Geology (GES1)

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. Assuming students meet all the academic requirements in first and second year, students can choose Earth Sciences as their degree major at the end of second year. At the end of second year, students choose their degree major. Assuming students meet all the academic requirements in first and second year, students are guaranteed a degree subject from the stream they are studying in second year. We do our best to ensure that students go on to study their top degree subject choice. As we offer plenty of degree subjects in each stream, students have a number of similar degree subjects to choose from as their degree major. For more information on choosing a degree subject at the end of Second Year, visit the Earth & Environmental Sciences stream page.

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

First Year
Scientific Enquiry • Introduction to Earth Sciences • Earth Science & Materials • Earth & Humanity • Field Geology • Earth, Environment & Society • Optional Science Modules • Elective Module

Second Year
Crystals to Sedimentary Rocks • Field Geology & Mapwork (Includes a residential field course in the west of Ireland) • Geoscience for Sustainability • Earth & Humanity • Global Environmental Change • Medical Geology • Earth, Environment and Society • History of life on Earth • Dynamic Earth • Optional Modules • Elective modules

Third Year
Applied Palaeontology • Sedimentary Environments • Igneous Petrology • Geological Mapping • Geological Structures • Metamorphic Petrology • Geological Fieldwork (Residential field courses in Ireland and England) • Low Temperature Geochemistry • Geomaterials & Geoenergy • Digital Geology & GIS • Optional Modules • Elective Modules

Work Placements & Research Opportunities
Students have the opportunity to take a work placement module and/or a research project module during Third Year or during the following summer vacation.

Fourth Year
Geological Mapping Research • Applied Palaeontology • Igneous & Ore Geology • Advanced Geological Mapping • Basin Analysis • Geological Fieldwork (Includes a 10-day residential field course, usually held in Spain) • Quaternary Geology • Applied Geophysics

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.

Below is a list of all modules offered for this degree in the current academic year. Click on the module to discover what you will learn in the module, how you will learn and assessment feedback profile amongst other information.

Incoming Stage 1 undergraduates can usually select an Elective in the Spring Trimester. Most continuing undergraduate students can select up to two Elective modules (10 Credits) per stage. There is also the possibility to take up to 10 extra Elective credits.

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 field mapping research project during September - 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.

More information about the internship module and application process.

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.

By studying an undergraduate degree in the Science programme, you will be joining a global community of scientists and will be taught by world-class researchers at the forefront of research in one of the most innovative and diverse programmes in Ireland, encompassing biology, sustainability, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, mathematics and computer science. Faculty who teach on the Science programme draw on their research to provide an inclusive and equitable education for scientists who will be leaders and innovators in a range of industries and research institutes working towards a sustainable and equitable future. 

The curriculum is informed by the following research:

• Exploring and understanding the processes that drive and can mitigate and enable adaptation to global change from evolutionary, environmental and social perspectives at levels ranging from molecular and genetic to individual, ecosystem and landscape

• Translating fundamental discoveries to a greater understanding of health and disease, with the ultimate aim of informing novel drug discovery

• Performing fundamental and applied research with a focus on current societal challenges including the energy transition, environmental change, geohazards and access to natural resources

The College of Science offers a range of degree subjects within the Science and Sustainability common entry courses that embed sustainability principles and are working towards the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• Good Health and Well-being (SGD 3)
• Quality Education (SDG 4)
• Affordable and Clean Energy (SGD 7)
• Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9)
• Sustainable Cities and Communities (SGD 11)
• Responsible Consumption and Production (SGD 12)
• Life Below Water (SDG 14)
• Life on Land (SDG 15)

The programmes at UCD are designed to equip students with the best education in their chosen field, while at the same time embedding the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) in their education where most relevant.

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 was always interested in Science but found it very difficult to pinpoint a specific area within it to study. UCD Science became a clear first choice for me because of the common entry system, and it was through this course that I discovered my love of Earth Sciences. I am now working as a project coordinator in the Offshore Wind Industry. Working in an industry that is constantly taking strives towards a greener future for Ireland is so exciting.
Grace Fitzgerald, Graduate