Education and Careers

Degree accreditation

First degree programmes

The Geological Society's Accreditation Scheme for first degree programmes in geoscience was launched in 1997 and has now become an established benchmark of quality awarded to over 140 programmes. Applications from overseas are now being received, and the first overseas programme given accredited status was at the University of the West Indies in 2004. Since then programmes at universities in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Oman have also been accredited.

Accredited status provides added assurance to prospective students that a department's teaching is of the highest quality, and has been approved by an independent body of academics and industrialists. A graduate taking an accredited undergraduate programme will be gaining experience and insights directly relevant to a later award of Chartered Geologist or Scientist (CGeol/CSci) status. 

The list of accredited programmes changes as university departments apply for and receive accreditation. Accreditation is granted for a period of six years, at the end of which the university must submit an application for re-accreditation. When a degree programme is accredited for the first time, students will normally obtain an accredited degree if they are in their first or second year of study when accreditation is first awarded, although there may be exceptions to this rule. Approval is always awarded to a programme and not to an individual student. 

MSc programmes

An accreditation scheme for taught MSc programmes was introduced in December 2006, to recognise MSc programmes that offer advanced professional and scientific training in a specific area of the geosciences.

A graduate taking an accredited MSc will be gaining experience and insights directly relevant to a later award of Chartered Geologist or Scientist (CGeol/CSci) status. 

University geoscience departments

University departments of geoscience in the UK, Ireland and Overseas are listed below (alphabetically by region). Please click on the department name to find out more about the institution. The linked pages show all currently and formerly accredited degree and MSc programmes, with the date that accreditation was granted and the date that it will expire unless an application for re-accreditation is submitted.

Institutions offering accredited degrees are highlighted:

As part of improvements to our careers advice, Masters not yet accredited by the Society are also listed on the relevant university pages.

*University of Birmingham School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences	*University of Brighton School of Environment & Technology
*University of Bristol School of Earth Sciences	*University of Cambridge Department of Earth Sciences
University of the West of England, Bristol Department of Geography and Environmental Management	Coventry University Department of Geography, Environment & Disaster Management
*University of Derby School of Built and Natural Environment (+MSc)	*University of Durham Department of Earth Sciences
*University of East Anglia School of Environmental Sciences	*University of Exeter Camborne School of Mines
University of Gloucestershire School of Natural & Social Science	University of Greenwich School of Science
*University of Hull School of Environmental Sciences	*University of Keele School of Geography, Geology & the Environment
Kingston University Department of Geography, Geology & the​ Environment	*University of Leeds School of Earth & Environment (+MSc)
*University of Leicester School of Geography, Geology & the Environment	Liverpool John Moores University School of Natural Sciences & Psychology
*University of Liverpool Department of Earth, Ocean & Ecological Sciences	*Birkbeck, University of London Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences
*Imperial College London Department of Earth Science & Engineering (+MSc)	*Royal Holloway University of London Department of Earth Sciences
*University College London Dept of Earth Sciences	Manchester Metropolitan University School of Science & The Environment
*University of Manchester Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences (+MSc)	*Newcastle University School of Natural & Environmental Sciences / School of Engineering (MSc Only)
University College, Northampton Division of Environmental & Geographical Sciences;	Nottingham Trent University School of Architecture, Design & the Built Environment
University of Nottingham School of Geography	The Open University Department of Environment, Earth & Ecosystems
*University of Oxford Department of Earth Sciences	*University of Plymouth School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences
*University of Portsmouth School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences (+MSc)	University of Reading School of Human & Environmental Sciences (former degrees accredited)
University of Sheffield Department of Geography	*University of Southampton School of Ocean & Earth Science
Staffordshire University School of Sciences (former degrees accredited)

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*University of Aberdeen Department of Geology & Geophysics	*University of Edinburgh School of Geosciences
University of Glasgow School of Geographical & Earth Sciences	*Heriot-Watt University Institute of Petroleum Engineering (MSc Only)
*University of St Andrews School of Earth & Environmental Sciences

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*University of Cardiff School of Earth & Environmental Sciences (+MSc)	University of South Wales, Pontypridd School of Applied Sciences
University of Wales, Aberystwyth Institute of Geography & Earth Sciences	University of Wales, Bangor School of Ocean Sciences

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University College, Cork School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences	Trinity College, Dublin Department of Geology
National University of Ireland, Galway Department of Earth & Ocean	University College, Dublin School of Earth Sciences

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*University of Hong Kong Department of Earth Sciences	*King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Faculty of Earth Sciences
*King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Department of Earth Sciences	*Sultan Qaboos University Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Earth Sciences Department
*University of the West Indies St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago, Petroleum Studies Unit, Dept. of Chemical Engineering	*Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia, Geoscience Department

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