Page 123 - Handbook Bachelor Degree of Science Academic Session 20212022

Faculty of Science Handbook, Academic Session 2021/2022

the nation and region, such as organising conferences,
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY training courses and field work.

The Department of Geology, UM is the oldest Department of The Department has established cooperation in research with
Geology in the country. It was founded in Singapore in 1956 geoscientists, universities, and research laboratories from
and relocated to The Kuala Lumpur Campus in 1960. From its developed and developing countries in fields of common
modest beginning with only 4 academic staff and 2 final- year interest. The Department also has good rapport with agencies
students in 1962, the Department has expanded and evolved in the public and private sector in activities related to research
in terms of staff, facilities, and students in line with the and consultancy.
development of our nation and the increase in demand of earth
science graduates. In the last 15 years, the Department Facilities
produces about 50 graduates with Bachelor of Science in The Department is equipped with a wide range of laboratory
Geology and Applied Geology (introduced in 1968) annually. and field facilities for both teaching and research purposes.
Presently there are 13 academic staffs, and 20 support staffs Facilities for the preparation of rock slabs, rock thin-sections
in the Department. and polished sections are available and include rock saws of
various diameters and an automatic polishing. Excellent
Objectives teaching petrological, reflected, and transmitted light
As a main centre for earth science studies in a rapidly microscopes, as well as stereoscopes and a large reference
developing nation, the Department is aware of its collection of topographic and geological maps, rocks,
responsibility to train graduates of high quality in terms of minerals, and fossils are available for undergraduates and
academic excellence and communication skills. The postgraduate students.
Department constantly reviews and introduces new relevant
courses from time to time, to fulfil the requirements of both the The Department of Geology has one of the most advanced
public and private sectors. organic geochemistry laboratories in Malaysia. The laboratory
is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as hydrocarbon
Degree Programs Source Rock Analyser (SRA), GC, GC-MS, Pyrolysis-GC,
The Department of Geology offers two undergraduate degree ATR-FTIR and microscope photometry system.
programs, namely Bachelor of Science in Geology and
Bachelor of Science in Applied Geology based on semester Other major teaching and research equipment include LiDAR
system. This system provides students the chance to (Light Detection and Ranging), ICP (Inductively Coupled
complete the course in a minimum of 7 semesters. Students Plasma), XRD (X-ray Diffractometer), XRF (X-Ray
who apply for the undergraduate course should have some Fluorescence Spectro-meter), AAS (Atomic Absorption
background in Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics in the Spectrometer), seismograph, magnetometer, and particle
STPM level, Matriculation, or other equivalent qualification. size analyser. Macro- and micro-photography and image
The medium of instruction is English. analysis facilities are also available within the Department.
The Department has an excellent program of research A well-equipped computer laboratory with internet support,
training leading to a Master of Science (MSc) or a Doctor of complete with geological and geophysical modelling software
Philosophy (PhD) Degree. These postgraduate programs are are also available for students who are encouraged to use
based on supervised research and preparation of dissertation. computer techniques for analysis of their data. There is also a
The Department also offers Master of Science in Petroleum workstation laboratory with software for geological,
Geology by coursework. For admission to the Master Degree geophysical, petrophysical, structural and reservoir analysis,
program, the candidate must possess a Bachelor of Science modelling, visualization, and simulation that are widely used
degree with Honours, while for the PhD program the in the industry.
candidate must possess a Master’s degree.
The Department library, known as the Klompe Reading
Academic and Research Activities Room, is well stocked with a wide variety of recent geological
The staff of the Department are actively involved in studies books and literature and has access to the Main Library of the
and research in all aspects of geosciences in Malaysia. To University which has the largest collection of books and
journals in the region.
fulfil the needs of the private sectors, research on economic
mineral deposits, engineering and environmental geology, and
aspects related to petroleum exploration have been Career Opportunities
emphasised. Publications by the academic staff have In our rapidly developing nation, graduates in geology have
contributed significantly to understanding of general geology, excellent career opportunities. Graduates from the
Department have excelled in their career in both the public
mineralogy, petrology, geophysics, stratigraphy, and private sectors, in various fields such as academic,
palaeontology, sedimentology, structural geology and
tectonics of Malaysia and the region. mining, petroleum industry, engineering geology and the
construction sector. There is an increase in demand for
geology graduates. Expertise in geology is also required in the
The staff of the Department are actively involved in the
promotion and advancement of geosciences in Malaysia and construction of infrastructures, the chemical industries,
the South-East Asia countries through cooperation and mitigation of natural hazards and environmental monitoring.
linkages with various organisations such as the Minerals and
Geoscience Department of Malaysia, Geological Society of
Malaysia, AGID (Association of Geoscientists for
International Development), IUGS (International Union of
Geological Sciences), AAPG (American Association of
Petroleum Geologists), UNESCO, and PETRONAS.
Members of the Department have played important and
pioneering roles in organising activities that are beneficial to

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