Course summary

Our Geology with an International Year MSci degree allows you to study the science of our planet’s evolution – understanding how it has been shaped over billions of years and what it will be like in the future. It truly is a global science. From monitoring volcanic eruptions and investigating climate change, through to unravelling the disappearance of the dinosaurs or finding acceptable ways to dispose of nuclear waste, a Geology degree at Birmingham will give you a broad-based knowledge of Earth sciences. The International Year programme gives you the opportunity to spend a year studying in an Earth sciences department overseas, before returning to Birmingham in Year 4 to specialise further. You will graduate with a broad range of experience and independent research skills - an ideal background for a wide variety of professional careers. Our extensive fieldwork programme and flexible range of options allows you to specialise in the topics that interest you. You may go on to work in the mining or oil industry, hydrogeology, pollution control or environmental protection; or you could opt to become a geophysicist, geotechnical engineer, work for the British Geological Survey, carry out research or go into teaching. A Geology degree from Birmingham sets you up for a wide range of exciting careers. Year 1 of the programme shares several modules with the Geology and Physical Geography programme, and it is possible to transfer between these courses in your first year. This Geology MSci course gives you a broad and comprehensive training in geology and allows you to develop your own specialist interests. A varied fieldwork programme builds on a variety of lecture and laboratory based teaching, providing you with a range of practical scientific skills. The first year of the course provides you with a strong foundation in geology through a range of exciting core modules. You will build on this in the second year, before undertaking your dissertation fieldwork. The third year of your degree is spent at a partner institution overseas, where you will study from a range of optional modules. Placements are available at a large number of prestigious international institutions. In recent years, students have studied at universities in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark. This allows you to experience living and studying overseas for a year, and to potentially study some geological topics that may not be available in the UK. You will return to Birmingham in your fourth year, where additional options allow you to specialise further and to develop key career skills through leading your own research project. This independent project accounts for half of your final year, and may involve links with industry. You will develop your research plans with an academic member of staff. Several MSci students have published their research or presented it at conferences, and the MSci year provides excellent training for further research or a professional geoscience career. Depending on performance, it is possible to transfer onto this programme at the end of your first year of BSc Geology or MSci Geology.