BSc
Climate Science BSc (Hons)
Gain the knowledge and skills you need to understand past, present and future challenges related to climate change. In BSc Climate Science you can explore ways in which society can mitigate this global crisis.
How to apply Apply via UCASCourse details
Start date
Degree Type
BSc
UCAS Code
F645
Course length
3 years full-time
Typical offer
AAB
Tuition Fees
- Home (Full-time): £9,535 per year
- Overseas (Full-time): £33,250 per year
Overview
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.
Course details
Start date
Degree Type
BSc
UCAS Code
F645
Course length
3 years full-time
Typical offer
AAB
Tuition Fees
- Home (Full-time): £9,535 per year
- Overseas (Full-time): £33,250 per year
What you'll study
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.
Core modules
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Environmental Earth Science
coversthe Earth’s water cycle in terms of both quantity and quality. You will learn about the composition and materials of the Earth, the mode of formation, distribution and extraction of the Earth's resources and energy.
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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.
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Introductory Data Science
introduces the fundamentals of data acquisition and analysis in a geoscientific context. You will learn how to apply computational tools to manipulate and visualise a range of scientific and geospatial data.
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Sustainability
introduces global issues and concepts around sustainability, with an emphasis on aspects most relevant to Earth Sciences such as water, climate, energy and mineral resources, food resources, and natural hazards, and is thematically taught around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Optional modules
In recent years, optional modules have included:
- Field Studies
- Mathematical Methods in Geosciences
- Further Mathematics for Geoscientists
- Understanding Earth Sciences
- Planet under Pressure.
Core modules
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Earth System and Climate: Long Term Processes
provides anunderstanding of the interconnectivity between different components of the Earth System and their relevance to climate, with a focus on long-term climate change and its causes.
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Earth System and Climate: The Quaternary
enhances your understanding of the interconnectivity between different components of the Earth System and their relevance to climate, with a focus on modern and Pleistocene climate change and its causes.
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Isotopes and Climate
covershowisotopes 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.
Optional modules
In recent years, optional modules have included:
- Sedimentary Environments
- Fieldwork
- Modelling Earth Processes
- Ancient Life and its Environments
- Frontiers in Palaeontology
- Carbon and Biogeochemical Cycles
- Climate Change: Geographical Perspectives
- Glaciers and Glaciation
- Reconstructing Environmental Change.
Core modules
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Dissertation
Worth one-third of your final-year marks, you will produce an independent research based on a computing, field or laboratory project chosen to suit your interests.
Optional modules
In recent years, optional modules have included:
- Environmental Geochemistry
- Earth Sciences into Schools
- Atmospheric Circulation and Dynamics
- Monitoring the Oceans: Geohazards & Climate Change
- Groundwater Hydrology
- Polar Quaternary Environmental Processes
- Geochemistry of the Earth
- Environmental Management
- Sea Level Change and Coastal Evolution
- Oceans Past and Present
- Ice Age Environments
- Antarctic Environments
- Archaeology and Global Sustainable Developments.
Learning
The course is mainly delivered through a mixture of lectures, practical classes, tutorials and optional fieldwork. The balance of these activities changes over the degree, as you develop your knowledge and your ability as an independent learner in preparation for professional life or postgraduate study. In Year 1, lectures and practicals dominate the timetable. You are also expected to undertake your own independent study to prepare for your classes and broaden your subject knowledge. The balance starts to shift in the second year, with greater emphasis on self-directed learning and an opportunity to practice research methods. In the final year, you will carry out a dissertation, producing a significant piece of independent research.Assessment
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 range of assessment methods is designed to assess your knowledge and understanding of climate-specific knowledge, alongside transferable skills in mathematics, scientific writing, informatics, policy, critical analysis and project management.Entry requirements
To learn more about the qualifications we typically accept, please select your country from the drop-down menu below.
Minimum entry requirements | |
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Typical offer | AAB |
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Fees & Funding
Choose which fees you want to see:
Home / Island students
£9,535 per year
International / EU Students
£33,250 per year
Home / Island students
Part Time - £ per year
International / EU Students
Part Time - £ per year
The tuition fees shown are for one complete academic year of study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and remain the same throughout the duration of the programme for that cohort (unless otherwise stated).
Find out moreDepartment Information
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Earth Sciences is the holistic study of the planet from the core to the surface, its water and the surrounding atmosphere. Durham is one of the UK’s leading providers of Earth Sciences education. We offer six undergraduate courses, four of which are accredited by The Geological Society of London. Our courses explore the full geological spectrum including climate change, oceans, mass extinctions, rocks and minerals, volcanoes, and the structure and chemistry of the Earth. Our multidisciplinary approach applies physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology and physical geography to real world scenarios to make sense of today's major geoscience concerns. Course structures are flexible with a balance of formal teaching, fieldwork and active learning to put your theoretical knowledge into practice. You can tailor your degree to your interests through the wide range of optional modules and you may also be able to spend a year studying abroad, extending your degree by a year. All our degree courses are informed by the latest pure and applied research, and you can be sure your education is in sync with the latest thinking and will help you on your journey to a profession in the Earth Sciences sector and beyond. For more information see our department pages.
Read moreFacilities
We are on the main science campus, and our teaching taks place in the modern, purpose-built Arthur Holmes Building equipped with brand new optical microscopes and a large teaching collection of rocks, fossils, geological maps, and thin sections. We use industry-standard and research-level software (e.g., ESRI ArcGIS Pro, Python and Matlab), and if your dissertation or research project involves laboratory study, you can access our world-class geochemistry and rock mechanics labs. Throughout your course you will have the opportunity to develop observation and analytical skills on residential field trips to study mountains, deserts, caves, volcanoes, rift valleys, faults and fossils.
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Career Opportunities
Of those students who graduated in 2021-22
88%
Source: HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey. The survey asks leavers from higher education what they are doing 15 months after graduation. Further information about the Graduate Outcomes survey can be found here www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk