Climate Science
Entry requirements
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About this course
Climate change and humanity’s response to it will define life on the planet for billions of people but despite this there are few undergraduate degrees that focus on the broader climate problem.
This BSc in Climate Science uniquely offers a big-picture approach encompassing both recent and past climate change and its impact on Earth and human systems. It provides a holistic overview of climate science and equips you with the knowledge and skills to lead society towards the mitigation of this emergency.
Our flexible degree puts you in control. It gives you both the fundamentals and increased specialisation as you progress through the course, allowing you to choose a pathway of most interest to you. The degree acknowledges the breadth of the field of climate science and provides you with a solid background in diverse aspects of climate science that span geological time.
In the first year, you will learn about climate change and develop your understanding of Earth processes and resources.
In Year 2, you will learn about isotopes and can opt to study glaciers, the carbon cycle, how the Earth’s climate has varied in the past and how scientists reconstruct past climate change.
In your final year, you will study Earth Systems and can choose to learn about how climate change impacts coastal and alpine environments, atmospheric circulation, how it affected ancient civilisations, or explore the geochemistry of the environment. You will also undertake a dissertation and conduct fundamental research into an advanced topic of your choice related to climate science.
Modules
Year 1
Core modules:
Environment and Resources covers the key concepts in environmental chemistry and the processes involved in shaping the Earth. From fossil fuels and ores to the water cycle, it introduces you to the formation, distribution and extraction of the Earth's resources and energy.
Introduction to Climate Change introduces you to contemporary climate change, incorporating the physical science underpinning our understanding of past, present and future climate change. It also explores some of the most serious impacts and competing perspectives around major climate change controversies.
Examples of optional modules:
Mathematical Methods in Geosciences
Further Mathematics
Geoinformatics
Understanding Earth Sciences
Planet under Pressure.
Year 2
Core modules:
Isotopes and Climate covers how isotopes can be used in understanding the environment and climate systems as well as identifying major events in the Earth's climate evolution. The module covers the human impact on the global climate and how to understand and analyse future climate change predictions.
Examples of optional modules:
Modelling Earth Processes
Ancient Life and its Environments
Carbon and Biogeochemical Cycles
Climate Change: Geographical Perspectives
Glaciers and Glaciation
Reconstructing Environmental Change.
Year 3
Core modules:
Worth one-third of your final-year marks, you will produce an independent research Dissertation based on a computing, field or laboratory project chosen to suit your interests.
In the Earth Systems and Climate module you will learn about the interconnections between different components of the Earth System and their relevance to climate.
Examples of optional modules:
Atmospheric Circulation and Dynamics
Environmental Geochemistry
Environmental Management
Sea Level Change and Coastal Evolution
Oceans Past and Present
Ice Age Environments
Past Climates of the Low Latitudes
Antarctic Environments
Archaeology and Climate.
Assessment methods
You will be assessed through a combination of coursework, class tests and end-of-year examinations. A significant proportion of your final assessment will be through your research dissertation in the final year. The dissertation is worth one-third of your final-year marks.
The Uni
College allocation pending
Durham City
Earth Sciences
What students say
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Earth sciences
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After graduation
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Earth sciences
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Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Earth sciences
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£25k
£31k
£41k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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