Most of each course will be self-paced with videos, other media, and project work posted online.  There will be self-paced short online quizzes after some lesson modules and online project turn-in deadlines most days. There will also be daily group Zoom Q&A sessions with faculty plus the ability to schedule one-on-one Zoom discussion sessions with faculty or associate instructors. Both the group Q&A and one-on-one discussion sessions are “as needed” voluntary sessions for the students.

There will be approximately 30-40 hours of instructional material and project work each week. It is nominally set up as 6 hours per day, Monday-Friday. Weeks will end on Friday at 5 pm MDT.  Each week’s projects must be completed during that week, we won’t allow turn-in deadlines to slide into the following week. While we will not require work on weekends, we will post the following week’s material early Saturday morning for students who want to spread their work out over more days.

Within reason, we want to provide as much help as needed for each student.

July 21 - August 15, 2025.

The application process remains the same as for the face-to-face courses.  It requires an application form, unofficial transcript, and letter of recommendation from a geological sciences faculty.

Applications are open now. The deadline for applying to E432 is May 1, 2025.

The total cost includes tuition, transportation fees, room and board, and miscellaneous field station fees. IU has a tiered tuition rate distinguishing between in-state and out-of-state students. Generous scholarship support is designed to offset out-of-state tuition costs.

You are encouraged to bring your own laptop to IUGFS.  If you do not have a laptop, there are about 10 IU computers available to use in the workstation room.  If the number of people needing to use an IU laptop exceeds 10 we may need to set up a scheduling system.

There are several ATMs at or near locations that students can travel to on the weekends.

Most cellphone carriers work at high points when we are in the field and near I-90.  Verizon cell phones work at IUGFS and we have WiFi at IUGFS for voice and video over internet calls.

Yes, there is WiFi available in and near the Lodge and Classroom buildings.

No. Personal cars driven to IUGFS will be parked, locked and the keys given to the resident manager until the end of the course.

If you are planning to invite visitors to IUGFS while X429 and X498 are in session, you must inform us in advance by email to iugfs@iu.edu.  In the event of an ongoing health concern (Covid, norovirus, etc.) we will restrict access to visitors.