Your complete guide to studying Earth Sciences

Everything you need to know about studying Earth Sciences in 2024

part of Environmental Studies & Earth Sciences

Earth Sciences is the study of the Earth and its natural forces and phenomena. From volcanoes to rare minerals, from petrol to glaciers, and from hurricanes to tsunamis — all are objects of study for Earth scientists.

There’s a lot of confusion surrounding the terms &lsquoEarth Sciences’, &lsquoGeoscience’, and &lsquoGeology’. While certain academics and institutions use them interchangeably, others claim that Geology has its subtle differences. Before choosing a degree, don’t hesitate to go through the curriculum and contact the university if you don’t know what programme to choose.

Some of the Earth Sciences branches or subdisciplines are Oceanography, Climatology and Meteorology, Environmental Science, Ecology, and others.

While studying Earth Sciences, you can expect to take classes in Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Field Techniques, Planetary and Lunar Geology, Ecology, Meteorology, Mathematical Methods, Hydrology, Petrology, etc.

Earth Sciences or Geoscience often deals with projects that aim to limit pollution and reverse its harmful effects. It also has a counselling role regarding natural resources and waste management and is actively engaged in analysing the compositions and structures found on the Moon or other planets in our solar system.

Earth Sciences graduates can work in many areas, especially Geology, Environmental Science, Environmental Consultancy firms or governmental institutions. Some of the most popular career options include engineering geologist, geoscientist, environmental consultant or minerals surveyor.

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Best Universities for Earth Sciences on ShortCoursesPortal

