Environmental and Groundwater

Hydrology Field Camp

May 18 – June 2 — Three semester credits

Register Online

May 18 – June 7 — Four semester credits

Register Online

Application Deadline: May 15, 2026

PROGRAM DETAILS

Location

Rapid City, SD

start

May 18, 2026 at 8:00AM
Meet at SDSMT

End

June 2, 2026 - Three Credits
June 7, 2026 - Four Credits

Course

Environmental and Groundwater Hydrology Field Camp

Credits

Three and Four Semester Credits

Dates

May 17 - Check in to SDSM&T dorms May 18 - June 2, 2026 - Three Credits
May 18 - June 7, 2026 - Four Credits

Cost (3 Credits)

$3,995.00

Cost (4 Credits)

$4,995.00

Deposit

$300 is due at registration

Application Deadline

May 15, 2026

Enrollment Cap

Limited to 20 students

Camping

No Camping

Cost:

For 3-credit option — $3,995 undergraduate. For 4-credit option — $4,995 undergraduate. Includes tuition, all fees, transportation from Rapid City, lodging, and food. Deposit of $300 due at registration. No camping required.

This is an environmental/groundwater field course that provides students with an intensive 2 to 3-week field and laboratory experience. The course has been designed to enhance education and training for geology, hydrology, and environmental science and engineering students.

Most environmental and groundwater field problems have a strict geologic control including surface-water and groundwater flow, soil and rock properties related to formation and exposure to structural processes, contamination pathways along or beneath the land surface, and natural vs. introduced sources.

In this course, undergraduate students and post-graduate students requiring additional training will be introduced to current field and laboratory methods that are used to delineate, define, and characterize environmental field problems.  Students who desire an enriched hydrologic emphasis can choose the 4-credit option for additional instruction on how to assess groundwater sustainability (ie., how much can we pump?)

The following topics will be explored:

Field Camp Photos

Group photo of students working on a floodplain hydrology project in a canyon in the Black Hills.
Students working on a small stream in the Black Hills.
Students conducting measurement in a water well near Rapid City (below - left)
Measuring the discharge of springs at the headwaters of Rapid Creek in the Black Hills.

For more information contact:

Dr. Nuri Uzunlar, Director, Black Hills Natural Sciences Field Station 

Professor, Geology and Geological Engineering Department

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Office Phone: (605) 394 – 2494 ; Cell: (605) 431-1275

Nuri.Uzunlar@sdsmt.edu