Hilo, HI
Catch a flight OutdoorsField sites Sci., Engineering, & Tech
Spend 10 days on the Big Island of Hawaii with projects that will investigate past and present volcanic and tectonic systems of Hawaii.
12 days travel at
$3,260 plus tuition
GE 430 / GEOL 610
3 Credit Hours
Instructed by
Dr. Jennifer Gifford
Priority Deadline
October 3, 2025
Travel Overview
Go beyond textbooks and lecture halls. Study USA’s travel courses combine academic learning with hands-on, real world experiences. Every class maximizes its unique location with immersive activities.
You’ll earn academic credit, apply what you’re learning directly to your surroundings, and engage in lively class experiences—all guided by Ole Miss faculty.
What You'll Learn
- Understand the active volcanology of Hawaii and the related geohazards.
- Be able to formulate a plan to conduct field investigations and properly record data, including working knowledge of the equipment needed to make such observations.
- Be able to conduct a simple transect to map the extent of various features and to graph a topographic profile to inform geologic site characterization.
- Be able to translate a mapped section and utilize geotechnical properties to inform the design of a series of reinforcement structures to support road construction.
What You'll Do
- Experience a tea workshop and soil profiling at Big Island Tea.
- Conduct lava sampling in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
- See Carlsmith Beach Park Black Sands.
- Learn about volcanoes Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea during a geologic hazards field day.
- Visit the USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory (HVO).
- Explore the southernmost point in the U.S., home to one of only four green sand beaches in the world.
All activities are tentative and subject to change depending on scheduling, booking availability, and course adjustments.
Meet Your Instructors
All Study USA courses are designed and led by Ole Miss faculty. Your instructor(s) will be your first point of contact during your travels and lead you through all the class experiences.
Dr. Jennifer Gifford
Associate Professor
jngiffor@olemiss.edu
Dr. Jennifer Gifford began working as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Geology at St. Lawrence University after earning her Ph.D. from Florida. She transitioned to an assistant professor appointment at the University of Mississippi in the summer of 2015 and attained tenure and promotion in 2021. Classes that Dr. Gifford teaches include Study USA Field Camp to Wyoming, Mineralogy and Elementary Petrology, Structural Geology, Global Tectonics, Advanced Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, and Optical Mineralogy.
Dr. Gifford loves the opportunity to teach at off-campus locations and to be able to provide hands-on learning experiences.
She thinks one of the more important things students can take away from the course is the opportunity to view rocks and outcrops in-person rather than only in photographs—gaining the ability to visualize geology in three dimensions. She feels that being able to get students up close and personal with active geologic areas provides a far better learning experience than pure lectures.
“Field work is intrinsic in the geosciences. Learning how to work and succeed in the field will only help geology and geological engineering students in their futures.”
– Dr. Gifford
From the Field
