Undergraduate

BSc (Honours) Geosciences

On this page

• Description
• Planning your studies
• Career relevance
• Courses
• Learning outcomes
• Credit for previous study elsewhere
• Classification of your degree
• Regulations
• How to register

Description

This degree programme will develop your understanding of the processes – and the relationships between the processes – that shape and have shaped the Earth, its atmosphere, and comparable planetary bodies. You will become familiar with scientific methodologies and techniques and will gain an appreciation of the limits of scientific knowledge and an awareness of its impact in society. The programme develops skills for effective learning, enabling students to become independent learners with the ability to continue their own learning and development.

Planning your studies

If you’re new to study or to the OU, we recommend that you start with a course at Level 1. For this degree we recommend starting with Exploring science (S104) and Practising science (SXR103).  If you have not studied science or basic maths before – or perhaps not for some time – we recommend you study Science starts here (S154) before S104. These should provide you with an appropriate background in scientific thinking, knowledge, methods and skills to progress to the  Level 2 study.

If you want a Geosciences degree that is focused on Earth Sciences, we recommend that you start your Level 2 study with S276 and include all or most of the following courses: S279, S339+SXR339, S369+SXR369, S330, S366. 

If you want a Geosciences degree that focuses on Environmental Sciences, we recommend that you start your Level 2 study with S216 and include SXR216 and S279; and at least 90 points from S369, S330, U316 . 

If you want to maximise the amount of Planetary Sciences in your degree, you should include some or all of the following: S283, SXR208, S279, S330, S369.

Other course combinations are also allowable, and will offer a broad overview of the geosciences.

You can register your intention to study for this degree when you reserve your place on individual courses, or you can ask us at any time to link courses that you have already studied towards the degree. This gives you the flexibility to delay your decision or to change your mind as your studies progress. There is no time limit for obtaining the required credit points for this qualification unless you are including discontinued courses which may cease to be countable at some point after their final presentation. You must include at least 120 points from OU courses that have not been counted in any other OU diploma or first degree that you may have been awarded. If you have graduated with an OU BSc degree without honours this requirement is reduced to 60 points.

Career relevance and employability

Science graduates are well placed to enter a range of both scientific and non-scientific jobs. The study of the sciences develops good analytical and reasoning skills, and you will also have become proficient in using computers. Skills such as these are sought by a wide range of financial, business and public sector employers, so science graduates – particularly those who have good communication and interpersonal skills – are in demand.

This Geosciences degree plus at least two years relevant post-graduate experience would qualify the holder for Fellowship of the Geological Society. Further information about the Geological Society and other scientific bodies is available in our Recognition leaflet 3.8 Scientific Institutions.

Ask our Student Registration & Enquiry Service for the careers publication OUstudy and your career if you want to find out more about the process of career development and about sources of careers information and guidance.

For planning your next career steps, visit the OU Careers Advisory Service.

There’s more information about the career relevance of degrees on the national HE Prospects website.

Courses

For this 360-point honours degree you require:

70 points from the following compulsory courses:

Or the discontinued courses S102, S103

*students who satisfactorily attended the residential school that was previously a component of S102 or S103 may count this instead

And at least 70 points from the following optional courses, which must include one of the residential schools specified.

Or, subject to the rules about the excluded combinations, the discontinued courses S236, S237, S260, S267*, S269*, S268, S278, S281

*Note that only 60 points from any combination of S279 and the discontinued courses S267 and S269 may be counted towards the 300 points of geosciences courses specified for this qualification

**students who satisfactorily attended the residential school that was previously a component of S260 or S236 may count this instead of SXR260 and will need only 60 points

And at least 60 points from the following optional courses:

Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued courses S328, S338, S365

*60-point course of which 30 points count in this category and 30 towards the category which can include any OU undergraduate courses – see the last paragraph of these qualification requirements

And at least 10 points from the following optional courses:

We plan to replace the two courses above with a single Level 3 residential school course in 2011. Neither of the above courses is essential if you are claiming as your Level 3 residential school one of the schools that is or was a component within S328, S338 or S339. This is allowed as long as you have passed at least one of the other SXR courses listed for this degree (at any level).

And 30 points from the following compulsory course (this should normally be taken as your final Level 3 course):

You will need further points from any of the courses listed in other categories above and/or below, at any level, to bring your total number of Geosciences points to 300 (the points required here will vary according to how many 10-point SXR courses you have included in your degree).

Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, at Level 1  the discontinued courses S190, S198, S199, T172, at Level  2 the discontinued courses S292, ST240

*60-point course of which 30 points count in this category and 30 towards the category which can include any OU undergraduate courses – see the last paragraph of these qualification requirements

To complete the 360 points needed for an honours degree, the remaining points up to a maximum of 60 points (or 30 if you have already included U316 or T210 above) can be from any OU undergraduate courses. You must ensure that you have at least 120 points at Level 3.

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:

• Knowledge and understanding
• Cognitive skills
• Practical and professional skills
• Key skills

Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.

Credit for previous study elsewhere

If you have already completed some successful study at higher education level at another institution we may be able to give you credit for this study that you can count towards this Open University qualification. You can find out more on our Credit Transfer site. If you make a successful claim for transferred credit it may affect your choice of courses so you are advised to investigate this option as soon as possible.

Credit transfer details for this qualification:

• Essential Information Sheets - BSc (Honours) Geosciences

Classification of your degree

On successful completion of the required number and type of courses you will be awarded a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Geosciences degree. Your honours degree will be classified either as first-class honours, upper second-class honours, lower second-class honours or third-class honours. The class of degree is determined by the best grades you achieve in 240 points from courses above Level 1. These 240 points must include all the compulsory Level 2 and Level 3 requirements of the award as specified, and must include at least 120 points at Level 3. You will have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony to collect your award certificate.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Award Regulations and the Student Regulations.

Award Regulations

• Introduction to the Award Regulations
• General Award Regulations
• BSc (Honours) Geosciences
• Schedule A to the Award Regulations

Student Regulations

The Student Regulations (including the Code of Practice for Student Assessment and the Code of Practice for Student Discipline) are available on our Policy Documents for Students website.

How to register

To register for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the course you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that course.

About this page

An undergraduate qualification in Science.

Study explained

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Study explained

- all you need to know about studying with the OU.

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