The University of Birmingham is a public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham, and Mason Science College, making it the first English civic or 'red brick' university to receive its own royal charter. The University have a long and proud history of firsts, at the University of Birmingham; they were the first – and are now one of the largest - civic universities in the UK.

At Birmingham, the institution teach and research across the full breadth of academic disciplines, creating a vibrant community with multi-disciplinary opportunities for research and education. The University is a truly international community consisting of more than thousands of staff, students, and alumni. The student community is not only one of the largest of any UK university, it is highly diverse, with 82 per cent of home undergraduate students from state schools, 32 per cent from a BAME background, and 35 per cent in the first generation of their family to attend university.

Year 1
The first year provides you with broad training across a wide range of Earth Science topics. All modules are compulsory. We don’t assume any prior knowledge; any chemistry, physics and maths that you require is taught in the context of individual modules, and applied to the problems that you’re investigating. Residential field trips to Northern Ireland and South West Wales will train you in key skills in geological observation, data recording and interpretation.

Compulsory modules

The Earth System
Structural Geology
Earth History and Life
Geoscience Project
Introductory Field and Research Skills
SW Wales Field Course
Earth Materials
Year 2

In Year Two we build on the knowledge and understanding gained in the first year across a wide range of Earth Science topics via a number of compulsory modules to ensure that your degree meets the accreditation requirements. There are also two UK-based residential field courses to SW England where you will cover a wide range of exercises, from palaeontology, sedimentology, petrology to structural geology, and to the Lake District to focus on developing your independent geological mapping skills. You will also select one optional module.

Compulsory modules

Project Planning for Independent Projects
Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
Sedimentology
Field Skills
Resource Geology
Rock Mechanics, Geophysics and Hydrogeology
Optional modules:

Geological Natural Hazards
Palaeoecology
Year 3
Your third year is spent at a partner institution overseas.

There you will have the opportunity to study a number of modules which will count towards your final degree. You will also complete an Earth Science Research Project - you may take advantage of the different geological environments to do this in your host country. The year abroad will deepen your learning by exposing you to a new environment with different opportunities.

Year 4
A major component of Year Four is your compulsory research project – in a topic that you devise with an academic to suit your interests and aspirations – and a skills-based field module that involves an international residential field trip. The remainder of your program is based on two optional modules drawn from Earth Sciences and Physical Geography allowing you to further specialise and follow your own interests (these should differ from Year Three choices).

Compulsory modules

Advanced Project
Advanced Skills in Geoscience OR Palaeontology Field Museum Skills*
*This module is only available to students following a palaeontology pathway that also select both of the modules Evolution of Vertebrates and Evolutionary Palaeobiology in the same year.

Optional modules

You also take two optional modules from a wide variety of topics. Example optional modules may include:

Palaeoclimates
Evolution of Vertebrates
Evolutionary Palaeobiology
Engineering Geology and Pollution Hydrogeology
Inorganic Chemistry and Groundwater and Borehole Design, Construction and Maintenance
Organic Contaminant Hydrogeology and Remediation
Tectonic and Volcanic Processes
Professional Placements for Earth Scientists
Exploring the Energy Transition
River Habitats and their Biogeochemistry
Hydrogeomorphology and catchment management
Please note: The modules listed on the website for this programme are regularly reviewed to ensure they are up-to-date and informed by the latest research and teaching methods. Unless indicated otherwise, the modules listed for this programme are for students starting in 2021. On rare occasions, we may need to make unexpected changes to compulsory modules after that date; in this event we will contact offer holders as soon as possible to inform or consult them as appropriate.

You will need to book the accommodation after you have been accepted.

You can choose to live on campus or off campus in private accommodation.

• Make a booking online after you have been accepted (in this case please let us know your choice when you apply).
• Register when you arrive - its not possible to reserve a room before arriving. You can arrive a few days before and book it