5Nov
PostgraduateCourse summary
This programme is offered to prospective students who wish to pursue research in a selected field of the Geological Sciences for a period of one calendar year full time or two calendar years part time and be awarded a Masters degree. The main focus of the degree programme is an independent research project, chosen by the student, developed into a project proposal through discussion with a chosen supervisor at Royal Holloway. It may be possible to arrange co-supervisors from other Universities, Research Institutes or Industry, to benefit from their specialist expertise. Students will receive training in research skills, including data collection, data handling and analytical techniques as well as transferable and presentation skills. During your studies you may attend taught courses if they are relevant to your training needs. Students will have access to the wide range of other training opportunities available in the college including the Researcher Development Programme (RDP). Students may be employed as postgraduate demonstrators if there are opportunities available. In this situation they may attend the course 'Skills of Teaching to Inspire Learning' (inSTIL) which, on successful completion, results in accreditation as an Associate of the Higher Education Academy. The main outcome of the degree programme is a piece of independent research presented in the form of a dissertation. Upon completion of the programme students will have gained experience of research and presentation of material in the geological sciences which equips them to publish work in international scientific journals. Prospective students should contact individual members of staff in the department in the first instance to discuss potential research projects. General questions may be directed to the postgraduate administrator. It should be noted that there are no funded places available for this degree programme but prospective students resident in England, and EU, EAA and Swiss students, may be eligible for a government loan.
Entry requirements
UK 2:2 ( Honours) or equivalent in Geology, Geophysics or a cognate subject
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| Channel Islands | £5006* | Year 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | £5006* | Year 1 |
| EU | £29700 | Year 1 |
| International | £29700 | Year 1 |
| England | £5006* | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £5006* | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £5006* | Year 1 |
| Wales | £5006* | Year 1 |
*This is a provisional fee and subject to change.
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £5,006
EU and International students tuition fee per year**: £29,700
* This figure is the fee for the academic year 2025/26 and is shown as a guide.Please note that for research courses, we adopt the minimum fee level recommended by the UK Research Councils for the Home tuition fee. Each year, the fee level is adjusted in line with inflation (currently, the measure used is the Treasury GDP deflator). Fees displayed here are therefore subject to change and are usually confirmed in the spring of the year of entry. For more information on the Research Council Indicative Fee please see the UKRI website.
** This figure is the fee for EU and international students enrolled on a full-time basis in the academic year 2026/27.
Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase fees for all students annually. For further information see fees and funding.
Biological Sciences by Research MSc is subject to £3,000 bench fee in addition to the above
fees
PhD Earth Sciences is subject to up to £6,000 bench fees in addition to the above fees, which
are negotiated between the department and student/sponsor at project set up stage
Provider information
Royal Holloway, University of London
Egham
TW20 0EX