Environmental Geoscience with a Year Abroad

This degree offers you a broad understanding of geography, combining themes from geology, geosciences, physical geography and environmental science. You will explore a wide range of topics including geology, geological mapping, volcanology, plate tectonics, climate change, natural hazards, pollution, and coastal and land management.

Geosciences is an interdisciplinary subject that explores the Earth’s geographical and geological history and investigates the processes that have shaped the planet for millions of years. The discipline spans everything from the subsurface to the atmosphere, from glaciers to deserts, rainforests to soil microbes, and from people to the landscapes they inhabit. Through this breadth, geosciences contributes to addressing global challenges with strong links to the UN Sustainability Goals.

Throughout your studies, you will gain strong practical and analytical skills. The programme includes in depth training in writing, statistics and critical thinking, alongside subject specific laboratory work and fieldwork that allow you to apply your learning in real environments.

The degree is designed with future geoscientists in mind. A tailored structure with preselected modules gives you the opportunity to develop your interests within the discipline while providing a clear route towards specialisation. You will also build skills that support career preparation, from scientific investigation to data analysis and problem solving.

We are ideally placed to offer exceptional fieldwork opportunities. Just a short drive from the UK's first designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Gower Peninsula, you will have easy access to Bannau Brycheiniog, rural west Wales and the urban and industrial landscapes of South Wales. You'll also have an opportunity to carry out fieldwork overseas in Austria, Malaysian Borneo, Mallorca or Vancouver.

Please come along to our next Open Day or get in touch for further information.** Book an Open Day here: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/our-open-days/

Typically, in Year 1 you'll study several compulsory modules covering topics such as global environmental change, Earth in action, Earth science in the field and Earth's changing face. You will then choose from optional modules covering geographical skills and methods, writing skills and personal development planning and practical field projects, and topics such as sustainability and geology.

Typically in Year 2, you'll study compulsory topics such as Earth history and geological record of past environments. You'll then choose from a range of optional modules covering data analysis, approaches to physical geography and environmental research methods, and topics such as geographic information systems, glacial environments and processes, the Earth from Space, quaternary environmental change, global vegetation patterns and dynamics and urban modelling. You'll also have an opportunity to take part in an overseas field trip.

In Year 3, you’ll study at a partner institution abroad.

In Year 4, you'll undertake your dissertation and choose from a range of optional modules which have previously included topics such as glaciology, humid tropical environments and landscapes, meteorology and atmospheric science, plate tectonics and global geophysics, environmental modelling and the climate of the last 1,000 years.

On the BSc Physical Earth Science course, you will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, practical classes, and field classes. You will be assessed through a variety of methods, including examinations, coursework, practical work, fieldwork, and continuous assessment from tutorials. You will also complete a dissertation in Year Four.