The atmosphere within the department is personalized and informal with major emphasis placed on teaching as well as on research. Most undergraduate major classes are small (10-30 students). Close faculty-student relationships are established by participation in various field trips and several annual student-faculty social events, including the fall picnic and the spring banquet. 

Since 1949, when Kent State University awarded its first undergraduate geology degree, the primary objectives of the department have been to provide students with a strong background in the broad fundamentals of geology and to prepare them for advanced study or for direct employment with industry or government. Among Ohio's 13 state universities, Kent's undergraduate geology program is the only one ever to receive special recognition from the Ohio Board of Regents in the form of a "Program Excellence" grant. The $145,000 grant was used to acquire and upgrade instructional equipment, departmental library materials and maps, and initiate an undergraduate Summer Internship Program.