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Earth Sciences  (ERC2)

BSc (NFQ Level 8) · Academic Year 2024/2025
School
School of Earth Sciences
Attendance
Full Time
Level
Undergraduate
NFQ Level
8
Award
Mode of Delivery
Face to Face
Programme Director
Overall Programme Credits:
240
Programme Credits:
N/A
Major/Minor Core & Option Credits:
N/A

Curricular information is subject to change.

Earth Sciences are all about our planet and how it works. At no time has this been more important. Understanding the Earth system profoundly impacts many aspects of society and is critical to developing solutions for current global challenges, including climate change, energy, access to clean water and protection from natural disasters. This degree builds on biology, chemistry, physics and physical geography to understand the structure, age and evolution of the Earth, the history of life, and the processes (e.g. plate tectonics, earthquakes, landslides) that shape Earth’s surface and interior. Modules equip graduates with modern field, digital and geospatial skills, and there is an emphasis on developing critical thinking based on earth system data, on scales ranging from microns to thousands of kilometres.

Students’ performance will be reviewed at the end of the academic year. Students who fail 50% or more of their registered modules, and who fail to progress to the next stage of their programme, will be identified under the UCD Continuation – Academic progress policy. Students’ performance will continue to be reviewed in subsequent trimesters and students will be invited to meetings with the College of Science office for support and guidance.

Where the rate of progression and performance over two academic years is deemed unacceptable, a case will be submitted to the Governing Board for review. A recommendation for discontinuation may be the outcome of this review.

As Stages 3 and 4 have the most dynamic components of the programme, and the material studied previously may no longer be relevant, a student who has been away from the programme for a significant period should be required to register again to Stage 3. The upper limit for completion of Stages 3 and 4 should be six years if they choose to do 120 credits with 20 in each year.

Earth Sciences graduates work in organisations essential to understanding and protecting the environment including geological surveys, NGOs, onshore and offshore geotechnical companies, environmental consultancies and insurance firms managing natural disaster risk. They are also employed in companies exploring for, and producing, natural resources as mineral exploration and production geologists, geophysicists, hydrogeologists, environmental geochemists and marine surveyors.

Sarah Procter
UCD School of Earth Sciences
askscience@ucd.ie