, jobs that are available are commonly filled early. Also, we award scholarships on February 15th, so you should apply by early February if you are interested in applying for one of the scholarships.
What are the prerequisites for the course?
We expect you to have completed courses in Historical Geology, Structural Geology, and at least one of the following courses: Stratigraphy, Sedimentation, or Petrology (including a sedimentary rock component).
What are my options for traveling to the camp?
You have three options for getting to camp:
(1) You can ride to camp from Columbia Missouri and back in one of our vans. You will leave from Columbia on the morning of May 30th (8:00 a.m.), and you will depart camp to return to Columbia on the morning of July 13th. The fee for this transportation is $200 and includes two night's lodging on the way to camp and one night's lodging returning from camp. We will provide one-way transportation for $110. The vans will arrive in Columbia late in the afternoon on July 14th. We can also pick you up or drop you off, by pre-arrangement, at specific locations along the route in Kansas City or St. Joseph. We can also meet you at the Kansas City Airport on the morning of May 30th (be there no later than 9:30 a.m.) and return you to the airport mid to late in the afternoon of July 14th (do not book a flight before 6:00 p.m.). If you cannot make make reservations that meet these flight arrival/departure times and must arrive the previous day (or leave the following day), there are several hotels adjacent to the airport, and we can pick you up and drop you off at the hotel. See, for instance, this Econo Lodge link: http://www.kansas-city-mci.com/mo051.html
(2) You can fly into Riverton, Wyoming on the morning or afternoon of June 1st and depart from Riverton on the morning of July 13th. The Riverton Airport is the closest commercial airport to Lander (about a 45 to 50 minute drive to camp), and is serviced daily by Great Lakes Aviation (a United Express feeder) from Denver, CO. We can provide your transportation between the airport and camp for both your arrival and departure if you make arrangements with us in advance. In making your flight plans, we recommend that you contact a local Lander travel agent, such as Noble Travel (1-800-332-4882) or e-mail nobletravel@rmisp.com . They keep on top of all the latest news on travel to the area. We recommend that you make your travel plans as soon as possible to avoid complications. You should consider purchasing tickets that are refundable or changeable in case unforeseen events force changes in your plans. Keep in mind that airlines often overbook their flights to Riverton. To be sure you aren't bumped, allow plenty of time between your connections in Denver. Get to the gate early to check in. If you have a confirmed reservation and are on time, you deserve a seat on the flight.
(3) You can drive or ride with a friend. You should plan to arrive at the camp between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. on the afternoon of May 30th. If you arrive in the area a day or two ahead of time, there are campgrounds in Sinks Canyon both upstream and downstream from the camp. We don't start checking people in until 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 1st.
What is the food service like?
Breakfast and supper are served cafeteria style in our dining hall, and include typical dormitory food-service menus. Sack lunches in the field include sandwiches, fruit, and cut fresh vegetables. We can make limited accommodations for those who do not eat meat. If you have questions about vegetarian accommodations, contact us for answers. Students are not responsible for any aspect of camp's food preparation or maintenance.
Our field projects are graduated to lead you progressively through the processes involved in field mapping and more specialized field studies to expose you to progressively more complicated field settings. The projects include components in introductory techniques, sedimentalogy, stratigraphy, mapping in both sedimentary and hard-rock terranes, structural analysis, surface and groundwater hydrology/geochemistry, and shallow geophysical techniques. For more detailed information, link to our Curriculum and Project Listings pages.
What do we see on the trip to Yellowstone & adjacent areas?
The trip through northwestern Wyoming and adjacent areas of Idaho and Montana include stops in Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park, the Hoback Canyon, the Snake River Plain, Yellowstone National Park, and the Beartooth Mountains. The trip includes instruction on the tectonic, volcanic, geothermal, glacial, and geomorphic history of the region. We examine some of the classic geologic features of Wyoming and explore the great variety of tectonic styles and rock types present in northwestern Wyoming. The features we see include: block faulting in the Grand Tetons, thrust faulting in the Hoback Canyon, the volcanic rocks and thermal features of the Snake River plain and Yellowstone plateau, spectacular alpine glacial features of the Beartooth pass, and exotic slide blocks associated with the Heart Mount detachment. A series of evening lectures and course textbooks give you geological background for the areas visited, and the trip includes brief field lectures to explain how the features you are seeing fit into the history of the region.
The projects, which each include short reports, account for half of your grade and are completed in teams of two to three students; team members are changed for each project. Two field examinations and one examination on regional geology make up the other half of your grade. Both field examinations are a day in length and are completed individually. When you leave camp, your work is finished.
Questions about completing the University's Easy Access form?
The Easy Access form must be completed by non-MU students applying for our course. The form that is posted on this site already includes all of the information that you need to supply about our course. The following points sequentially address the most common questions that students have about this form (starting at the top of the form) and the associated "Policies" page.
We will supply an MU student number for the form
6. If you are a U.S. citizen you do not need to provide an answer for point 6
16. You only need to indicate the course hours that you have completed to date. So, for instance, you do not need to include the courses you are currently taking but have not completed. Note, however, that the Department Application, which you must also complete, does request that you indicate all courses that you will have completed by next summer. For date of last attendance, you can just indicate “current” if you are currently attending a college or university.
19. We verify that you are a student in good standing in your department (i.e. not dismissed or on academic probation) based on a verifying name and signature that is provided by one of your professors on the Department Application. You do not need to send any other verification.
Policy Page:
6. Applicants may be eligible for scholarship, jobs or financial aid for the course as described on the Scholarships and Jobs page of this site.
9. Fees for our Field Course are determined by the MU Provost's office and may not be the same as those for regularly admitted resident or non-resident students. The fees are payable on a schedule that is determined by our Cashier's office, and statements are mailed to each accepted applicant.
If you have other questions about completing this form, contact Kristin Bennett at (523) 882-6785 or bennettk@missouri.edu .