Geology - BSc (Hons)

Geology - studying the Earth beneath our feet and it’s fascinating 4.5 billion years of history, from volcanoes and earthquakes to dinosaurs and ancient rivers - is central to our transition to a sustainable future.The BSc Geology programme provides you with the skills you need to explore the processes that have shaped the Earth and its surface and subsurface environments through time, equipping you with powers to address the major modern world challenges, from climate change to sustainable energy, and from water security to natural disasters.Aberdeen is ranked 1st in the UK for overall student satisfaction in Earth Sciences in the 2024 National Student Survey.Geology at Aberdeen is ranked 8th in the UK by the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.The Science Teaching Hub provides students with the most modern microscopy laboratories in the UK. Our advanced microscopes and cameras allow you to study rocks and capture images like never before.The BSc Geology is aimed at students who are interested in the physical processes that have shaped our planet and its near neighbours over the last 4.5 billion years, and who want to use our understanding to anticipate and protect the earth's future.This programme teaches and utilises the latest fieldwork, digital and technological skills and techniques to show you how to extract valuable information recorded in Earth’s rocks, minerals and fossils: an archive that holds the keys to many of the issues we face today such as climate change, water management, natural hazards and transition from fossils fuels to geothermal energy and other sources of renewable energy.You will examine the origin, structure and composition of the three major rock groups; igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary, learning about the most fascinating and important geological events and how we date them, and developing the professional geological skills needed to gather and interpret data in the field.In the final two years, you will specialise more in the topics that interest you, for example, climate change through deep time, planetary geology and the effects of life, geology for society, and imaging and interpreting the Earth.Fieldwork is fundamental to geology, and at Aberdeen, we enjoy easy access to numerous word-class sites, such as Arran, Skye, the North West Highlands of Scotland. The School of Geosciences is also a world-leader in the application of virtual technology, which means our students can learn how to combine the latest digital tools with our unrivalled field study locations.