If it's an accredited degree does it matter which uni

[silverfalls]

Hi,

As per the title, will the ranking of the uni play such a big part in deciding which one to choose.

This is for geology/geoscience and DS is looking at a range of options but some of his favourite courses are at 'lower' ranked unis. He is a bit concerned whether this might affect future prospects or will the grade be more important?

I'm not sure on the type of degree that your DS is interested in.

For some jobs, like law and finance some companies will only recruit from certain unis but for DS's degree choice that doesn't seem to happen and it's more important to get a year in industry and a good grade.

Helllo, I'm a geologist! Chartered, Fellow of the Geological Society. How can I help??

What are his career aspirations? Academia? Oil and Gas exploration, Energy? Environmental ? Astro? Geotechnical??

Is he outdoorsy? The fieldwork element of geology degrees tends to wipe out a few people a year

What are the courses he likes the look of? A lower ranked university does not mean that all the courses it runs are lower ranked.

Have you seen the Geological Society careers website?

NB-?ee:accreditation.

In the UK you do not need to be licensed/chartered etc to work as a geologist. DH is the geo director of a large civil and environmental eng consultancy and isn't (mostly because he's never got round to it).

Degree accreditation is about whether the Geological Society of London (the professional body for Earth Scientists) considers the content of the degree to be a suitable basis for chartership - this is extremely good to have, but not essential.

It's worth noting that nearly all the Earth scientists I know/work with also have an MSc in a specialist field.

Going back to the original Q.... if it's a accredited degree, it doesn't matter which uni, but course contents will be different. Very broadly speaking -
Scottish unis are stronger on oil/gas, now morphing into energy production
Unis in old mining areas - Newcastle, Leeds, S Wales are good on engineering geology/geotechnics

I've never met a poor performing Leeds Earth Science graduate. They tend to be good all rounders. The IC grads I have come across tend to be very academic and less practical.

Look at the MSc courses offered and PhD research topics to understand the university's teaching and research specialisms.

Hi, OP -

I am a Russell Group STEM academic but not a geologist. Chiming in now to say two things. Firstly, @IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads has given your DS some wonderful advice and things to think about. If you come back to us with follow ups my expertise may become relevant.

Secondly, although my uni benefits from the whole RG snob appeal thing, I truly think its time is past. The Universities of the Year in the recent Sunday Times and Guardian League Tables were, respectively, Bath and St Andrews. Lancaster did superbly in the 2021 Research Exercise Framework and many Schools are also very popular with students. None of these is Russell Group. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

A number of large employers, including the Civil Service, no longer ask for the name of one’s university on job applications. The most important piece of data by far is the degree classification. In a field like Geology I imagine an industrial placement might also be a big advantage.

Looking forward to hearing more.

Nevertheless, Bath, St Andrews and Lancaster and also Loughborough are all high ranking universities that are usually in the top 10 in league tables. Whether they are RG or not is irrelevant.

@poetryandwine is totally correct there. Any degree course with a year out will set your ds a step ahead @silverfalls. Good luck to him. I've been working for 30 years and must have interviewed hundreds of geology graduates for jobs and chartership candidates in that time. Please PM me if I can help in any way.

Thanks for all your messages. We have just returned from RHUL open day to view the campus and courses there. We are down south so Birmingham is as far north as he wishes to go. We have Bristol, Leicester, Birmingham, RHUL, Cardiff and Southampton on the list.

@poetryandwine @IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads

He likes the look of natural hazards, hydro, thermo, planetary, mining/quarrying and energy. Basically more geology than the environmental aspects although he wouldn't want to lose that completely. He has been on field trips in his A level and enjoyed them but weeks outside in rain might be pushing it 😀He is looking to do a year of study abroad as well.

Hello @silverfalls, we were also at RHUL today and liked the Earth Sciences course. Ds is only just starting to think about this subject - he isn't dojng Geog A level but sciences/maths. We are also looking at this degree (as well as Chemistry/Physics) in other places. Entry requirements seem a little less than for pure sciences.

@Turmerictolly yes we liked the courses too, although it may be leaning a bit too much into the environmental side. Loved the campus but a bit disappointed that there wasn't more accomodation open to view. He is also looking at chemistry too although prefers geology as he doesn't want a lab job. Where else are you looking/looked?

We've looked at Imperial and Southampton is next week. Imperial Earth Sciences looked good also - min one A star and two A's. I've heard it's more of an academic/research type of course there. There seemed to be lots of field trips though. Chemistry/Chemical Eng very competitive. It's a shame that RHUL don't have a bigger Stem dept. Physics courses looked good.

Will look at a few more Russell Group uni's plus Bath in June.

We enjoyed Loughborough's chemistry department. London unis are too busy for us quiet country lot, Bristol and Cardiff may be pushing it 😀Off to see Cardiff later this month, Bristol's open day was full so will have to wait for an offer holder day to have a look. It's quite tricky when they are torn between subjects.

Chemical engineering is useful if you want to get into oil and gas (plus lots of other industries) but you're going to need to really enjoy maths.

Imperial has a good reputation for Earth Science grads (I thought about its MSc course but didn't want to be in London), and I'm an ex-Birmingham Earth Science undergrad so will obviously recommend going there (fond memories of a field trip to Benidorm). I was also a Chartered Geologist (one of the early ones) but it didn't carry the same weight as CEng for instance (had no qualms in letting it and my FGS lapse).

Have you looked at the Exeter courses based at Penrhyn? Should be a more energy / geohazards / natural resource based course given the School of Mines link.

I'd also suggest considering integrated masters degrees from an ease of funding point of view, although specialist MSc courses may be more suitable once your DC has an idea of careers (I worked for 2 years before doing a specialist Masters).