| 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) |
| 2015 |
Jackson School of Geosciences marks 10 years as a college |
| 2020 |
Claudia Mora appointed dean |
| 2023 |
Department changes name to Earth and Planetary Sciences |
| 2024 |
B.S. Climate System Science degree established |