
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 relevant link 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 first degrees are marked with one asterisk (*)
Institutions offering accredited MSc programmes are marked with two asterisks (**)
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
Details*University of Brighton, School of Environment & Technology
Details*University of Bristol, School of Earth Sciences
DetailsUWE Bristol, Department of Geography & Environmental Management
Details*University of Cambridge, Department of Earth Sciences
DetailsCoventry University, Department of Geography, Environment & Disaster Management
Details**University of Derby, School of Built and Natural Environment
Details*University of Durham, School of Earth Sciences
Details*University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences
Details**University of Exeter, Camborne School of Mines
Details*University of Hull, School of Environmental Sciences
Details*University of Keele, School of Geography, Geology & the Environment
DetailsKingston University, Department of Geography, Geology & the Environment
Details**University of Leeds, School of Earth & Environment
Details*University of Leicester, School of Geography, Geology & the Environment
Details*University of Liverpool, Department of Earth, Ocean & Ecological Sciences
Details*Birkbeck University London, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences
Details**Imperial College London, Department of Earth Science & Engineering
Details*Royal Holloway University of London, Department of Earth Sciences
Details*University College London, Department of Earth Sciences
Details**University of Manchester, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences
Details**Newcastle University, School of Natural & Environmental Sciences/School of Engineering
DetailsThe Open University, Department of Environment, Earth and Ecosystems
Details*University of Oxford, Department of Earth Sciences
Details*University of Plymouth, School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences
Details**University of Portsmouth, School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences
DetailsUniversity of Reading, School of Human & Environmental Sciences (formally accredited degrees)
DetailsUniversity of Sheffield, Department of Geography
Details*University of Southampton, School of Ocean and Earth Science
DetailsStaffordshire University, School of Sciences (former accredited degrees)
Details**University of Hong Kong
Details*King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Faculty of Earth Sciences
Details*King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Department of Earth Sciences
Details*Sultan Qaboos University Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Earth Sciences Department
Details*University of the West Indies St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago, Petroleum Studies Unit, Dept. of Chemical Engineering
Details*Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia, Geoscience Department
DetailsContact
If you have any questions, please contact our Degree Accreditation Officer Andy Saunders:
By post:
Accreditation Officer,
The Geological Society,
Burlington House,
Piccadilly,
London W1J 0BG
By email