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Gilmorehill Campus

Content

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.

You will also study two other subjects in year 1 according to your interests: see Degrees in Arts, Science and Social Sciences.

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.

You will also study one or two other subjects in year 2 according to your interests: see Degrees in Arts, Science and Social Sciences.

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 geology, isotope geology, tectonic geomorphology, 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 macrogeomorphology.

Entry Requirements

2024 entry requirements

Standard entry: 4 Highers at AAAB (by end S6 with min BBBB after S5) including 2 science subjects.

Widening access entry: 4 Highers at AABB or BBBB (by end S6) including 2 science subjects. Completion of pre-entry programme is necessary.