Geography/Geology degree - any risks with not studying an accredited course?

[HelpAWelshie]

DD is looking to do Geography and/or Geology, or Environmental Geoscience. She’s finding that some courses are accredited and some aren’t. Does this matter? I know it’s meant to be a reflection of the high level of teaching but is there any risk to her future career options by doing a non-accredited course?

I wouldn’t think it matters - in fact the Royal Geographical Soc website suggests it’s optional and that there are lots of good degrees that aren’t accredited. I would imagine future employers would have no idea. And as in most cases it’ll be the class of degree as well as work experience etc etc that makes the difference.

www.rgs.org/research/programme-accreditation/register-of-accredited-programmes

My ds is a physical geographer and I’ve just checked whether his is - as I’d never looked into it before.

To add, obvs this is just relevant to geography - not sure about geology or geoscience!

If she chooses the non accredited course she will probably not be eligible for a state funded student loan. This may have changed, but when I used to process student grant/loan applications, the course had to be accredited for the student to be eligible for funding. Best to double check 👍

Thanks for this, that’s helpful re the Geography. We plan to ask the Uni’s about Geology when we go to open days, but worried they will try to sell their course rather than give us an honest answer.

I’m specifically talking about accreditation with the Royal Geographical and Royal Geology Societies. All degrees she’s looking at are fully-fledged proper degrees with legitimate universities, so no issues with accreditation in that sense.

It does sound as if the geological society accreditation is considered more of a quality assurance - but at least you know to ask when you visit 🙂

www.geolsoc.org.uk/accreditation

I have a geography degree and I had no idea that there was such a thing as accreditation. I thought this only applied for things like engineering or psychology and you want to clinical psychology.

No idea if mine is accredited or not and I still have course mates then went into geography related jobs.

For earth science degrees, an accredited degree programme is probably helpful for working towards chartered status (but not compulsory, looking at the GeolSoc website).

Which courses are your DD considering?

That's great👍

You can get extra resources post degree e.g. job advice, small grants etc from accredited bodies, might be worth considering. If on balance the courses are equally attractive to dc, I would go with accredited.

This is the part I am concerned about, but I can’t seem to tell whether it will affect her career path or not. I think she should ensure they’re accredited, just to be on the safe side, but it’s also important for her to go for the course that interests her the most.

Overall, she’s looking at Physical Geography, Geology, Environmental Geoscience and Environmental Science. She’s looking at Southampton, Birmingham, Exeter, Leicester and Aberystwyth and they all offer some variations of the above subjects, some accredited, some not.

Is she thinking about an integrated masters degree?

My dc is at Leicester doing the Bsc if you have any questions 🙂

I was going to say that I don’t know much about Leicester, but you’ve got someone you can ask now! All those unis have good reputations.

I don’t think so. She wants to do a year abroad or in placement so I think student finance would be an issue if she wanted to do that and the MSc.

Oh wow, that’s amazing. Is your DC happy at Leicester? What year are they in?
What made them choose Leicester? What other unis were they looking at?
Is their accommodation in the village (I think it’s called that)?
Is there a high proportion of more local people attending or does it attract from far and wide?
Sorry for so many questions!

It’s generally much cheaper to do the integrated masters than to do a standalone masters. I’d always recommend a masters level degree if you’re thinking of going into the industry.

A quick Google throws up 4 yr Environmental Science or Geoscience MSci courses that include study abroad at unis like UEA, Bristol, Lancaster, Manchester.

Might be worth a look?

I’ll message you!

Thank you, will get DD to take a look. She’s narrowed down the courses she likes and doesn’t want to be too far from home, so she’s ruled out ones up
North. But I’ll get her to take a look at the courses at the Uni’s she likes. And then we need to look at finance!

My daughter is doing an MSci in Environmental Sciences at the University of Exeter in Penryn. She has just started and seems to be enjoying it so far. There are loads of opportunities and it does come with accreditation. I can't tell you much more at the moment. She did also like the course at UEA and Swansea.

Hiya! My dd is looking to do an MSci in Environmental Geoscience (I can't imagine the application is too dissimilar) and was just wondering how your dd found the whole process.
Was it a competitive course to get into? Do you mind me asking what her offer was and if she reached that?
Fortunately, dd is predicted A* across so grades aren't much of an issue, just wondering if the personal statement, competition, etc. is something to be cautious of. She has high (academic) anxiety so this is something she's been very concerned about.
Thanks so much!!

My dd actually did the IB so her grades came out in July. She did much better than she thought she would so phoned Exeter to see if they had any space left. As they did, she then rejected her firm offer and applied through clearing. She had 41/45 points so grades really weren't an issue for her either. She's still enjoying it and getting a lot out of the environment in Cornwall. Good luck to your dd!

I was about to say my nephew did geography and geology at Leeds, he did a year in america as part of his course. He graduated a couple of years ago, but this year he's gone to Canada to work for a few years. He had the option to work in the gold fields over there as part of their geology team. He really enjoyed Leeds, but as with your daughter it was relatively close to home for him.

@tadjennyp
Thank you so much - you've definitely given her a big sense of hope as to getting a place - that score is incredible!!
Good luck to your DD too, I hope she enjoys her time down by Devon!

@HelpAWelshie

I don't know how I missed this!
I'm a Chartered Geologist (CGeol), and I'm a CGeol assessor for The Geological Society of London (the professional body for Geologists) .

The accreditation of a degree through the Geol Soc are a guarantee that they have an appropriate and broad curriculum, with opportunities to develop skills, links to industry etc.

You need an accredited degree to apply for CGeol status, which many employers expect after you have a few years' (4 or 5) experience under your belt. It's a pretty standard requirement in Engineering Geology/Envionmental consultancy where you'd be working alongside chartered civil engineers and chartered environmentalists , but is becoming more widely picked up in other specialities. CGeol is not a legally required "licence to practice", but is widely recognised as a quality mark. Many jobs request "professional accreditation" beyond graduate entry level, and often you are expected to be "on a professional accreditation route".

I'm not actually sure what the CGeol processes is for non accredited degrees, but it would undoubtedly involve additional study.

More info on professional accreditation and CGeol status and requirements Here. Feel free to message me if you need more advice.