Pathway Profile: Geology

Welcome to EES 23rd June 2021

Dr Stefan Schröder discusses the Geology Pathway within our undergraduate Earth and Planetary Sciences degree.

The focus in this pathway, which is equivalent to a full Geology degree at other universities, is on Earth’s rocks and minerals that preserve a record of global change spanning over 4500 million years. You will learn how to read the rock record, and develop an understanding of the major physical, chemical and biological processes that have shaped the Earth over geological time. With their deep understanding of geological processes and the structure of the Earth, geologists determine the conditions for the evolution of life since its microbial beginnings, predict geological hazards from volcanoes or landslides, or study past climate climate change to understand anthropogenic impact on climate. Geologists have the integrated skill set to address future challenges to planet Earth.

For geologists the most important laboratory is the great outdoors and so this pathway has a strong fieldwork emphasis, with particular attention given to making and recording field observations and measurements that can be interpreted in terms of active geological and environmental processes. You will also develop skills in laboratory-based and numerical analyses to add a richer level of detail to those interpretations.

Professional accreditation of the degree is in progress. Geology is a diverse field with professional and academic career opportunities for students with creative minds and transferable skills. Your third year independent research project will provide you with a taste for how you might play a role in advancing our understanding of geological processes further if you are interested in geological research after your undergraduate studies.

Former Geology student Verity Fitch, now working as an Exploration Geologist, says: “My independent mapping project really improved my skills on how to successively describe rock types, create cross-sections and undertake structural mapping, all of which I still use today to carry out my job.”

Read more about our undergraduate pathways on course profiles and the Department website. 

anthropogenic impactclimate changesEarth processesEvolutionfieldworkgeological hazardsgeological timeGeologylaboratorymineralsrocks