Paleontology is more than just dinosaurs! Paleontology is the science of the history of life on Earth as recorded in the fossil record. Fossils are the remains or traces of organisms (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and other single-celled living things) that lived in the geological past and have been preserved in the Earth’s crust.
In this program, we study many subdivisions of the field of paleontology, including:
- Vertebrate paleontology: the study of fossils of animals with a backbone;
- Invertebrate paleontology: the study of fossils of animals without a backbone;
- Micropaleontology: the study of very small fossils that require the use of microscopes;
- Paleobotany: the study of plant fossils;
- Taphonomy: the study of how fossils are formed and preserved;
- Biostratigraphy: the study of the vertical distribution of fossils in rocks;
- Paleoecology: the study of ancient ecosystems and their development).
Our students are also often involved in research on ancient climate change and the evolution and extinction of former life forms.
A strong science background is essential, as well as a solid concentration in both biology and geology. An undergraduate institution should be chosen based on the quality of its overall science education and especially the quality of its biology and geology programs.
In addition to the paleontology courses, there are “core” courses within this program:
In geology: historical geology, earth system science, stratigraphy/sedimentology, mineralogy, climatology, and sedimentary petrology.
In biology: “organismal” courses (e.g., invertebrate zoology, comparative vertebrate anatomy, ornithology (birds are living dinosaurs!), plant structure and development, etc.; evolutionary biology, genetics, and phylogenetic systematics.