黑料传送门

Overview

When you hear the term paleontology, you probably think of dinosaurs. Plant-tearing, earth-stomping creatures with strange-shaped heads and spiky plates down their backs. And you鈥檙e right. But paleontology spans the entire history of life on this planet. As a paleontology major, epic phrases like 鈥済lacial movement,鈥� 鈥渕ass extinction鈥� 鈥渢undra ecosystem,鈥� and 鈥渆volutionary theory鈥� will all become a nonchalant part of your everyday vocab. Paleontology draws elements from physics, botany, ecology, chemistry, biology, and geology鈥攁nd works to explain how all of these fields are intertwined in our planet鈥檚 geological past. You鈥檒l study fossils, first and foremost, in order to learn what sorts of organisms used to live on Earth. That includes those of both vertebrates and invertebrates of every size, in addition to the fossils of plants. You鈥檒l learn how fossils form and what makes up their chemistry, and you鈥檒l gain the skills necessary to not only identify fossils but also interpret what they mean for your field.

You鈥檒l also study ancient ecosystems and how they formed, evolved, and sometimes disappeared. This major explores both land and sea, from all sorts of layered rocks holding the clues to our planet鈥檚 ancient history to thousands of feet under the ocean, where underwater fossils hold their own telling clues. Throughout your paleontology major, you鈥檒l be focusing on how life has evolved from the tiniest single-cell organisms to the complex life forms we are today. You鈥檒l learn how plants and animals have adapted to their environment, what鈥檚 happened when adaptation was unsuccessful, and what becomes of plants and animals when they die. Your added paleontological bonus: Every time someone throws out a sentence like, 鈥淚 wonder how that ever happened,鈥� you鈥檒l be the one to step up with a planet-savvy explanation.

As an undergraduate you鈥檒l gain a great deal of basic knowledge of the field of paleontology. But keep in mind that any serious paleontological career usually requires at least a master鈥檚 degree and often a PhD. Your undergraduate studies will be just the beginning if this is a field to which you plan to devote your life.