Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) is pleased to welcome Dr. Siobhan Whadcoat as the Director of Professional Masters Programs in Earth and Environmental Science (EES). This role oversees the Master of Environmental Studies and Applied Geosciences Program, which includes the online Master of Science in Applied Geosciences as well as non-degree certificate and course-taking options. “Both the MES and MSAG programs have grown and changed to meet the needs of today’s students in the environmental and applied geosciences fields,” says Dr. Whadcoat. “I have the exciting job of adding new courses to our roster and expanding our program support. We are also working to deepen our connections to the wider university community and to the city of Philadelphia.
A geomorphologist with a particular interest in landslides, Dr. Whadcoat holds a BSc, MSc, and PhD in Physical Geography from the University of Durham, UK. She also completed a postdoc at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, working part-time for a geotechnical consulting firm. Her research focused on natural hazards, specifically understanding issues of slope stability and working to better forecast slope failure events. Siobhan has taught at universities in the UK, Germany, Canada, and the US.
At Penn, Dr. Whadcoat has worked as a full-time lecturer and academic adviser in the Earth and Environmental Science department, splitting her time between the undergraduate and professional master’s programs. She has taught courses on subjects including natural disasters, GIS, and landslides. “Having worked with the professional master’s programs in EES for the last few years, it is a privilege to now step into this leadership role for the programs,” she says. “In both programs, I am encouraged and inspired daily by the students. Their ideas and determination for tackling environmental and geological problems give me hope for the future of our planet and the way that we will continue to steward it.”
