1888 School of Geology established by Robert T. Hill
1891 First three students graduate who had taken geology classes
1897 First M.A. degree in geology awarded
1909 Bureau of Economic Geology established
1911 First women enrolled in geology courses
1912 Department of Geology established, B. A. degree program established
1919 First UT geology field camp established
1920 First organized Departmental field trip to west Texas
1923 Discovery of oil under University Lands in west Texas spurs expansion of the Department of Geology
1930 B.S. degree program in geology established, field camp required for degree
1930 First Ph.D. degree in geology awarded
1933 First Geology Building dedicated
1933 Bureau of Economic Geology publishes classic stratigraphic study, The Geology of Texas, v. 1, Stratigraphy, by E. H. Sellards and others (Bulletin 3232)
1941 Peak graduation number (80 B.A./B.S., 16 M.A.) from first oil boom
1942 Introductory field course established (now GEO 420K)
1948 Professor Ronald K. Deford hired to improve quality of the graduate program
1949 Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory (VPL) established
1950 Peak graduation number (185 B.A./B.S., 44 M.A./Ph.D.) in second oil boom
1950 Department of Geology Newsletter established
1953 Visiting speaker seminar series established
1953 Geology Foundation established
1957 Peak graduation number (130 B.A./B.S., 33 M.A./Ph.D. in third oil boom
1961 Farish Chair in Geology established, first endowed chair at UT
1961 Bureau of Economic Geology begins Geologic Atlas of Texas mapping project, which results in 38 sheets detailing the geology of Texas at a scale of 1:250,000
1967 Second Geology Building dedicated
1968 Department changes name to Geological Sciences
1972 Maurice Ewing founds organization in Galveston that later becomes the Institute for Geophysics
1972 Geology Foundation endowment tops $1M
1972 B.S. Geophysics Option degree established
1973 Bureau of Economic Geology begins historical monitoring of Texas shoreline
1973 Laboratory scientists aboard the R/V Ida Green collect the first marine multichannel seismic reflection profile ever collected by a university research group in the Gulf of Mexico
1974 Institute for Geophysics (then known as Galveston Geophysics Laboratory) incorporates with Marine Science Institute of The University of Texas at Austin
1982 Institute for Geophysics moves to Austin
1983 All-time peak enrollments (825 undergraduate and 225 graduate students)
1984 Peak graduation number (123 B.A./B.S., 43 M.A./Ph.D.) in fourth oil boom
1984 Bureau of Economic Geology moves to Balcones (now Pickle) Research Center
1985 Bureau of Economic Geology establishes first industrial associates program, a concept that grows into a major component of its sponsored research
1990 B.S. Hydrogeology/Environmental Geology degree established
1992 Bureau of Economic Geology publishes wall-sized, four-quadrant, 1:500,000-scale Geologic Map of Texas
1995 B.S. Teaching Option degree established
1995 Institute for Geophysics scientist Ian Dalziel publishes “Texas plateau” concept in Scientific American, linking Central Texas rocks with Antarctica
1995 Institute for Geophysics installs modern broadband digital seismometers at the Hockley Seismic Station, enhancing its capability to monitor earthquake activity
1997 B.S. Geosystems Engineering and Hydrogeology degree established, M.A. degree changed to M.S. in Geological Sciences
1998 M.A. with report degree established
1998 Board of Directors of the Offshore Energy Center inducts the Institute for Geophysics into the Center’s Hall of Fame as a Technology Pioneer in the field of “Search for Oil and Gas: Marine Exploration”
2001 John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences created within the College of Natural Sciences, with William L. Fisher appointed as director
2002 Bureau of Economic Geology begins operation of the Houston Research Center, core facility donated by BP
2003 John A. and Katherine G. Jackson Geological Sciences Building Dedication, Geology Foundation 50th Anniversary
2005 Jackson School of Geosciences approved as a separate unit at the level of a college
2005 William L. Fisher agrees to serve as inaugural dean during search for his replacement
2006 University appoints Eric J. Barron as dean
2007 Institute for Geophysics moves to first permanent home in Austin, on Pickle Research Campus
2009 University appoints Sharon Mosher as dean
2011 Dual Master’s in Energy and Earth Resources and in Business Administration established
2011 Department expands into second building on main campus (E.P. Schoch)