Environmental Geoscience

Summary:
Explore the processes that drive our global Earth system on land, in the ocean, in the crust, and in the atmosphere.
On your four-year integrated Environmental Geoscience Master's you'll combine geology, geography, and oceanography, giving you the freedom to specialise in subjects ranging from environmental law to marine pollution.

Based at our Waterfront Campus at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton, one of the leading research centres globally for ocean and earth science, you'll graduate ready for a career that tackles global environmental challenges.

Key features of the course:

Study at our Waterfront Campus, based at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton, a global hub for ocean and earth science research.
Build a multidisciplinary understanding of Earth and environmental systems through an applied degree with a strong focus on fieldwork.

Shape your degree around your interests with flexible module choices and specialist topics.

Learn through lectures, laboratory work and fieldwork, developing practical skills valued by industry and research.

Join a department ranked 8th in the UK and top 40 globally for Earth and Marine Science (QS World Rankings by Subject 2026).

Be part of a university where 99% of Ocean and Earth Science graduates were in employment or further study 15 months after graduation (Graduate Outcomes 2022/23, published 2025).

Student support:

You will be supported throughout your studies by academic staff who will mentor your development and help you build the expertise needed for your future.

They will guide your module choices, support your academic progress and help you plan your next steps, whether that is a career in industry or further study.

Further information:

This course is open to UK and international applicants and, depending on the modules you choose, is predominantly based at our Waterfront Campus.

We have a varied range of modules for all years, which gives you the opportunity to tailor your studies to your passions and to equip you with the skills and experiences needed for success as a graduate. Here's what you might expect, from each year of study:

Year 1: An introduction to a range of earth and ocean science topics, alongside developing key analytical and field skills.
Year 2: Choose whether you will specialise in earth or ocean geoscience topics and field skills on either the Geoscience or Marine pathway.
Year 3: Choose specialist modules, develop your skills as an independent researcher and learn applied field skills on land or at sea.
Year 4: Conduct a novel piece of independent research alongside choosing specialist modules from a range of advanced topics.

For full list of all modules available, please visit the course page.

Your learning is delivered, and assessed, through a wide range of methods to ensure you develop a broad variety of skills that will set you up for success after graduation.

The learning activities for this course include lectures, classes and tutorials, coursework, individual and group, projects and independent learning.

We’ll assess you through coursework, laboratory reports and essays, dissertations, individual and group oral presentations, poster presentations, research project reports, written and practical exams, fieldwork/boatwork exercises and reports.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• The Geological Society