# Discipline type for rocks, minerals and extraterrestrial materials

**URL:** <https://speciforum.org/t/discipline-type-for-rocks-minerals-and-extraterrestrial-materials/3465>\
**Category:** Get Help\
**Created:** [March 24, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://speciforum.org/t/discipline-type-for-rocks-minerals-and-extraterrestrial-materials/3465 "2026-03-24T20:54:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mkaragian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8dc957/32.png) [@mkaragian](https://speciforum.org/u/mkaragian)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://speciforum.org/t/discipline-type-for-rocks-minerals-and-extraterrestrial-materials/3465/1 "2026-03-24T20:54:00Z")

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Hello,

Greetings from Crete,

We are currently working on setting up some new disciplines and collections for our institution. Specifically, we would like to create one discipline that includes three separate collections: rocks, minerals, and extraterrestrial materials. When we try to create a new discipline, there is no discipline type that suits this purpose. What can we do in this situation?

Thank you,

Michalis

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**Author:** ![Grant](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/speciforum.org/grant/32/4255_2.png) [@Grant](https://speciforum.org/u/Grant)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://speciforum.org/t/discipline-type-for-rocks-minerals-and-extraterrestrial-materials/3465/2 "2026-03-26T20:22:55Z")

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Hi @mkaragian,

Thanks for reaching out, and welcome to the Speciforum!

When creating a new discipline that does not neatly fit within one of our defaults, we recommend choosing whichever is going to provide you the closest defaults to what you are looking to accomplish. For example, historically we encouraged earth science collections to choose a ‘Paleontology’ discipline, as those featured default forms and field captions most similar to geosciences. For the most part, the type of discipline you choose sets _the defaults_, but you can effectively mold any discipline to meet your needs. The paleontology disciplines are a bit different, as they also unlock [Paleo Context / Geologic Context](https://speciforum.org/t/paleo-context-geologic-context/2228), additional trees like Chronostratigraphy, Lithostratigraphy, and Tectonic Unit, and [new search features for finding objects from within a particular age/time period](https://speciforum.org/t/extended-age-queries/2233).

I recommend waiting for the upcoming release of Specify 7.12, expected to launch next week, as we are introducing ‘GeoSpecify’ which will provide reasonable defaults for collections that are comprised of multiple collections (like rocks, minerals, and extraterrestrial materials):

> [@From Biodiversity to Earth Science and Beyond with GeoSpecify](https://speciforum.org/t/from-biodiversity-to-earth-science-and-beyond-with-geospecify/3343):
>
> The Specify Collections Consortium (SCC) is thrilled to extend its reach to geology with GeoSpecify, a database platform for curating research collections of rock, mineral, meteorite, core, and other kinds of geosamples. GeoSpecify is a new subsystem integrated into Specify 7.12. It takes advantage of Specify’s current capabilities and codebase and will be embedded and supported in all future Specify releases. Whether you are starting a wholly new geological data repository or adding a geologica…