Courses

Several graduate and undergraduate courses are regularly taught by faculty and students of the glaciers group. In addition to the courses listed below, graduate students in glaciology can choose from courses on sea ice, permafrost, geodynamics, remote sensing, atmospheric science, numerical analysis and other related subjects. The glaciology degree requirements can be found here; a listing of all UAF courses (2011-2012) is given here.

International Summer School in Glaciology for graduate students
11-day intense graduate level glaciology course offered every other summer in McCarthy, Alaska; even years. The summer school in 2020 was cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic. The next summer school will be given in summer 2022.
organized by Regine Hock; taught by UAF glaciology faculty and external instructors.

Summer school in glaciology 2024
Summer school in glaciology 2022
Summer school in glaciology 2018
Summer school in glaciology 2016
Summer school in glaciology 2014
Summer school in glaciology 2012
Summer school in glaciology 2010

GEOS 617 – Glaciers – 3 credits
Offered every other fall; odd years
taught by Regine Hock
2 x 1.5 hour lectures each week

The course deals with present-day glaciers and ice sheets including the mechanisms responsible for their existence, motion and variations, and the paleoclimate information they contain. The course focuses on the processes related to glacier mass balance, glacier meteorology, energy exchange at the glacier surface, glacier-climate interactions, and the response of glaciers to climate change, but also includes topics such as glacier hydrology, ice dynamics, and glacier thermodynamics. The course includes lectures, student presentations and literature seminars.

PHYS 614 – Ice Physics – 3 credits
Offered every other spring; odd years
taught by Martin Truffer
2 x 1.5 hour lectures each week

The course contains a survey of the physics of ice. Topics covered include the crystal structure and properties of ice, high pressure phases, hydrogen bonding, mechanical properties, thermal properties, electrical and acoustic properties, nucleation and growth, optical properties, and surface properties (adhesion, friction). Students will develop an understanding of these properties from basic physical principles.

GEOS 692 – Glaciology Reading Seminar – 1 credit
Offered every spring (offered informally in spring 2018, i.e. without credit)
taught by Regine Hock, Erin Pettit and Martin Truffer
1 hour each week

This theme-based glaciology seminar is intended for graduate students or advanced undergraduates who wish to deepen their knowledge of the peer-reviewed literature in glaciology. More info here

GEOS 120 – Glaciers, Volcanoes, and Earthquakes – 3 credits
for non-science majors
Offered every semester
Glacier part taught by Regine Hock
2 x 1.5 hour lectures and a 3 hour lab each week

Description of glacier part: Alaska is one of the most glacierized areas in the world outside Greenland and Antarctica. The course provides a descriptive overview of what glaciers are, their significance for water resources, global sea-level and climate, how they move, grow or retreat, how they have fluctuated in the recent and geological history of the Earth, what they can tell us about former climates and what topical issues are in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska.