Earth Science and Physical Geography MEarthSci
Entry requirements
A level: from ABB to BBB in one set of exams (required: Biology at B, Chemistry at B, Geography at B, Geology at B, Mathematics at B, Physics at B) IB: from 32 points with 655 at HL to 30 points with 555 at HL
About this course
MEarthSci in Earth Science and Physical Geography, an earth and environmental sciences degree focused on the study of our planet's physical processes and history. Core topics include Programming, Research Methods, and Fieldwork. The course includes a final-year independent research project undertaken during an additional fifth year of study. The first year establishes fieldwork, computing, and quantitative skills alongside fundamental concepts in physical geography and the processes shaping the Earth. The second year expands into computational, programming, and communication skills, geological and geomorphological measurement and mapping, and geomorphology. The third year introduces tectonics, water resources, and climate change and sustainability, alongside dissertation research project design. The fourth year covers water resources, ice sheet change, and geological solutions to carbon capture and storage. The fifth year focuses on surface processes, honing research methods, and designing research projects and synthesising literature.
Modules
- begin to establish fieldwork, computing and quantitative skills
- gain an understanding of the processes which shape the Earth
- learn fundamental concepts and current ideas in physical geography
- develop the skills to recognise the evidence for these processes in rocks
- further develop computational, programming and communication skills
- learn what the Earth is composed of, its minerals, and the processes that form rocks
- build upon field skills, including geological and geomorphological measurement and mapping
- learn about geomorphology and the physical processes that shape the Earth's surface at a range of scales
- tectonics
- palaeontology
- water resources
- rocks, resources and hazards
- climate change and sustainability
- develop the foundation of your study direction for Year 4
- begin research training by designing your dissertation research project
- water resources
- ice sheet change
- our geological and geomorphological heritage
- geological solutions to carbon capture and storage
- landslides
- volcanoes
- earthquakes
- sea-level rise
- coastal erosion
- ocean acidification
- surface processes
- honing research methods and transferable skills
- designing research projects and synthesising literature
- new methods and concepts at the forefront of geoscientific research
- the linked interactions around landscape formation and climate change