Throughout the programme you will gain a rigorous understanding of the Earth, the way it works, its properties and materials, its history, evolution and environment, and the interaction between the planet and its inhabitants. You will also acquire the vital professional skills of communication, team building and problem solving.

Year 1

Initially you will study the major themes of Earth science. There are two courses in first year, covering plate tectonics, the structure of the Earth, earthquakes, volcanoes, how Earth materials deform, environmental issues, geotechnology, and exploration for oil, gas, coal and minerals.

Year 2

You will undertake four courses in the second year, building your knowledge of

• the solid Earth, dealing with global tectonics, igneous processes, metamorphic processes, minerals, geochemistry and isotopes
• palaeobiology, and the use of fossils to reconstruct environments and climates in the past
• the surface of the Earth in the past and the present day, including the impact of environmental change, stratigraphy and sedimentology
• the structure of the Earth, geological maps, and Earth exploration.

Years 3 and 4

If you successfully complete the courses in first and second years you can progress to Honours (third and fourth years).

At Honours you will study a number of core courses together with a wide range of optional courses. Core subjects include stratigraphy, metamorphic petrology, igneous petrology and geochemistry, sedimentary rocks, isotope geology, landscape evolution, structural geology, geological maps, geophysics, major earth processes and residential field classes.

Optional courses include engineering Earth science, hydrogeology and environmental geoscience, petroleum geology, micropalaeontology, glacial geology, coastal processes, orogens and basins, economic minerals, geographic information systems, palaeoclimates, sequence stratigraphy, geomorphology, fluvial systems and origins and evolution of passive margins.

At Honours level you will undertake two independent projects; one field-based geological mapping project and one laboratory-based research project. The latter involves the use of analytical facilities within the school such as state-of-the-art electron microscopes.

Beginning in the first year, our intensive fieldwork at every stage of the programme will mean you acquire professional-level field skills over a wide variety of locations and situations.

The opportunity to conduct Earth science research at many significant locations has taken our students all over the globe. We’re also fortunate at Glasgow in our proximity to many world-famous geological sites. Opportunities range from the outstanding geology of the Scottish Highlands to superb rock exposures on the west coast and ancient volcanoes of the Hebrides.

The Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment & Society (SAGES) brings together researchers from Glasgow and eight other universities who are involved with the study of the Earth’s environment and the way people interact with it. The SAGES initiative focuses on climate change, soil erosion, floods and greenhouse gases and their impact on such key issues as energy provision, food production and water supply.

Travelling and overseas work are major features of an Earth science career and we encourage our students to take advantage of the University’s extensive exchange programmes to study abroad. In recent years our students have studied in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Europe, and have seen spectacular geology when doing so.

Our recent Earth Science graduates are employed as

• Shell Exploration & Production, UK, production geologist
• Moultrie Geology, Australia, exploration geologist
• ATH Resources, UK, graduate geologist
• WA Fairhurst & Partners, UK, engineering geologist
• Anglo American plc, UK, technical and sustainable development coordinator
• Halliburton, geologist.