OpenFieldGreat Basin College is a pioneering comprehensive college in Elko, Nevada, serving rural northeastern Nevada with premier programs in mining technology, digital instrumentation, land management, and nursing.
Part of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), GBC is a national leader in modern mining technology, electrical instrumentation, diesel mechanics, and land surveying, partnering closely with the global gold mining industry in the Carlin Trend.
Open-door admissions policy for associate degrees and certificate programs (high school diploma or GED). Bachelor degree programs require associate degree completion or equivalent credits with 2.00+ GPA. International applicants require TOEFL iBT 61+ or IELTS 6.0+.
Advanced degree training instrumentation technicians in programmable logic controllers (PLCs), SCADA network architecture, and automated process control in heavy industry.
ABET-accredited degree program covering geodesy, GPS spatial positioning, boundary legal jurisprudence, photogrammetry, and geographic information systems.
ACEN-accredited nursing completion degree empowering registered nurses in remote western healthcare delivery, palliative care, and rural public health leadership.
Paid industry internship embedded with Nevada Gold Mines operations, focusing on pit slope stability monitoring, mineral processing metallurgy, and heavy equipment mechanics.
Endowed tuition grant supporting rural Nevada scholars and tribal students pursuing post-secondary technical and academic degrees.
Field research stipend supporting student hydrological surveys of Great Basin playa lakes, subterranean aquifers, and desert sagebrush ecosystems.
Professor of Land Surveying and Geomatics · Department of Geomatics
Dr. Byron Calkins teaches advanced boundary jurisprudence and satellite geodesy, consulting on western public lands surveying and mining claim disputes.
View research profile ↗Dean and Professor of Health Science and Human Services · Department of Health Sciences
Dr. Amber Donnelli researches clinical workforce retention in isolated rural frontier communities and educational modalities for non-traditional nursing students.
View research profile ↗Professor of Biological Sciences and Chemistry · Department of Science
Dr. David Freistroffer investigates drought adaptation mechanisms in Great Basin flora and soil chemistry alterations resulting from cheatgrass invasion.
View research profile ↗University profile compiled from official Great Basin College academic bulletins and institutional directories reviewed on 2026-10-16. OpenField is an independent research guide.