Geology and Physical Geography MSc

University of Birmingham

Our Geology and Physical Geography MSci with an International Year course is a flexible degree, supported by an extensive fieldwork programme, that will give you a broad-based knowledge of the Earth sciences.

What drives the occurrence of natural hazards, and how can we forecast and respond to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes? What can past climate records teach us about future climate change? How is the movement of tectonic plates reflected in the landscape around us? If these are questions that you might ask, then this is the course for you.

The Geology and Physical Geography with an International Year MSci 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. You may go on to work in pollution control or hydrogeology, or you could opt to become a geotechnical engineer, work for the British Geological Survey, carry out research or go into teaching. A Geology and Physical Geography degree from Birmingham sets you up for a wide range of exciting careers.

Year 1 of our Geology and Physical Geography programme shares multiple modules with the Geology programme. Hence, it is possible to transfer between these courses in your first year.

This Geology and Physical Geography with an International Year MSci course gives you a broad and comprehensive training 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 and physical geography through a range of exciting core modules. You will build on this in the second year, where you can start to choose from optional modules, covering topics as diverse as continental deformation, geological natural hazards, hydroclimatology and environmental protection.

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 topics that may not be available in the UK. Depending on performance, it is possible to transfer onto this programme at the end of your first year.

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.

Accredited by the Royal Society of Biology for the purpose of meeting, in part, the academic and experience requirement of membership and Chartered Biologist (CBiol).