Our Earth is a water-rich rocky planet that has given rise to abundant and diverse life. We study the whole Earth system, focusing on interactions between the solid earth, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere, and on the historical evolution of the Earth system throughout geologic time. We explore ongoing terrestrial, marine, and interior Earth processes that are taking place today, and we examine the geologic record to illuminate the past behavior and changing properties of our planet over timescale's ranging from centuries to billions of years. We use knowledge about active processes to read the rocky record of the past and seek clues to the origins of Earth’s features and life. From the record of the past, we extrapolate to predict global changes that will affect people in the future. We discover the marvels of our home planet at spatial scales ranging from the atomic scale to the global scale, through observations, measurements, experiments, and models. The Department of Earth Science at UCSB conducts many field studies in geographic areas ranging from the tallest mountain peaks of the Himalayas, the wilderness of Antarctica, to the vast undiscovered depths of the ocean floor. Our graduate and undergraduate students participate directly in the excitement of exploring terra incognita. Taught by a distinguished and dedicated faculty (including several members of the National Academy of Sciences, and winners of the UCSB Distinguished Teaching Award), students in Earth Science experience the wonder of discovery and come to appreciate and connect to the unfolding planetary drama of which they are part.

The goal of the graduate program is to equip young scientists for their future roles as independent researchers, teachers, scholars, and productive employees by teaching them the fundamentals of our science.

The departmental goal of the undergraduate program is to produce graduates with broad undergraduate education in the sciences, a firm grasp of geological principles and ideas, and an arsenal of intellectual and communication skills.