Palaeontology and Geology BSc (Hons)

University of Birmingham

Studying this Palaeontology and Geology BSc degree course will give you a rigorous training in palaeontology, enabling you to use the fossil record to understand the evolution and diversity of ancient life, from dinosaurs to microfossils.

You will be taught by lecturers from one of the largest and strongest palaeobiology research groups in the UK, and our focus on research-led teaching will provide you with exciting opportunities to carry out your own cutting-edge research projects. The rich fossil collections of our Lapworth Museum of Geology provide a unique resource that supports our teaching and research.

This course will provide you with the skills necessary to develop a career as a professional palaeontologist engaged in research and teaching or in museum curation, or as an applied palaeontologist/biostratigrapher within the oil industry. Your core training in geology will also provide opportunities for a potential career as a geoscientist, if this is the career path you would like to take.

We are excited to announce an update to the palaeontology field course linked to Year 3 field and museum skills module. The new module will run for the first time in 2020/21 and will teach students about the processes involved in finding, collecting, preparing, studying and exhibiting fossils. Recent destinations have included South East Spain, the Scottish Highlands, and from 2020 the USA. The costs of travel and accommodation on all compulsory field courses are covered by the University.

All first year modules are compulsory and span the breadth of Earth Sciences and include contributions from the Biology group. From year two onwards, there is more focus on palaeontology and an increasing amount of choice that allows you to select modules following your interests.

In year three (and four) you will also complete independent Earth Science research projects based on primary data collected in the field/laboratory or museum developing your practical, analytical and communication skills.

In addition to lectures and practical classes, you can look forward to fieldwork training in palaeobiological and geological techniques. This work is undertaken both in the UK and abroad, and is assessed by means of field-driven reports, presentations and field notebook.

Accredited by the Geological Society for the purpose of partially meeting the experience requirement for Chartered Geologist.