BSc (Hons) Palaeontology Bachelor's degree at the University of Portsmouth

You'll explore the earth and environment as a connected global system, learning how physical, chemical and numerical processes shape our planet. You'll build confidence in maths, physics, chemistry and data skills used by earth and environmental scientists, including analysing real environmental datasets and creating clear visualisations. You'll also learn the basics of coding in rstudio, with support available through optional drop-in sessions to help you develop essential digital and analytical skills.

This module explores the diversity and evolution of life from an evolutionary perspective, introducing taxonomy, phylogenetics and major groups across all domains, including microbes, plants, fungi and animals. You'll critically examine darwinian evolution, the modern synthesis, and debated aspects of phylogeny, supported by practical phylogenetic exercises. You'll then move on to vertebrate evolution - from internal and external anatomy, to osteology and fossils - with hands-on study of skeletal and fossil material to understand evolutionary change through time.

You'll explore the origin and structure of the earth, uncovering the processes that shape our planet over deep time, from moving plates to dynamic oceans and atmosphere. You'll identify common minerals and rocks, learn how igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks form in practical sessions, and see why they matter to society and the economy. you'll take part in hands-on mapping, interpret geological maps, build cross-sections, and develop spatial and time-aware thinking with confidence to reconstruct the history of a region.

In this module, you'll learn about important invertebrate fossil groups and sedimentary materials and processes. Topics you'll cover include the principles and applications of palaeontology, and an introduction to fossil groups such as trilobites and ammonites. In this part of the course, you'll also learn about the sedimentary rock cycle, how to identify and describe sedimentary rocks, and how to interpret sedimentary processes.

In this module you'll examine the origin, diversification, and early evolutionary history of vertebrates, with a focus on major evolutionary transitions from jawless fishes to tetrapods and secondarily aquatic reptiles. You'll explore the diversity, biology, and evolutionary significance of early fishes, highlighting key innovations such as jaws and paired appendages. by studying detailed case studies on testudines, ichthyosaurs, sauropterygians, and pterosaurs you'll investigate the origin and radiation of tetrapods, including amphibia and early reptilia, with emphasys on terrestrial adaptation and the evolution of the amniotic egg.

On this module you'll take part in lectures and hands on labs to give you a deeper understanding of micro and macrofossils. You'll gain an under standing of the major groups of microfossils and their applications, and the major invertebrate phyla, their fossil record, and how their functional morphology and evolution can be interpreted. You'll be applying your knowledge through analysis and data interpretation of invertebrate and microfossil records.

On this module you'll combine lectures, training and practical sessions to gain experience of fossil preparation, curation, and illustration using professional tools. You'll get hands-on with scanning electron microscopy, quantitative analysis, and cladistic techniques to reconstruct past environments and evolutionary relationships. This will prepare you for your final year research project, looking at topic selection, your literature review, planning and risk assessments that will be required for your career after you graduate.

On this module you'll undertake residential fieldwork as you learn how to collect data from the natural environment and how to interpret, investigate, and communicate this through follow-up research and writing a scientific report. You'll learn about career paths that your course can take you into, how to search for opportunities and apply for them, and the importance of transferrable skills in maximising your employability. Note: if you are physically unable to undertake fieldwork, we have extensive specimen and data collections that we can use to provide you with an alternative assessment.

On this module, you'll explore how a broad range of continental and marine environments produce different sedimentary facies. You'll broaden your practical and field sedimentological skills and learn how to apply your knowledge. In your analysis of sedimentary facies, you'll gain the ability to piece together the evidence of the processes that were responsible for key sedimentary features so that you can make interpretations of the palaeoenvironments where they formed.

You'll plan and deliver an independent research project guided by your interests and career ambitions. Through structured supervision and self-directed enquiry, you'll strengthen your ability to frame research questions, work with evidence, and evaluate findings critically. The module helps you build confidence as an emerging professional, preparing you for postgraduate study or graduate roles that require independent thinking, problem solving and clear communication.

Explore the age of dinosaurs and the evolutionary rise of mammals, discovering how behaviour, anatomy and ecology shaped their success through time. You'll gain hands-on experience by handling real bones and museum-quality casts, developing observation and scientific drawing skills. You'll applying research to themes such as locomotion, predation and human evolution and also take part in a field trip to the oxford university museum of natural history.

Explore how fossils form and what they reveal about life on earth, from extraordinary fossil sites to major mass extinction events through time. You'll gain first-hand field experience on a residential trip to southern germany, collecting fossils from world-famous sites and visiting leading museums. You'll also develop key scientific skills by recording field observations in a professional notebook and presenting research on a remarkable fossil site of your choice.

You'll explore how biological, evolutionary and ecological processes create and maintain diversity, from visible traits to genetic variation within and between species. You'll investigate real-world research questions using current scientific methods, learning how researchers study past, present and future biological change. You'll also engage with staff-led research on plants and animals, building confidence in analysing evidence, evaluating techniques and communicating scientific ideas clearly.

You’ll get familiar with the big issues and contemporary debates in education studies as well as the role and expectations of a teacher. You’ll develops fundamental knowledge and skills that teachers require, as well as your capability to structure and critique a lesson plan.

This module will give you a strong understanding of the science behind key energy generation and energy saving technologies. You'll study the science of wind, wave and solar power as well as the environmental costs and benefits of low carbon emission nuclear power. The module will include lab sessions, workshops and a field trip to a wind and solar farm.

On this module, you'll gain hands-on experience with state-of-the-art laboratory instrumentation, directly overlapping with the latest internationally leading staff research. You'll learn to select appropriate analytical methods, design projects, and evaluate data to solve complex earth and environmental challenges. Build the skills to be a generator or user of laboratory data, preparing yourself for a career in a wide range of sectors, as well as research and development.

This module provides training and experience in using palaeontological and sedimentological data as problem-solving tools. You'll get insights into biostratigraphy, experimental sedimentology and climate proxies. Teaching is complemented by guest lectures from experts in a range of fields.