Hi. And a warm welcome from Southampton. I'd like to talk to you about the opportunities
to study geology in one of Europe's leading geoscience centres.
My name is Rex Taylor and I'm an Associate Professor in the School of Ocean Earth Science in Southampton.
I contribute to around six modules in the geology and environmental geoscience degree program
and lead field courses with our students to Tenerife and Cyprus. My research
is focused on the chemical evolution of volcanoes and the causes of catastrophic explosive
eruptions. I'm also the Admissions Tutor for geology.
Last year, I was lucky enough to be a scientist on a Japan UK expedition to examine the origins
of the Pacific Ring of Fire volcanoes. This involved descending to nearly 6000
meters in a submersible, the deepest part of the Philippine Sea.
Exposed on the seabed there are lavas erupted from a volcano around 50 million years
ago. We collected samples of this material using robotic arms at the front of the
submersible. Our students in Southampton are now examining the lavas
recovered from this mission as part of their research projects and the results are out next year, so
watch this space. We are based at the waterfront campus,
which is a community of 100 scientists and around 900 students in world class teaching
and research facilities, we're ranked number two in the UK for our research.
So what does a geologist do? They want to understand the physical, chemical
and biological processes operating on and within the earth over the last 4.5
billion years. So it's actually a pretty big subject.
It includes investigating the interaction between Earth materials and the environment.
For example, in hydro geology and pollution. Most
items we touch stem from natural resources sourced by geologists;
aggregates, copper, gold, lithium, plastic, diamonds, ceramics, various elements,
to name but a few. But a key objective is helping to develop a digital
low carbon future. Geologists also monitor geological
and environmental hazards and advise on the environmental impact
and the engineering aspect of geology, including carbon capture and windfarms.
They also want to understand climate change through studying the geological record.
Our environmental geo science degrees focus on the interaction between the earth and human activity.
The aim is to equip our graduates with practical and field skills needed by employers and expanding
environmental consultancy and engineering geoscience sectors.
In our opinion, flexibility is key. If you're inspired by new subjects,
or aiming for a particular career, you can change your degree pathway. You can switch
between geology, environmental geoscience and geology with physical geography during
your degree. Also, you can move between the three and the four year
bachelors and Masters programs. Entry to Southampton
requires more than 120 UCAS points and at least one science A-level.
After entry, you can apply to spend one semester of your third year studying in one of our partner
universities around the world like Penn State in the United States or ETH
in Zurich. In Southampton degrees are
taught over two teaching periods or semesters. Students study eight modules
per year, about four per semester. Each module
has two one hour lectures and between three and six hours laboratory practical work
per week. That's an average of 25 contact hours per
week and of course, does not include the 180 hours of fieldwork
contact per year.
We strive to make our geoscience degrees student centred and place a strong emphasis on the skillset
demanded by employers. We're proud of our fieldwork program.
And to tell you more about this, we'll pass you over to one of our current students. Katie.
Hi, my name is Katie and I'm a 3rd year geology student here at the University of Southampton, and I'm
here to talk to you a little bit more about the fieldwork you'll do if you're thinking of taking geology or environmental
geoscience here. Fieldwork has been a big part of my degree, providing me with great
training in all aspects of geology and giving me a head start in digital mapping techniques.
Most of all, the residential field trips allow you to bond and make memories with your course mates.
On 1st year trips, you learn all the basics you need to know and you don't need to have studied geology before.
We learn how to observe and record data in the field and start to think about the processes that have shaped the world
around us. In the Easter of 2nd Year, we visit southeast Spain and explore the sediments,
volcanic and mineralisation. This was great preparation for our summer mapping projects.
at the end of year two. I carried out my mapping project in Scotland, whereas  others went to Spain
and Cyprus. The cost of travel and accommodation for compulsory field courses.
is covered by the university. So you just need to buy your food and drink. I aspire
to be a volcanologist and my favourite field course was a third year volcanology trip to Tenerife
where we got to study the spectacular pyroplastic flows and lava flows on the flanks of Mount Teide.
If you choose the four year integrated masters course, there is more fieldwork, this time with a focus on data
collection and teamwork. This helps you to develop the skills required in the environmental,
engineering and resources sectors by employers. Thanks, Katie.
At Southampton we try to get our students involved in our research wherever possible and provide opportunities
to work in the diverse range of geoscience laboratories at the waterfront campus.
This experience is a great asset to have on any CV giving you a headstart in the job market.
We encourage our students to apply for research placements. Josh here has spent two
months in Japan at a volcano observatory and its results are now published as a paper
in a major international volcanology journal.
These guys got a funded placement in Namibia working for a rare Earth Elements exploration
company, and they based their research projects on the samples they collected when they got
back to Southampton. George is now working for Impact Minerals in Australia.
Matt is working as a mine geologist in Cornwall. To tell you a bit
more about the MSci, the fourth year and her research project over to one of our current
students. Phoebe. My name is Phoebe, and I'm
a fourth year MSci geology student at the University of Southampton, and I'm here to talk to you today to give you
a little bit of an insight about fourth year and I'll be maybe focusing on the independent research
project. So fourth itself is quite a step up from the previous years in the terms
of the quality and the quantity of your work you'll be submitting is at a lot higher standard. This does sound
quite intimidating. It's nothing to worry about. The year is completely manageable and I fully
recommend doing it. So choosing your independent research project will happen at the end of your third year between
May and June, where you'll be in contact with the relevant lecturers who are offering the projects
for you to choose. So for me, I worked with Dr Jeurg Matter on a project involving
carbon dioxide capture and storage where between September and December of my fourth year
I designed and I performed experiments and then from January all the way through until May,
I collected data in various ways. I analysed it and I produced a 10000 word written
report and I did a presentation. So, from my commitment
to my fourth year, I gained a valuable skillset from being able to communicate effectively with others,
from being able to computer program to being able to analyse data and from being able to public speak
as well as various other skills. And as well as I also gained some amazing contacts. That's always a bonus.
So overall, I fully recommend coming to University of Southampton for a well-rounded university lifestyle
as well as being properly set up for the real world as a geoscientist.
Thanks Phoebe. To help our students get the career they want, we invite
our successful graduates back each year to an event to tell our current students
how did they get their job? What did they put on their CV? What would
they ask at interview? What skills are the companies after? What pathway
gives you the right experience?
It's worth mentioning that geologists are in demand and this is demonstrated by the UK Government
Shortage Occupation list as shown here; engineering geologist,
hydrogeologist. geophysicist, geoscientist, geologist, geochemist,
senior resource geologist, staff mining geologist, there's clearly
a common thread running through this list. Our graduates
get jobs. 98 percent are in employment within six months of graduation.
So it's worth remembering geology and geoscience are vocational subjects and this is borne
out by the fact that three quarters of our graduates become professional geologists.
Well, thank you very much for listening and I hope you found it informative. And we will be available online
to answer any questions you may have. But if you are thinking about geophysics, then please click
the link to follow the geophysics subject talk below.
