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Earth and Planetary Science at Imperial College London - UCAS

Imperial College London

Degree level: Undergraduate
Awarded by: Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (also known as Imperial College London)

Earth and Planetary Science

Course options

2023 - 20242024 - 2025
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You can no longer submit a new application for courses starting in 2023.

If you already have a 2023 application and are in Clearing, you can add this course as a Clearing choice – contact the university or college first to check they have places.

Imperial College London has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework.These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

What does this TEF outcome mean?

Course summary

Modern geoscience is moving beyond the confines of Planet Earth to explore the geological and geophysical processes that shaped the Solar System. The abundance of recent planetary missions together with the development of novel techniques in studying extraterrestrial materials and processes is yielding radical new insights into Solar System evolution. Forthcoming planetary exploration missions offer numerous new opportunities to learn about planetary origins and evolution. Geological and geophysical knowledge and skills underpin modern investigation of solid planetary bodies in the Solar System. Our new degree in Earth and Planetary Science will focus on geological and geophysical processes in the Solar System, with particular emphasis on the planets, moons and smaller bodies, such as asteroids and comets. It firstly provides you with a strong theoretical and practical foundation in earth science, and then teaches you how to apply that to planetary science. Our goal is to teach you how dust and gas in the early stages of Solar System formation eventually evolved into planets including Earth that is capable of supporting life. You will focus on understanding Earth and other solid bodies in the solar system. The foundation in earth science will emphasise the fundamentals of geology and geophysics. From this you will learn how Earth’s atmosphere, life, surface, interior and external influences operate, interact and evolve. That foundation is then applied to other solid planetary bodies, to help understand solar system formation and evolution, and the physics, chemistry and geology of the main solid planetary bodies. Key planetary science questions you will examine include for example:

  • How have collisions shaped planetary surfaces and affected planetary and biological evolution?
  • What does the chemistry of meteorites tell us about planetary body evolution?
  • How can we reconstruct the climate history of Mars from analyzing pictures from rovers on the martian surface?
  • Where is the best place to search for life in the Solar System?
This highly interdisciplinary degree provides skills in geoscience, physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering and computing. All our courses combine a strong traditional emphasis on observational and field skills with modern numerical and analytical techniques required for a deep, quantitative understanding of Earth and Planetary processes and systems. Field skills are important for studying planetary geology because, for example, analysis of Mars rover-derived data focusses on the identification, mapping and interpretation of geological relationships in the search for the best rocks to investigate in the search for possible ancient life. Our departmental involvement with current and future planetary missions will provide unique insight into mission science and the opportunity to study recently acquired data. We also emphasise the development of transferable professional skills such as group working, problem-solving, drawing inferences from incomplete data, computational methods and IT, and oral and written communication. You can expect a balance between theory and practice, including a variety of field trips in the UK and abroad. You follow a pathway of core modules in years one and two, before studying specialised modules in the third and fourth years. Modules in the first two years are taken alongside students from other Earth Science degrees, and focus on the fundamentals of the subject. You then specialise in your third year, choosing between physics and geology orientated optional modules. There is also a major project in both years, providing a further opportunity to specialise. You can also diversify your studies with opportunities to study business, language and humanities modules, if you wish, through the Imperial Horizons programme.

How to apply

You can no longer submit a new application for courses starting in 2023.

If you already have a 2023 application and are in Clearing, you can add this course as a Clearing choice – contact the university or college first to check they have places.

25Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
F64B
Institution code:
I50
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/apply/requirements/ugacademic/

Additional entry requirements

Interview

If your UCAS application indicates that you are likely to satisfy our requirements you will be invited to participate in an interview, which may be online. You will be introduced to the Department, the staff, our courses, teaching facilities and methods and life at College by staff and our current students. You will have an interview online with a member of the academic staff.

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
Cambridge English AdvancedCFor pre-2015 test, the College requires grade C overall. If your test result is 2016 onwards, the College requires 176 overall with 169 in all elements/bands
IELTS (Academic)6.5Score above refers to overall score. Additionally, a score of 6.0 is required in all bands. Results must be within 2 years of course start date in order to be valid.
PTE Academic62Score above refers to overall score. Additionally, a score of 56 is required in all bands. Results must be within 2 years of course start date in order to be valid.
TOEFL (iBT)92Score above refers to overall score. Additionally, a score of 20 is required in all bands. Results must be within 2 years of course start date in order to be valid.

For further information on the College English entry requirements and a full list of accepted tests and grade requirements, please visit the College website URL detailed below.

College English Language Entry Requirements

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/apply/requirements/english/

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
55%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
91%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £9250 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9250 Year 1
Scotland £9250 Year 1
Wales £9250 Year 1
International £37900 Year 1

Additional fee information

For further information on fees, funding, loans and grants, see: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/fees-and-funding/ For further information on fee status eligibility see: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/fees-and-funding/tuition-fees/fee-status/
Earth and Planetary Science at Imperial College London - UCAS