BSc Earth and Planetary Science at Imperial College London

Earth and planetary scientists seek to understand the Earth and other planets through observation.

Recent planetary missions and the development of new techniques are giving us radical new insights into Solar System evolution. Future exploration offers new opportunities to learn about planetary origins and evolution.

This degree focuses on geological and geophysical processes in the Solar System. There is a particular emphasis on planets, moons and smaller bodies, such as asteroids and comets. As an interdisciplinary degree, you'll gain skills in geoscience, physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering and computing.

First you will gain a strong theoretical and practical foundation in earth science. Then you're taught how to apply your knowledge to planetary science. By the end, you will understand how dust and gas evolved into planets such as Earth which are capable of supporting life.

The foundation in earth science will emphasise the fundamentals of geology and geophysics. From this you will learn how Earth’s atmosphere, life, surface, interior and external influences operate, interact and evolve.

You will use this foundation to understand solar system formation and evolution. You'll explore the physics, chemistry and geology of the main solid planetary bodies. Key planetary science questions you will examine include for example:

• How have collisions shaped planetary surfaces and affected planetary and biological evolution?
• What does the chemistry of meteorites tell us about planetary body evolution?
• How can we reconstruct the climate history of Mars from analysing pictures from rovers on the martian surface?
• Where is the best place to search for life in the Solar System?

All our courses combine a strong emphasis on observational and field skills, developed through field trips. These include modern numerical and analytical techniques required for a deep, quantitative understanding of Earth and planetary processes and systems.

Our department is in involved with current and future planetary missions, providing a unique insight into mission science and the opportunity to study recently acquired data.

We also emphasise the development of transferable professional skills such as group working, problem-solving, drawing inferences from incomplete data, computational methods and IT, and oral and written communication.