Here is an informal guide to studying Earth Sciences at Oxford, written by one of our lovely students.
Earth science has quite a few contact hours a day, so be ready for lots of time in department! While it might sound like a lot of work at first, it’s actually one of the best things about the course, because you get to spend so much time with your friends on your course.
We normally have anywhere between 1 and 3 lectures a day, and probably a few hours of practicals after that. In first year, you’ll cover maths, the three sciences, some fundamentals of geology (like geological maps, crystals and minerals, palaeontology) and some other topics like volcanoes and earthquakes. Don’t worry though, there’s plenty of time off too. Wednesday afternoons are always free, and we often have another free afternoon or two in the week. Obviously at the moment our terms are online, so there’s a bit less structure to our typical day. We have a weekly schedule of pre-recorded lectures which we’re free to complete in our own time. As a replacement for our practicals we have some live zoom demonstrations, and question and answer sessions at the end of the week.
We also usually have two tutorials a week in first year, where we discuss our work that we’ve completed that week. One of these tutorials is maths, for which we complete a problem set of questions. The other is geology based, and might be covering an essay, or a small research presentation or similar. Our tutorials have around 3 people in and are a really great way of getting feedback on your work. The tutors are always encouraging too, and are happy to answer any questions you might have.
The evenings are your time to relax! You’ll have dinner in college in first year, and then normally either work on our essays and problem sheets, or relax in the college bar or each-others rooms. There’s plenty of time for other extra hobbies too. If you want to get involved, there’s something for everyone at Teddy, from music to sports to drama.
Why do you like studying Earth Science at Teddy Hall?
Teddy Hall is such a sociable college, and there’s always something going on. It’s such a friendly atmosphere, and the earth scientist are so welcoming. Our course is quite small – there are only about 35 people in an entire year of earth science. You’ll end up really close to lots of people from other colleges through earthsci, as well as people on other courses at Teddy. There’s plenty of social occasions in earthsci too, from movie nights to club nights, and the highlight of any earth scientist’s calendar is Rocktails. This is a night of fun and cocktails out in Oxford and every earth scientist from 1st to 4th year is invited.
Above On the right is a picture from a thin section – a way of analysing the minerals in a rock. Lots of first year practical time involves these, so you’ll learn to love them!
Another great thing about earth sciences is the field work. As soon as you get here, you’ll head to Wales for your first taste of the field, and there’s plenty of opportunity to do field trips throughout the whole degree. The trips really are one of the best parts of the degree and are so much fun. The schedule can be pretty packed, but it’s so nice to be able to see what you learn about in lectures in a real-world situation. Also, they’re a great way to spend time with friends on your course.