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Universities Location Shanghai Jiao Tong University Ranking (2017) TopUniversities Ranking (2018) U.S. News & World Report Ranking (2018)
ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich, Switzerland 1 1 3
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, United States 2 3 6
University of Colorado at Boulder Boulder, United States 3 25 2
California Institute of Technology - Caltech Pasadena, United States 4 7 1
Columbia University New York City, United States 5 9 4
University of Cambridge Cambridge, United Kingdom 6 6 16
Stanford University Stanford, United States 7 8 27
University of Washington Seattle, United States 8 10 5
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, United States 9 5 9
Harvard University Cambridge, United States 10 2 7
University of California, San Diego San Diego, United States 11 12 13
University of Oxford Oxford, United Kingdom 12 3 11
University of Texas at Austin Austin, United States 13 22 32
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, United States 14 51 40
Brown University Providence, United States 15 51 90
The University of Arizona Tucson, United States 16 28 29
University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, United States 17 51 54
Sorbonne University Paris, France 18 51 14
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Urbana, United States 19 101 85
Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, United States 20 51 130
University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, United States 21 40 39
University of Reading Reading, United Kingdom 22 - 29
University of Bristol Bristol, United Kingdom 23 18 15
University of Southern California Los Angeles, United States 24 101 83
The University of Tokyo Tokyo, Japan 25 15 24
University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, United States 26 51 53
Paris Diderot University Paris, France 27 101 78
Utrecht University Utrecht, Netherlands 28 17 10
University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark 29 43 56
Cornell University Ithaca, United States 30 51 74
Rice University Houston, United States 31 101 147
Université Grenoble Alpes Grenoble, France 32 51 27
Yale University New Haven, United States 33 21 38
Arizona State University Tempe, United States 34 51 84
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Los Angeles, United States 35 11 19
Australian National University Canberra, Australia 36 13 26
University of Maryland College Park, United States 37 51 12
University of Leeds Leeds, United Kingdom 38 18 18
University of Tennessee Knoxville Knoxville, United States 39 - -
Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ) Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France 40 - -
University of Houston Houston, United States 41 - -
Durham University Durham, United Kingdom 42 24 36
Queen's University Kingston, Canada 42 101 -
University College London (UCL) London, United Kingdom 42 30 44
University Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier Toulouse, France 45 151 -
University of Bern Bern, Switzerland 46 51 31
Pennsylvania State University State College, United States 47 32 21
University of Southampton Southampton, United Kingdom 48 31 49
Imperial College London London, United Kingdom 49 26 45
The University of Iowa Iowa City, United States 50 - 178
Aarhus University Aarhus, Denmark 101 101 101
Colorado State University Fort Collins, United States 101 48 36
Complutense University of Madrid Madrid, Spain 101 151 135
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) Delft, Netherlands 101 34 93
Ecole normale supérieure (ENS) Paris, France 101 - 152
Freie Universität Berlin Berlin Steglitz, Germany 101 101 147
Hokkaido University Sapporo, Japan 101 51 119
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Karlsruhe, Germany 101 101 62
Lund University Lund, Sweden 101 51 71
Monash University Clayton, Australia 101 51 115
Nagoya University Nagoya, Japan 101 51 136
National Autonomous University of Mexico Coyoacán, Mexico 101 51 167
Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom 101 151 111
Purdue University West Lafayette, United States 101 51 117
Royal Holloway University of London London, United Kingdom 101 101 111
Rutgers University New Brunswick, United States 101 151 81
Texas A&M University College Station, United States 101 38 75
The Ohio State University Upper Arlington, United States 101 51 70
The Open University UK Milton Keynes, United Kingdom 101 - 164
University of Adelaide Adelaide, Australia 101 51 136
The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR) 101 27 47
The University of Manchester Manchester, United Kingdom 101 51 76
University of Queensland Saint Lucia, Australia 101 51 158
University of Sheffield Sheffield, United Kingdom 101 101 89
University of Bonn Bonn, Germany 101 151 109
University of California, Riverside Riverside, United States 101 151 140
University of Cologne Köln, Germany 101 - 169
University of East Anglia Norwich, United Kingdom 101 51 55
University of Florida Gainesville, United States 101 51 120
Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main, Germany 101 - 103
University of Geneva Genève, Switzerland 101 101 160
University of Granada Granada, Spain 101 - 158
University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland 101 51 42
University of Iceland Reykjavik, Iceland 101 - 106
University of Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland 101 101 175
University of Lorraine Maxéville, France 101 - -
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Mainz, Germany 101 151 93
University of Miami Coral Gables, United States 101 51 65
University of Orleans Olivet, France 101 - 160
University of Padua Padua, Italy 101 151 164
University of St Andrews St Andrews, United Kingdom 101 101 116
University of Strasbourg Strasbourg, France 101 101 142
University of Utah Salt Lake City, United States 101 - 149
University of Victoria Victoria, Canada 101 101 127
University of Zurich Zürich, Switzerland 101 101 61
Victoria University of Wellington Wellington, New Zealand 101 101 168
Virginia Tech Blacksburg, United States 101 151 186
Washington University in St. Louis Saint Louis, United States 101 - 195
Boston University Boston, United States 151 151 80
Cardiff University Cardiff, United Kingdom 151 151 191
Colorado School of Mines Golden, United States 151 51 198
Dalhousie University Halifax, Canada 151 51 144
Duke University Durham, United States 151 101 130
