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why does Durham have a separate BSc for Geology and Earth Sciences??

Durham's got 2 courses, one's a BSc Geology and the other a BSc Earth Sciences. Bit confused as I was under the impression that the 2 are interchangeable and amount to practically the same thing.
Original post by dontclickthis
Durham's got 2 courses, one's a BSc Geology and the other a BSc Earth Sciences. Bit confused as I was under the impression that the 2 are interchangeable and amount to practically the same thing.


They don't, they have a BSc Geology and an MSci Earth Sciences. In the MSci, you follow the Geology, Environmental Geoscience or Geophysics stream for the first three years and then you have seminars and a major research project in the fourth year.

Geology and Earth Sciences aren't the same thing though, FYI.
Original post by Chlorophile
They don't, they have a BSc Geology and an MSci Earth Sciences. In the MSci, you follow the Geology, Environmental Geoscience or Geophysics stream for the first three years and then you have seminars and a major research project in the fourth year.

Geology and Earth Sciences aren't the same thing though, FYI.

Thanks for your reply. Could you elaborate on the 'geology and earth sciences aren't the same thing' part - I'm applying to study Earth Sciences but almost all 'Earth Sciences' departments have no 'BSc Earth Sciences' only 'BSc Geology' etc so I took them to mean the same thing.
Also Durham has a BSc Geology and BSc Earth Sciences: https://www.dur.ac.uk/courses/2013/info/?id=4321&title=Earth+Sciences&ucas-code=F641&degree=BSc&year=2013

https://www.dur.ac.uk/courses/2013/info/?id=4312&title=geology
Original post by dontclickthis
Thanks for your reply. Could you elaborate on the 'geology and earth sciences aren't the same thing' part - I'm applying to study Earth Sciences but almost all 'Earth Sciences' departments have no 'BSc Earth Sciences' only 'BSc Geology' etc so I took them to mean the same thing.
Also Durham has a BSc Geology and BSc Earth Sciences: https://www.dur.ac.uk/courses/2013/info/?id=4321&title=Earth+Sciences&ucas-code=F641&degree=BSc&year=2013

https://www.dur.ac.uk/courses/2013/info/?id=4312&title=geology


Firstly, Durham don't have a BSc Earth Sciences course - your link is from 2013. Since I'm assuming you're not intending to travel back in time, that course isn't available for you :smile:

Earth Sciences and Geology are similar but Earth Sciences is broader, containing Geology but also Geophysics, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography etc. Most Earth Sciences courses will be largely geology based but there will often be a wider variety of courses available in topics that fall outside of traditional Geology. However, the terms are still often used interchangeably.
Original post by Chlorophile
Firstly, Durham don't have a BSc Earth Sciences course - your link is from 2013. Since I'm assuming you're not intending to travel back in time, that course isn't available for you :smile:

Earth Sciences and Geology are similar but Earth Sciences is broader, containing Geology but also Geophysics, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography etc. Most Earth Sciences courses will be largely geology based but there will often be a wider variety of courses available in topics that fall outside of traditional Geology. However, the terms are still often used interchangeably.

Both links are from 2013 though...

Yeah I did get the idea that Earth Sciences covers more than Geology but couldn't make out why there are hardly any 'Earth Sciences' courses. Most unis I'm looking to apply to: Imperial, Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter etc have no 'Earth Sciences BSc' only 'Geology BSc' which I cannot understand.
Original post by dontclickthis
Both links are from 2013 though...

Yeah I did get the idea that Earth Sciences covers more than Geology but couldn't make out why there are hardly any 'Earth Sciences' courses. Most unis I'm looking to apply to: Imperial, Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter etc have no 'Earth Sciences BSc' only 'Geology BSc' which I cannot understand.


Look, if you look at Durham's 2015 prospectus, you will see that there is no Earth Sciences BSc.

Earth Sciences is a very new term so many traditional places would rather stick with traditional, recognised terms than Earth Science, which some could regard as a bit of a buzzword. Also, because Earth Sciences is so broad, a lot of people want slightly more specialised degrees, particularly if they want to go into Industry. The only truly broad Earth Sciences degrees I've seen are those offered by Oxford and (sort of) Cambridge.
Original post by Chlorophile
Look, if you look at Durham's 2015 prospectus, you will see that there is no Earth Sciences BSc.

Earth Sciences is a very new term so many traditional places would rather stick with traditional, recognised terms than Earth Science, which some could regard as a bit of a buzzword. Also, because Earth Sciences is so broad, a lot of people want slightly more specialised degrees, particularly if they want to go into Industry. The only truly broad Earth Sciences degrees I've seen are those offered by Oxford and (sort of) Cambridge.

Ah okay actually never mind, sorry about that, I was just v confused because I thought BSc Geology and BSc Earth Sciences were one and the same because most 'Earth Sciences' depts have only 'BSc Geology' and no 'BSc Earth Science'... Ta for your help

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