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Earth & Ocean Science
Degree course
Programme content |
This degree, the first of its kind in Ireland, started in 2004 and is designed to teach students to understand the physical processes that affect the earth and its oceans. Students may eventually specialise in Geology including Hydrogeology, Geophysics or Oceanography. Graduates will be trained to help in development of Irish infrastructure, management of our physical environment and study of our offshore resources. Ireland possesses 13% of the European Union's marine territory and is currently the first nation on earth to fully map this unknown land beneath the sea. | |
Duration |
The degree is a four year programme leading to an Honours B.Sc. | |
Entry Requirements |
No special subject pre-requisites are required, other than the general conditions for entry into the Science Faculty. | |
Under-graduate Student Handbook |
Download undergraduate Handbook 2011-2012 | |
Summary of Course Content |
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First YearYou start with a course that is designed to equip you with an elementary grasp of the scope and context of EOS. This course provides you with 15 ECTS out of the 60 ECTS that you need to complete for each year of your undergraduate career. By the end of the first year, you should have acquired (1) a clear sense of the questions that define the study of EOS, (2) basic skills in using library, computer and electronic resources, (3) experience of organizing scientific materials and presentation of practical reports, and (4) an awareness of how some contemporary social issues are related to EOS.
Second YearThe second year offers four 10 ECTS modules that introduce some of the specialist disciplines within EOS. These will provide you with 40 ECTS (denominated students taking all four modules) or 30 ECTS (undenominated taking three modules) and you will be able to acquire the full 60 ECTS by choosing other second year courses. By the end of the Second Year, you should have acquired some of the basic ideas about the evolution of the Earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences, geobiology and sedimentology, and the composition of rocks and minerals, as well as elementary field skills. The four second year courses are taught and examined through a combination of continuous assessment and written examination. Students may be admitted without having done EOS104 under some circumstances. All denominated EOS students are automatically registered for EOS218 Fundamental Skills in EOS (EOS221 and EOS220). They are then required to select at least one of the following 10 ECTS modules: EOS212: Sediments and the Biosphere I
Denominated EOS students do not have to do all four modules; they are required to do three and are strongly recommended to do all four. Taking three EOS modules allows some students the option to take Physics in second year. Undenominated students can take the double module EOS218 (EOS221 and EOS220) and are strongly recommended to take one other EOS module if they want to progress in EOS. Marine Science students can take a double module EOS219 (EOS221 and EOS212); they are automatically registered for EOS213.
Third YearIn your third year there is a course that gives you experience in mapping and collecting data in the field, and in modern computer techniques for displaying, presenting and interpreting data. This course provides 12 ECTS. You will then have to choose two (if you are undenominated) or three (if you are denominated) courses, each worth 12 ECTS, out of the five other courses offered within EOS. If you choose three courses you will need to choose one other 12 ECTS course from outside EOS to bring your total credits up to 60 ECTS. The five courses involve a mixing of the different disciplines in EOS in a way that will provide you with practical skills and understanding that may be required later in your career. The courses are: Environmental Geoscience; Marine Geoscience; Structural Geology and Plate Tectonics; Sediments and the Biosphere II; and, Igneous & Metamorphic Petrology.
Fourth YearThere is one 10 ECTS core lecture course: EOS416 Climate Change, Energy & Resources. The aim is to bring together most of the material that you have covered in your previous years in a way that illustrates the most exciting scientific developments and pressing social concerns within EOS. The course provides key generic skills that will help you to compete for EOS-related employment or pursue higher degrees after you graduate. You will be required to complete an Honours Dissertation on a field project that will be undertaken during part of the summer or early autumn before or at the start of fourth year and to hand in a scientific report on a Field Trip. The dissertation and report are worth 20 ECTS in total. You will also have the opportunity to pursue your own interests within EOS by specialising in three of the following 10 ECTS courses: Environmental & Marine Geophysics; Environments & the History of Life; Biophysical and Biogeochemical Interactions in the Oceans; Petrogenesis of Igneous & Metamorphic Rocks; and, Applied Geoscience. This will give a further 30 ECTS to make up 60 ECTS for the fourth year. By the end of Fourth Year, you should have (1) an overview of EOS and the scientific approaches that are used to address its key questions, (2) an in-depth knowledge of at least one specialist field of EOS, (3) experience of conceiving and producing a substantial work of analysis and argument, presented in accordance with professional and scholarly standards, (4) the resources to develop your skills as a self-directed, independent learner, (5) experience in the presentation of ideas, written and oral, individually and collaboratively and (6) the confidence and transferable skills that will ensure that you are well-equipped to pursue successful post-university careers.
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EOS Courses |
There are 20 courses in the EOS degree, some of which are compulsory for all EOS students and some of which are optional depending on whether you want to specialize in your 3rd and 4th years. Each course is designated with the letters EOS followed by a number whose first digit tells you in which year the course is delivered. The courses are summarised below.
Attendance at practical sessions in every year of this degree is compulsory. Practical marks are carried over if a stduent has to repeat a written examination in August. If practical marks are weak, then a repeat student will have difficulty in passing the August examinations | |
National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland.
Phone: +353 (0)91 492 126, E-mail: Earth and Ocean Sciences
This page was last updated Wednesday, October 19, 2011