Florida State University Tallahassee, United States 151 101 113
Ghent University Ledeberg, Belgium 151 151 136
Heidelberg University Heidelberg, Germany 151 101 141
Indiana University Bloomington Bloomington, United States 151 151 175
Jean Monnet University Saint-Étienne, France 151 - -
Kochi University Kochi-shi, Japan 151 - 192
KU Leuven Brussels, Belgium 151 151 192
Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, United States 151 - -
Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore 151 101 155
Sapienza University of Rome Roma, Italy 151 - 195
Stony Brook University Stony Brook, United States 151 - 121
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland 151 - -
Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Copenhagen, Denmark 151 101 144
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem, Israel 151 - 177
University of Calgary Calgary, Canada 151 101 -
University of Glasgow Glasgow, United Kingdom 151 101 -
University of Waikato Hamilton, New Zealand 151 - -
Tokyo Institute of Technology Meguro, Japan 151 51 -
University of Clermont Auvergne (UCA) Clermont-Ferrand, France 151 - 171
Institute for European Studies - Universite Libre de Bruxelles Brussels, Belgium 151 - 108
University of Aberdeen Aberdeen, United Kingdom 151 101 180
University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain 151 51 133
University of Birmingham Birmingham, United Kingdom 151 51 121
University of Cape Town Cape Town, South Africa 151 101 171
University of Chile Lo Prado, Chile 151 51 185
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) Nuremberg, Germany 151 - -
University of Florence Florence, Italy 151 - -
University of Göttingen Göttingen, Germany 151 101 -
University of Hamburg Hamburg, Germany 151 101 130
University of Innsbruck Innsbruck, Austria 151 - 117
University of Kansas Lawrence, United States 151 151 152
University of Liège Liège, Belgium 151 151 174
University of Lisbon Lisbon, Portugal 151 151 136
University of Oregon Eugene, United States 151 101 146
University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand 151 101 156
University of Ottawa Ottawa, Canada 151 - -
University of Rennes Rennes, France 151 - 192
University of Sao Paulo São Paulo, Brazil 151 51 121
University of Sydney Sydney, Australia 151 51 152
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Johannesburg, South Africa 151 151 -
University of Vienna Vienna, Austria 151 51 107
Wageningen University and Research Wageningen, Netherlands 151 51 67
University of Western Ontario London, Canada 151 151 -
Wuhan University Wuhan, China 151 - 93
Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an, China 151 - -
Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth, United Kingdom 201 - 179
Autonomous University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain 201 - 183
Bangor University Bangor, United Kingdom 201 - -
Beijing Normal University Beijing, China 201 151 64
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beersheba, Israel 201 - -
Boise State University Boise, United States 201 - -
Charles University Prague, Czech Republic 201 - -
Dartmouth College Hanover, United States 201 - -
Grenoble INP, Graduate schools of Engineering and Management, Université Grenoble Alpes Grenoble, France 201 - -
Istanbul Technical University Istanbul, Turkey 201 101 -
James Cook University Townsville, Australia 201 51 -
Kyushu University Fukuoka, Japan 201 101 -
Lancaster University Lancaster, United Kingdom 201 151 -
Lanzhou University Lanzhou, China 201 - 104
Laval University Québec, Canada 201 - -
Leiden University Leiden, Netherlands 201 - -
Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's, Canada 201 - -
Miami University Oxford, United States 201 - -
Michigan Technological University Houghton, United States 201 - -
Montana State University Bozeman, United States 201 - -
Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) Moscow, Russia 201 101 171
National Central University Taoyuan City, Taiwan 201 - -
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Socorro, United States 201 - -
Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, United States 201 - -
Northwest University China Xi'an, China 201 - 128
Ocean University of China Qingdao, China 201 - 166
University of Plymouth Plymouth, United Kingdom 201 151 -
Queen's University Belfast Belfast, United Kingdom 201 - -
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, United States 201 - -
Roma Tre University Roma, Italy 201 - -
RWTH Aachen University Aachen, Germany 201 - -
Seoul National University Anyang, South Korea 201 51 142
Simon Fraser University Burnaby, Canada 201 - -
Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch, South Africa 201 - -
Swansea University Swansea, United Kingdom 201 - -
Syracuse University Syracuse, United States 201 - -
Technical University of Munich München, Germany 201 101 -
University of Auckland Auckland, New Zealand 201 101 -
University of Georgia Athens, United States 201 - -
University of Newcastle Newcastle, Australia 201 - -
Tongji University Shanghai, China 201 - -
Trent University Peterborough, Canada 201 - -
Tsinghua University Beijing, China 201 51 59
TU Dresden Dresden, Germany 201 - -
Umea University Umeå, Sweden 201 - -
University at Buffalo Buffalo, United States 201 - -
University College Dublin Dublin, Ireland 201 151 -
Ruhr University Bochum Bochum, Germany 201 - -
University of Bologna Bologna, Italy 201 - -
University of Bordeaux Bordeaux, France 201 - -
University of Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand 201 151 -
University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, United States 201 - -
University of Delaware Newark, United States 201 - -
University of Gothenburg Göteborg, Sweden 201 - -
University of Groningen Groningen, Netherlands 201 - -
University of Guelph Guelph, Canada 201 - -
Leibniz University Hannover Hannover, Germany 201 - -
University of Johannesburg Johannesburg, South Africa 201 - -
The University of Maine Orono, United States 201 - -
University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Canada 201 - -
University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Catonsville, United States 201 - 169
University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, United States 201 - -
The University of Milan Sesto San Giovanni, Italy 201 151 -
University of Milano - Bicocca Sesto San Giovanni, Italy 201 - -
University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, United States 201 - -
