Environmental Geoscience with Foundation Year

Birkbeck’s BSc Environmental Geoscience combines research-led teaching, hands-on fieldwork and industry-inspired experiential learning to equip you with the knowledge and skills to address today's pressing environmental challenges.

Why choose this course?

- There is a growing need for geoscientists to help develop sustainable energy systems, reduce environmental degradation and build resilience to climate change and natural hazards. Geoscientists are crucial to selecting the right sites for underground storage of carbon, for example, or minimising the environmental impact of obtaining the rare earth metals used in wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles and storage batteries.

- On this course you will learn the valuable technical, field, analytical and critical-thinking skills required for a career as a geoscientist, and gain a deep appreciation of the environmental challenges and linked impacts on society that your skills can contribute to solving.

- You will also gain the knowledge, skills and experience essential in opening up a range of different career paths including in the fields of environmental management and sustainability as well as in pure geoscience, education and public understanding of science.

What you will learn

Taught by experts in the field of geology and planetary science, you will:

- examine the connections between Earth's geology, geomorphology and ecology

- develop an understanding of the Earth and its structure and development through time and place in the solar system

- uncover the past, present and future impact of human activities on our planet

- learn about innovative applications of geosciences in solving environmental challenges and managing the need for Earth's resources in a way that does not damage the environment.

How you will learn

The BSc Environmental Geoscience is available to study full- or part-time. It combines lectures, practical classes, problem-solving, fieldwork and group work with many modules able to be studied on campus as well as online. Teaching methods and assessments are tailored to the needs of particular modules, and we are continuously developing new and innovative teaching methods and aids.

Foundation Year

If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.

Highlights

- We offer you flexible teaching methods, balancing face-to-face and online learning.

- We share some laboratories with UCL Earth Sciences and collaborate with them on research. Find out more about our research facilities.

- Birkbeck was rated in the top 25 universities in the UK for its Earth Systems and Environmental Science research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

- We have been offering evening study courses in geology for over 130 years and distance learning for more than 20 years.

- You may be eligible for a Legal & General Sustainable Leaders bursary.

Careers and employability

On successful completion of this course you will have developed the following important transferable skills:

- technical

- IT

- computing

- communication

- organisational

- research.

You will be prepared to take on geoscience roles in a wide range of fields. Graduates can pursue career paths in:

- environmental consultancy

- environmental risk management

- environmental planning and regulation

- geological resource exploration, management and use

- geological hazard assessment

- research, museum work, teaching and public engagement.