Why study with us?
- Why study geology?
- Why study geology and geography?
- Why study planetary science?
- Why study environmental sciences?
Why study geology?
Geology attracts people who wish to study the dynamics of the Earth we live on, its resources, and the most economic and sustainable way to use these resources. Geologists are scientific detectives who try to reveal the past and the future of the Earth.
Geology is a field-based, multi-disciplinary science that integrates the principles of chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics in the study of Earth processes and history. Geologists study a broad range of topics including plate tectonics, glaciers, floods, groundwater flow, and dinosaur evolution.
Geologists are increasingly in demand to study and evaluate geologic hazards, natural resources and environmental issues such as groundwater supply and contamination. Students who enjoy working outdoors, have a good scientific background, and are interested in understanding how the world around them works will find geology a rewarding area of study.
Why study geology and geography?
'Thank you for taking the time to talk to me about the Geography and Geology course. Our conversation has just confirmed my thoughts that the course is exactly what I want and I cannot wait to get started.'
Bethany Jarvis - prospective Geography and Geology student
Are you interested in global change, not just during historical time, but over the whole lifetime of the Earth? Are you interested in the origin and development of our landscape and in how plate tectonics controls the surface features of the Earth such as earthquakes and volcanoes? Would you like to learn about the history of life on Earth and about the exploitation and conservation of the living world? Are you concerned about the Earth's mineral resources and the environmental consequences of exploiting them?
The joint honours course was perfect for me as it meant that I got to pick courses I liked and which complemented each other from not one but two great departments.
All these are topics you can study as part of a Joint Geography/Geology degree at Manchester. The programme focuses on the processes that have shaped our Earth over millions of years and about the interaction of the solid Earth with the atmosphere.
You will study Earth processes on all scales, from looking at minerals down a microscope to mountain building, global climate and even solar system evolution.
A Geography/Geology degree will give you new understanding of the world around you and insights appropriate to a global citizen of the twenty-first century.
Why study planetary science?
Planetary science is the study of the origin and evolution of our sun's family of planets and of solar systems in general.
Geology with Planetary Science aims to show how the processes we know on the Earth work in different environments. For instance, by learning how volcanoes work in the very different conditions found on Mars or on Jupiter's moon Io we can better understand how they work on the Earth. Fragments of material from which the earth was made are studied to see how this evolved to form the Earth we know today.
Planetary scientists come from a wide range of backgrounds. This means it is essential that each has a good grounding in other disciplines in addition to their own research specialty. For geologists, this means acquiring a working knowledge of astronomy and relevant areas of physics, chemistry and biology. The aim of our programme is to equip Geology graduates to enter this exciting field, should they so wish by adding training in these disciplines to a high quality programme in Geology. Of course, all the usual career options open to Geology graduates will also be available.
Why study environmental sciences?
The world is becoming more crowded, more consuming, and more connected and technological advances put growing pressure on our environment, the issues that arise are becoming global and more complex in nature. It is our need to be able to understand these issues from a scientific point of view that is at the root of any attempt to resolve them.
The natural world is complex and not well understood, and human actions can have unexpected consequences that are hard to reverse. The study of how physical and biological processes maintain life, and how humans affect nature, requires a broad interdisciplinary perspective. In addition to the natural sciences, social sciences provide insights into why people behave as they do, and how our social, political and economic institutions impact on environmental quality.
This is where the study of Environmental Sciences/Studies comes in, for it is concerned with understanding the science that explains how the world works, how problems arise and how they may be tackled.