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia - UNIMORE Modena, Italy 201 - -
The University of Montana Missoula, United States 201 - -
University of Nantes Nantes, France 201 - -
University of Naples Federico II Naples, Italy 201 - -
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, United States 201 - -
University of Nevada, Reno Reno, United States 201 - 195
University of Nevada, Las Vegas Las Vegas, United States 201 - -
Université Nice Sophia Antipolis Nice, France 201 - -
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, United States 201 - -
University of Nottingham Nottingham, United Kingdom 201 151 -
University of Oklahoma Norman, United States 201 101 129
Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg Oldenburg, Germany 201 - -
University of Paris Sud Orsay, France 201 - -
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, United States 201 151 -
University of Pisa Pisa, Italy 201 - -
University of Quebec in Montreal Montréal, Canada 201 - -
University of Rhode Island Kingston, United States 201 - 189
University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Canada 201 - -
University of South Carolina Columbia, United States 201 - -
University of South Florida Tampa, United States 201 - -
UIT the Arctic University of Norway Tromsø, Norway 201 - -
University of Tsukuba Naka, Japan 201 151 200
University of Turin Turin, Italy 201 - -
University of Twente (UT) Enschede, Netherlands 201 - -
University of Virginia Charlottesville, United States 201 - -
University of Waterloo Waterloo, Canada 201 101 188
University of Wollongong Wollongong, Australia 201 151 134
University of Wyoming Laramie, United States 201 - 198
University of York York, United Kingdom 201 - -
University of Zaragoza Delicias, Spain 201 - -
Vienna University of Technology Vienna, Austria 201 - -
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) Brussels, Belgium 201 - -
Washington State University Pullman, United States 201 151 -
Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France 51 151 88
China University of Geosciences Wuhan Wuhan, China 51 51 17
Curtin University Perth, Australia 51 51 78
École Normale Supérieure de Lyon Lyon, France 51 151 125
Nanjing University Nanjing, China 51 101 48
Oregon State University Corvallis, United States 51 41 34
Peking University Beijing, China 51 33 20
Princeton University Princeton, United States 51 16 8
Stockholm University Stockholm, Sweden 51 51 33
The University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, United Kingdom 51 22 45
University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia 51 42 41
The University of Western Australia Perth, Australia 51 43 60
Tohoku University Sendai-shi, Japan 51 51 102
University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, United States 51 - 86
University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada 51 51 71
University of Bergen Bergen, Norway 51 37 49
University of Bremen Bremen, Germany 51 50 63
University of California, Irvine (UCI) Irvine, United States 51 - 25
University of Chicago Chicago, United States 51 43 66
University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minneapolis, United States 51 - 35
University of Oslo Oslo, Norway 51 51 52
Savoie Mont Blanc University Chambéry, France 51 - -
University of Tasmania Hobart, Australia 51 49 73
University of Wisconsin Madison Madison, United States 51 43 22
Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Villeurbanne, France 76 - 183
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, United States 76 51 57
Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan 76 39 105
Macquarie University Sydney, Australia 76 51 91
McGill University Montréal, Canada 76 34 87
National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan 76 43 100
Northwestern University Evanston, United States 76 151 -
Melbourne Business School Melbourne, Australia 76 36 76
The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, United States 76 - 182
University of Bayreuth Bayreuth, Germany 76 151 149
University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada 76 18 57
University of California, Davis Davis, United States 76 29 69
The University of Exeter Exeter, United Kingdom 76 101 51
University of Kiel Kiel, Germany 76 101 160
University of Leicester Leicester, United Kingdom 76 101 98
University of Liverpool Liverpool, United Kingdom 76 51 113
University of Montpellier Montpellier, France 76 101 110
University of Münster Münster, Germany 76 151 163
Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich München, Germany 76 51 81
University of New Hampshire Durham, United States 76 - 97
University of Potsdam Potsdam, Germany 76 101 92
University of Science and Technology of China Hefei, China 76 101 124
University of Toronto Pickering, Canada 76 14 43
University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany 76 101 180
Uppsala University Uppsala, Sweden 76 101 93
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands 76 101 67
Frankfurt University of Applied Science Frankfurt am Main, Germany - 101 -
University of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina - 101 -
University of Quebec Québec, Canada - 101 -
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloníki, Greece - 151 -
Bologna Business School Bologna, Italy - 151 -
City University of Hong Kong Kowloon, Hong Kong (SAR) - 151 -
Hiroshima University Hiroshima, Japan - 151 -
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR) - 151 -
King's College London London, United Kingdom - 151 -
McMaster University Hamilton, Canada - 151 -
Michigan State University East Lansing, United States - 151 -
University of Galway Galway, Ireland - 151 -
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Trondheim, Norway - 151 -
Osaka University Osaka-shi, Japan - 151 -
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv Yaffo, Israel - 151 -
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shatin, Hong Kong (SAR) - 151 -
Yonsei University Seoul, South Korea - 151 -
University of California, Irvine Extension Irvine, United States - 51 -
University of Minnesota Minneapolis, United States - 51 -
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland - - 125
King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - - 151
University at Albany Albany, United States - - 157
Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou, China - - 186
North Carolina State University Raleigh, United States - - 190
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