Environmental Geology

Environmental geology applies the tools and methods of geology to some of the most pressing problems humanity faces: understanding natural hazards, assessing environmental contamination, managing groundwater resources, and mitigating the geological risks associated with climate change and human activity. It is a discipline that requires both scientific rigour and a practical orientation, combining fieldwork, laboratory analysis, and the use of sophisticated investigative tools to answer questions about how geological processes create risks for people and ecosystems.

At Royal Holloway, University of London, this three-year, full-time programme develops your understanding of geological processes and environmental systems alongside the investigative skills to study natural hazards such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and human-induced problems such as air and water pollution, contaminated land, and subsidence. You will learn to carry out research that unlocks answers about some of the most fundamental threats to human survival, developing both the scientific knowledge and the field and laboratory skills that professional environmental geologists use. A sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities are all built in, giving you professional experience in environmental or geological settings and an international perspective on a discipline that is genuinely global in its scope.

Graduates of environmental geology work in environmental consultancies, government agencies, water companies, mining and quarrying operations, hazard assessment bodies, and international development organisations. Many move into roles in contaminated land investigation, groundwater resource management, natural hazard assessment, or environmental impact assessment. The combination of geological knowledge and environmental focus is increasingly valued as societies grapple with climate adaptation, resource security, and pollution remediation.

Further study at Masters level in environmental geology, geohazards, hydrogeology, or environmental science is a common path for those who want to specialise in a particular area of research or professional practice.