Earth Sciences

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.

Information on all our courses including pathways, internships and careers information is available in the UCD Science Undergraduate Brochure (PDF).

Information on pathways, internships and careers is available in the Undergraduate Courses Brochure (PDF).

Earth Sciences is one of the degree subjects available through the Earth & Environmental Sciences stream in the common entry Science course. Students interested in Earth Sciences have the choice in first year to study the modules for Earth Sciences and Environmental Biology or to focus on Earth Sciences only. At the end of second year, students choose their degree subject.

This is a sample set of modules that an Earth Sciences student could study each year in UCD.

First Year

Introduction to Earth Sciences • Understanding Earth Systems • Field Geology • Earth, Environment and Society • Earth and Humanity • Mathematics for the Biological and Chemical Sciences

Second Year

Earth Materials and Processes • Dynamic Earth • Field Geology and Mapwork • Global Environmental Change • Geoscience for Sustainability

Third Year 

Geological Structures • Sedimentary Environments • Low-Temperature Geochemistry • Digital Geology and GIS • Earth Systems Analysis • Invertebrate Palaeontology and Stratigraphy

Fourth Year

Earth Science Research Project • Igneous and Ore Geology • Advanced Geological Mapping • Quaternary Geology • Applied Geophysics • Geological Fieldwork • Marine Geoscience • Igneous Petrology • Metamorphism and Earth Evolution

Earth Sciences as a Minor Subject

Earth Sciences can be combined with either Archaeology or Geography as a Minor subject, with most of your study being in your Archaeology or Geography Major subject through DN700 Social Sciences. Depending on your interests, you may elect to study from the following range of themes: Geology and Society; Landforms, Sediments and Life; Field Skills; Geochemistry; Earth Materials; Solid Earth Evolution. To select Earth Sciences as a Minor, select DN700 Social Sciences, choose the Two Subject Combination, then select either Archaeology or Geography with Minor subject – and pick Earth Sciences.

Students in their Third Year have spent time at the University of Birmingham, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Nottingham. Non-EU exchange opportunities are also available in destinations such as Canada, the USA and Australia.

Earth Sciences graduates work in organisations essential to understanding and protecting the environment including national geological surveys, NGOs, onshore and offshore geotechnical companies, environmental consultancies, and insurance firms managing natural disaster risk. They are also employed in companies in the natural resources sector as mineral exploration or production geologists, geophysicists, hydrogeologists, environmental geochemists, geospatial analysts, and marine surveyors. Graduates can pursue the MSc Subsurface Geomodelling in UCD or qualify for other taught master’s in Ireland, the UK and elsewhere on topics including hydrogeology, engineering geology, mineral exploration, remote sensing and GIS or environmental science. Graduates can pursue a PhD in universities in Ireland or abroad in areas as diverse as mineral and raw materials exploration, volcanic and earthquake hazards, palaeobiology, environmental geochemistry, geophysics, and climate science. 

Students have an opportunity to complete a Geoscience Work Placement worth 5 credits in industry (6-10 weeks) in the summer following Second Year. Assessment is based on student and employer reports. Work placements are secured on a competitive basis and are typically hosted by resource-based, geotechnical, civil engineering and environmental consultancy companies. Earth Sciences students also complete residential field training at the end of the summer vacation prior to their Fourth Year, followed by an independent, usually field-based, research project during September and October, providing them with key technical and transferable skills needed in numerous geoscientific careers. Several core modules involve 5-to-8-day residential field classes in Ireland, Britain and Spain. 

• Level 5/6 QQI-FET


• Open Learning Entry Route


• Mature Entry Route


• DARE Entry Route


• HEAR Entry Route


• University Access

UCD Science Office

You can contact the UCD Science Office in the following ways:

• Submit your query using our dedicated Contact Form.


• Drop into the office in the UCD O'Brien Centre for Science, Science East, Room E1.09. Our office opening hours are 10am to 4pm (during term time).

"Earth Sciences is such a diverse and exciting field of study. The creation and destruction of the Earth beneath our feet, strange creatures preserved in rock and ancient catastrophic events are among a few of the things I find fascinating about it. I am now working as a project coordinator in the offshore wind industry. Working in an industry that is constantly making strides towards a greener future for Ireland is so exciting."

Grace, Graduate