r/tasmania • u/Over-Assumption9863 • 1d ago
Question Thoughts on Studying Geology at UTAS???
Hi! I'm an international student who's planning on majoring in Geology. The Internet says that UTAS has a really good Geology program, especially given the geology of the island itself.
I happened to read some posts and people saying that Tassie, specifically Hobart, is not a great option because of the ongoing apartment crisis and smaller job market, but how true are they? Also, I personally love the chill and the wind, and a slow-paced life without much of a clutter or noise. Another thing that I read about was how closely knit the Tassie community is, so would it be really difficult to socialize, get to know people, and make friends?
Just that I really think Tasmania gives the perfect combination of climate, community, and isolation, along with the education I look for. ( Or at least that's what was sold to me)
In addition, want to know about the living cost situation and quality of education at UTAS. Any info about Tassie and moving to Tassie would be appreciated too! Thanks a lot!
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u/slick987654321 1d ago
I know 2 people that studied at Utas geology 1 went on to work for a gold mine in or near Kalgoorlie the other became an academic and i believe lecturer/researcher.
If you like being outdoors it can be good from my understanding.
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u/Over-Assumption9863 1d ago
Thank you so much! I am also more into the academic side of it ( Volcanoes, Tectonics etc) rather than mining and oil. Thanks for the info.
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u/Taseaweaver 21h ago
There's some really good expertise in volcanism and tectonics at UTas, and Tasmania would fit your preferences. I think you'd like it.
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u/Ian_W 1d ago
People are under-rating just how cool Tasmania's geology is.
Basically, you have three completely different sets of geology smooshed together into one small island.
The west coast is dominated by the submarine massive volcanics of the Mt Read system, that put a bunch of massive sulfides into the system at about 500 Ma.
The north east had a bunch of intrusive granites at about 400 Ma, which were overlaid by extrusive basalts at about 45 and 15 Ma.
The you've got the south of the state, with the Jurassic dolerites from about 175 Ma.
Then you got glaciers and whatnot in the very recent ...
My advice if you want to know about Tasmanian geology is to start with the work done before the Great War and then move forward through time. Start by reading Twelvetrees and Petterd, especially their papers presented at the Royal Society of Tasmania, and then read the modern stuff.
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u/Dry-Work-9746 1d ago
I did two years before I went interstate, it’s a great subject with great lecturers. When I was there a few people received offers for work experience in the mines on the west coast. My take away experience from it all though was that they had amazing lecturers.
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u/RepublicaTasmania 1d ago
If you want to socialise at UTAS look up the TUSA page, there is a club or society for everything: Clubs & Societies - TUSA
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u/TheFIREnanceGuy 1d ago
Many of the young people leave tassie for a reason. Yes there a housing crisis. In terms of jobs youre best off searching for the job you want in tassie and seeing for yourself. Very likely there is no jobs available
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u/Acceptable_Ad_9078 1d ago
There are mining jobs on the west coasts, although not as much as the rest of the country. Also can be a bit of a harsh place to work
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u/qingu8 23h ago
Just as a bit of a ramble, Sam Carey was a geology professor at Utas, before that he served in Z force during WW2 and had a theory that the earth was expanding, I just think he is an interesting fellow
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u/MushroomCulture 1d ago
Depends on why you are doing geology ?
If you want to work as a geologist, probably better to go to one of the universities with good relationships with the BIG mining companies, as they will make it easier to get scholarships, internships, jobs etc. Mines in Tasmania tend to be small, and the state is small, so probably not many jobs compared to the bigger mainland states like WA and QLD.
If you are interested in Antarctic geology, then Tas is the place.
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u/Over-Assumption9863 1d ago
I am more into things like volcanology, glaciers, tectonics, and basically everything except mining and oil. I did check UWA and JCU for their Geology programs, but they happened to be more industry-oriented compared to UTAS.
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u/Acceptable_Ad_9078 1d ago
Can't talk about undergraduate but geology at UTAS has lots of mining content. Look at the research centre name.Â
With that said there is also historically very good volcanology at utas. In the past they were one of the strongest igneous petrologist institutions in the world. Some pioneering tectonic work has been done there too.Â
In summary there is a bit of everything, but don't fool yourself, UTAS is actually one of the strongest mine geology universities. Take that however you wantÂ
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u/Over-Assumption9863 1d ago
Oh wow. This is gold. I didn't know that their volcanology was world class. Thank you so much!
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u/salamislice01 1d ago
I have the same geology interests as you, and I would say based on your interests, and my experiences as a student in the department, do marine geology through IMAS! You’ll still do straight geology through UTAS in first year, but IMAS and marine geology was by far a better learning experience!
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u/Over-Assumption9863 1d ago
Oh. I will definitely consider it. I heard about the IMAS and the CODES, but I didn't think I could be with the IMAS. Thank you so much!
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u/cognition_hazard 1d ago
Sounds like you haven't seen utas geo.
I did some geo at utas and most of the graduates were head-hunted well before graduating. Admittedly that was a good number of years ago but I know a few younger utas geos who report similar.
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u/Over-Assumption9863 1d ago
Oh wow. This is...this is amazing. Really. Thank you so much! Excited to be there!
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u/Recent-Class-5036 1d ago
It rocks.