BSc (Hons) Geology and Physical Geography

You will learn about the history of the Earth, its past and present environments, and the planet’s resources and hazards. We look at the Earth as a global system, including the causes and effects of global environmental change. There is a strong emphasis on developing both laboratory and fieldwork skills. Combining fieldwork, practical classes, tutorials, and lectures, this course provides a diverse range of specialist options. You will focus particularly on research skills and aim to collect, analyze and interpret different types of data, and to carry out your own research using specialist software and equipment. Geology is also available as a Combined Honours degree.

Year 1

• Fundamentals of Physical Geography
• Minerals and Rocks
• Earth Structure
• Academic, Professional, and Fieldwork Skills
• People and the Environment
• Climate Change: The Scientific and Societal Context
• Stratigraphy and Palaeontology

Year 2

• Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
• Regional Land systems
• Practical Physical Geography
• Employability Training: Engaging with the Workplace
• Field Skills
• Reconstructing Past Environments
• Geographical Research Training

Year 3

• Geology and Physical Geography – Independent Project

Optional Modules

• Glaciers and Glacial Geomorphology
• Natural Hazards
• Global Environmental Change
• Economic Geology
• Advanced Topics in Sedimentology
• Exploration Geophysics for the Hydrocarbon Industry
• Applied GIS
• Advanced Fieldwork in Geography
• Structure and Geodynamics
• Water Resources
• Hydrological and Engineering Geology
• Micropalaeontology: Principles and Applications
• Coastal Environments
• The Science of Soil
• Inspirational Landscapes

Employability

As a graduate from this course, you will have a wide range of skills that are currently in demand and, given current concerns around environmental change and natural resources, are likely to be in demand for a considerable time to come.

You might choose to work in a subject-specific role in geological or environmental consultancy, in planning, for a mining company, or in the oil and gas industry. Having strong subject-specific skills, you will be an articulate communicator and confident problem solver, and these will be valuable attributes in a wide range of different careers.

Recent employers

• Base Energy Services Ltd
• Cyient
• GB Geotechnics Limited
• RSK
• Thomas Broadbent
• British Army