Fieldwork opportunities
We are one of the few departments that exceeds the Geological Society's requirement of a minimum of 64 days' fieldwork for our BSc programme.
At postgraduate and MPhil/PhD level, you will be able to conduct independent fieldwork, with our support.
Field classes for undergraduate students
Our annual field classes, designed to complement the lecture programme and lab-based practical classes, are one of the strongest features of our undergraduate degree programme. No amount of classroom discussion on the subject of ancient sea-beds, for example, can really compare to the experience you have when you discover for yourself the evidence of wave ripples and fossils recorded in the rocks of a landscape. At the same time, you will develop the skills you need to pursue independent research.
Not only are they opportunities to gain skills, but our field classes are also important social occasions, where students have a chance to get to know each other and enjoy informal contact with their tutors. Many a topical geological debate has continued into the wee hours in a hotel bar-room in a remote location of the globe, thanks to our students and staff!
There are four extended (10-12 day) field classes, usually held in the Easter vacation in March/April. Each counts as a half module in Assessed Field Techniques. They are compulsory for BSc Geology and BSc Environmental Geology students and optional for BSc Earth Science and BSc Planetary Science with Astronomy students.
First-year field classes
- Assessed Field Techniques 1: our first-year students attend one major residential field course of 10-14 days around Easter, the venue for which alternates between Pembrokeshire in south Wales and the Isle of Skye in Scotland.
- Get more information on these field classes.
Second-year field class
- Assessed Field Techniques 2: held around Easter each year and lasting 10 days, the venue for this field class alternates between Greece and Scourie in Scotland. (Students who attend a first-year class in Skye would usually be expected to attend the second-year class in Greece, whereas students who attend the first-year class in Pembrokeshire are expected to attend the second-year class in Scourie.))
- The objectives of the second-year field class are to teach essential field skills with the emphasis on training in geological mapping, so that students are able to start independent field mapping at the end of the second year.
- Get more information on these field classes.
Third- and fourth-year field classes
- Assessed Field Techniques 3 and Assessed Field Techniques 4: held around Easter each year and lasting 10 days, the venue for this field class alternates between Morocco and the Canary Islands.
- The objectives of the third- and fourth-year field classes are to teach advanced field skills.
- Get more information on these field classes.
Additional fieldwork opportunities
As a student with us, you will get other fieldwork opportunities, including:
BSc projects, map and thesis
- The BSc Geology degree requires students to carry out a field-based map and thesis or project, which comprises six weeks of independent fieldwork either within the UK or further afield. A tutor will be available to supervise this when required.
- The BSc Earth Science does not require this fieldwork, but the option to carry this out is available.
- The BSc Environmental Geology degree includes a project which can be entirely fieldwork or include field data collection. The subjects available for this project can be from within a wide range of topics in human or environmental geology.
- Get more information on the projects, map and thesis.
Weekend and day field classes / independent research
- Many modules have weekend or day field classes associated with them. Attendance at these is not compulsory, but it is highly recommended that you attend if you can. Information about such field classes will be distributed as soon as it is available, via the class tutor.
- You will also be encouraged, and we will support you, in pursuing independent field research.
