HISTORY OF THE GEOPHYSICS MASTER'S STUDY PROGRAM

The Department of Geophysics was initially one of the Study Programs under the management of the Department of Physics. The Department of Physics itself was originally established as the Physics Department under the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences (FIPPA), which was founded on August 17, 1963, in Makassar along with three other departments: Mathematics, Chemistry, and Biology. At the beginning, the Department of Physics had very limited facilities and human resources (HR), so it was only able to graduate students up to the Associate Degree level. To continue their Bachelor’s education, students pursued their studies at ITB Bandung, UGM Yogyakarta, or Unpad Bandung. This situation continued until the 1980s. With the addition of facilities, the development of human resources, and collaborations with several related government and private institutions, in 1983 the Department of Physics of FIPPA Unhas successfully graduated its first Bachelor of Physics.

During the leadership of Prof. Dr. Achmad Amiruddin as Rector of Unhas, FIPPA including the Department of Physics merged with the Faculty of Engineering under the name Faculty of Science and Technology. Later, in 1983, it separated again and was renamed the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) and the Faculty of Engineering.

In 1983, through the Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture No. 0174/10/1983, the Physics Study Program of FMIPA Unhas was officially established as part of the Department of Physics. Over time and in response to increasing needs, in 1995 the Department of Physics, which only had the Physics Study Program, expanded by proposing the establishment of the Undergraduate Program in Geophysics, which was officially founded on July 11, 1996, with the issuance of the Decree of the Director General of Higher Education No. 234/DIKTI/KEP/1996.

Subsequently, in 2015, in an effort to meet the demand for physicists and geophysicists, the Department of Physics further expanded by proposing the establishment of the Master’s Program in Physics and the Master’s Program in Geophysics. Both programs received establishment and operational permits from the Director General of Higher Education based on the Decree No. 12/KPT/I/2015 dated September 25, 2015. Based on this, the Master’s Program in Geophysics (PSMG) began admitting new students and conducting academic activities on May 20, 2016, in the Odd Semester of the Academic Year 2016/2017.