Bachelor’s Programme Earth Science
You want to learn more about the formation of the Alps, volcanic eruptions and natural disasters and how it's all connected?
How and when did the Alps form? What do diamonds have to do with vulcanic eruptions? How does salt get into the ocean? Why are there natural disasters?
In the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Earth Sciences students learn scientific thinking and basic competencies required for analysing geo-relevant documents and data. Students may deepen their knowledge in the fields of georisks, environmental history, raw materials and materials science among others.
Bachelor of Science
Duration/ECTS-Credits
6 semesters/180 ECTS-Credits
Mode of Study
Full-time
Language
German
Requirements
Secondary school completion certificate/equivalent
and Language Certificates
Faculty
Faculty of Geo- and Atmospheric Sciences
Level of qualification
Bachelor (First Cycle)
ISCED-11: Level 6, EQF/NQF: Level 6
ISCED-F
0532 Earth sciences
Study Code
UC 033 615
FAQ
Graduates are able to elaborate, evaluate and implement scientific developments in the fields of earth sciences and to apply them in interdisciplinary contexts.
The Bachelor’s Programme in Earth Sciences aims at imparting a wide range of basic knowledge and practice-oriented skills, thereby opening up appropriate career opportunities for graduates. On this basis, the Bachelor’s programme provides a comprehensive insight into the nature and processes of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere and anthroposphere and offers methods and tools for describing and understanding them in a system-oriented way.
Building on the contents of the first semester with general scientific education objectives, the students acquire a broad geological knowledge in mineralogy, petrology, geology and palaeontology. Because of the University of Innsbruck’s location in the middle of the Alps, the education has a special focus on regional alpine terrain and promotes the “geological way of thinking”, i.e. to work on and understand complex scientific connections in space and time.
In the two Bachelor’s theses the students learn to independently work on, document and present selected problems in Earth Sciences. Career options after successful completion of the studies lie in the field of basic research, a broad field in Applied Earth Sciences, relevant areas in economy, as well as public authorities.
The Bachelor’s Programme Earth Sciences prepares students for a relevant master’s programme as well as careers beyond the academic area. Occupational fields of graduates are in the field of applied earth sciences (geology and mineralogy) as well as in planning offices and the environmental sector.
Graduates tracking: Shows which occupational fields students enter after graduation
Master's Programmes
More offers
Faculty of Geo- and Atmospheric Sciences Examination Office Information for students with disabilities
Curriculum
From the field
580,000 Years of Climate History Revealed
An international research team led by Christoph Spötl from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, has compiled an extraordinary climate reconstruction based on data from a cave in Nevada, USA. The study provides unique insights into the climate history of one of the driest regions in North America – and shows how closely temperature, water availability, and vegetation are linked in arid regions.
Student Advisory Service
We are the first point of contact for all questions about studying for pupils, prospective students and students as well as parents and teachers.
Related studies
Atmospheric Sciences (Bachelor)
The Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Atmospheric Sciences is an interdisciplinary programme combining the fields of physics, chemistry, information technology, mathematics and statistics. Students acquire a basic understanding of the atmospheric climate system.
With a focus on atmospheric processes in mountains, the students learn to model, measure and analyse weather, climate changes, air pollutants and glaciers numerically and statistically.
Biology (Bachelor)
The Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Biology offers a broad education in the main branches of biology. The students acquire theoretical knowledge and practical skills through extensive laboratory work and field experience. With this basic education the graduates know how to detect, analyse and assess biological systems and their interaction with their environment at the molecular, organism and ecosystem level.
Chemistry (Bachelor)
The Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Chemistry prepares the students for occupations in the the field of chemistry. This programme is a pre-requisite for enrolling into the Master’s Degree Programme in Chemistry and other related disciplines.
Earth Science (Bachelor)
How and when did the Alps form? What do diamonds have to do with vulcanic eruptions? How does salt get into the ocean? Why are there natural disasters?
In the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Earth Sciences students learn scientific thinking and basic competencies required for analysing geo-relevant documents and data. Students may deepen their knowledge in the fields of georisks, environmental history, raw materials and materials science among others.
Geography (Bachelor)
Few academic disciplines focus solely on the study of nature and society and their interactions. Geography is the science of human-environment relationships and explores natural, societal and economic systems, its processes and manifestations in the past, present and future.
Students of the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Geographie acquire comprehensive factual knowledge and methodological competencies in the fields of physical, human and regional geography.
Pharmacy (Bachelor)
Pharmacy is a scientific discipline strongly related to the medical field. Drugs and all their related aspects are at the centre of the pharmaceutical sciences. The students of the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Pharmacy gain scientific knowledge and learn scientific methods in the main disciplines of pharmacy and its related fields of science. The main topics taught in the programme are the basics of developing, producing and assuring the quality of drugs and pharmaceutical substances.
Physics (Bachelor)
All areas of high technology in our modern society are built on physics. Numerous applications resulted from a combination of deep understanding of physical processes and the desire to strive for knowledge: Computers, satellites, GPS navigation, lasers, modern imaging technology in medicine and the internet are a direct result of basic research in physics.
Physics provides and develops answers to many challenges we face in the present and the future, such as climate, environment and energy and also to fundamental topics, such as the origin of the universe or the wondrous world of quanta.
Psychology (Bachelor)
The students of the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Psychology gain basic knowledge about human experience and action as well as mental processes that are important for the interaction between people and their social, technological and natural environment.
Graduates will be able to apply this basic knowledge for designing and enhancing human living and working conditions. Another part of this Programme focuses on teaching students thorough skills in psychological diagnostics and psychological interventions in the fields of clinical, health, work and organisational psychology.