Environmental Geoscience
UCAS Code: F630
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Grades must be achieved in one set of exams. Required subjects: A Level: Two from Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science/Studies, Geography, Geology, Mathematics or Physics. GCSE: Mathematics at grade A or 7; if you achieved a grade B or 6, please contact the admissions office.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Award of Diploma with 37 points with 555 at HL - 32 points with 555 at HL. Required subjects: HL: two of Biology, Chemistry, Geography, Mathematics (from 2021, Mathematics: Analysis and approaches only) , Physics. Diploma must include Mathematics SL 5, if not held at HL. If you do not have SL Maths please contact the admissions office.
Scottish Higher
These grades must be achieved by end of S5. If you haven't achieved this by the end of S5 we may consider your application based on a strong performance in S6. A minimum of BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6. Required subjects: Higher: two of Biology*, Chemistry*, Environmental Science, Geography, Mathematics* or Physics* (*include at least one). National 5: Mathematics at grade A; if you achieved a grade B, please contact the admissions office.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
How does the environment work? Environmental geoscience is the study of processes within, and interactions between, the atmosphere, ocean and the solid Earth that determine the habitability of the planet. The subject covers natural processes that have been modifying the planet over its entire history, but with a strong focus on understanding the modern system and how it has been affected by human activities.
Environmental geoscience students develop key observational and analytical skills that enable them to address fundamental questions about the functioning of the Earth system such as: What were the drivers of climate change in the Earth's past and how will these processes change in the future? What are the impacts of changing nutrient cycling and pollution on the sustainability of marine ecosystems? How can we safely manage the use of energy and materials resources to ensure the continued functioning of modern society?
You will develop key analytical and observational skills and cover core topics in modern earth science. A strong emphasis is placed on field skills, with residential trips to the Lake District, Jamaica, and north-west Scotland, as well as numerous one-day trips throughout (the location of field courses may change as our course content adapts to changing teaching needs, and student feedback).
You will also gain a range of transferable skills, including: written and oral reports; critical analysis and interpretation of data; group working and, as the programme progresses, the ability to manage project work, and research, independently.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Central area campus
School of GeoSciences
Calculate your living costs
See how much you'll need to live on at your chosen university, with our student budget calculator.
See your living costs
Study in Edinburgh
Explore the local area, what there is to do for fun, living costs and other university options here.
Explore EdinburghWhat students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Earth sciences
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Physical geographical sciences
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Earth sciences
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What do graduate employment figures really tell you?Physical geographical sciences
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What do graduate employment figures really tell you?There are two options for geography studies: the one we're talking about here is physical geography (there is also an option for geography courses with a more human or social steer). Like a lot of sciences, quite a few graduates in physical geography — about one in five — go on to further study, mainly for one-year Masters courses, and not just in geography, but in environmental sciences, conservation and in courses where we don't have enough graduates like planning and surveying. And in the world of work, graduates often go into environment, surveying and heritage work - and teaching. These are well-rounded degrees that help graduates get a range of useful skills and so careers such as marketing, business analysis, sports and management are also popular and it's often easy to convert or retrain once you have a geography degree.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
Environmental geography
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£22k
£31k
£36k
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.
Explore these similar courses...
Same University
Nearby University
Lower entry requirements
Higher entry requirementsThis is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
We calculate a mean rating of all responses to indicate whether this is high, medium or low compared to the same subject area at other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
