Courses

The department offers a wide range in lectures, seminars and laboratory courses, both at Bachelor's and Master's level. The courses have a strong geological and mineralogical focus and provide students with the opportunity to further specialise. This specialisation is unique among geography study programs in Germany.

Geologen im Gelände

Field courses

The lectures are complemented by a wide range of excursions. Here, participants have the opportunity to deepen and apply their theoretical knowledge. The couses range from one-day to one-week field trips; thematic focus is typically on aspects of regional geology, Earth history and economic geology.

Theses

The program is rounded off by a theses at Bachelor's and Master's level. The topics assigned are extremely varied and are usually based on the research areas of the respective supervisors, but also on the individual interests and previous knowledge of the students. The topics can be more theoretical or more practical (laboratory).

Projects & Funding

The research fields of the department are thematically and geographically broad; South Africa, Namibia, Uruguay, Canada, China and Central Europe are among the most important fields of work. The research is financed partly by state funding (German Research Foundation DFG), foundations (Volkswagen Foundation) and partly by industry funding.

Publications

The members of the department regularly present their research results in renowned national and international journals. Here you will find an overview of all peer-reviewed original papers published in internationally recognised journals, as well as selected conference papers and recently published book titles.

Analytical Facilities

The department has several laboratories, e.g. for bulk geochemical analysis (XRF, AAS, wet chemistry), crystal structure determination (XRD), spatially resolved surface analysis (microscopes, microprobe, SEM). A facility for the investigation of fluid inclusions in crystals is currently under construction.

Services & Public Relations

The expertise of the department is also available to a limited extent to organisations and individuals outside the University of Würzburg. Worth mentioning are advisory activities in politics, commissions for the analysis of geomaterials, active participation in international professional associations, the foundation of the Bavarian Competence Centre for Geogenic Raw Materials (BKGR). The department also houses the Mineralogical Museum, which is open to the public.

Library

The department has a well-stocked library, which is to be seen as a supplement to the central library of the University. It contains special journals as well as textbooks and other special literature from the fields of geology, mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry and economic geology, as well as a collection of geological maps. On request, the sub-library is accessible to students, members of other departments, and external visitors.

Annual Reviews

The activities of the department (teaching, publications, third-party funding, inventory) were summarised in annual performance reports from 2001 to 2017, which can be viewed here. Since 2018 and in the course of the redesign of the website, all activities will now appear online.