Information for undergraduates

Help and advice (new and existing students)‌

• Student Finance – help and advice for current undergraduates
• International students - resources for international students
• Disabilities - information for students with disabilities including dyslexia
• Welfare - general welfare advice including health and counselling
• Bullying and Harassment - information on bullying and harassment including link to College policy
• Sexual harassment - information on sexual harassment, misconduct and violence including link to College policy
• Policy on Student Employment during Studies‌
• College guidelines on audio and video lecture recording
• Imperial College Student Success Guide - learning to learn
• College Health Centre 
• Minors in ESE - general (pdf) - Application of college under-18 policy to students admitted to ESE
• Minors in ESE - fieldwork (pdf) - Application of college under-18 policy to students who undertake fieldwork while still under the age of 18
• ESE Undergraduate Feedback Policy
• Please read and comply with Imperial’s Conditions of use of IT resources. Also note that you should not consume any food or drink, other than bottled water, in computer rooms.

Key Information Sets (KIS)

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has introduced Key Information Sets (KIS) which are designed to be directly comparable sets of information about all full and part time undergraduate courses in all English Universities. They are designed to meet the information needs of prospective students trying to compare different courses from different Ins titutions. 

Programme Specifications

Current programme specifications can be found here.

COURSE HANDBOOK

Information and advice about finance, welfare, academic progress and a range of other issues.

SCHEME FOR THE AWARD OF HONOURS

The Scheme for the Award of Honours (SAH) is the official document that tells you what modules are being taught this year, which are done by which students, and that outlines how degree marks are calculated. If you are not sure what modules you should be taking, this is the place to start.

• Modules and Progression 2024-25

Competence standards

These competence standards highlight the core skills students should be able to demonstrate by the end of their programme of study in the Earth Science & Engineering Department. In addition to these competence standards all students will be expected to meet the basic academic competence standards contained within the admissions policy for their programme of study.

• Competency Standards

Formal module documentation

ESESIS provides all the practical details of each module that you will normally need.

Feedback

ESE is well known around the College for its lively student and staff feedback. Feedback is ongoing; it happens during practical classes, in workshops, in lectures, on fieldwork, while meeting with your tutor and in tutorials and in almost any port of your learning. You often do not notice you are getting feedback. Click here to access our feedback system - SOLE.

We also have a staff student forum where we discuss the teaching provision for undergraduates to promote excellence in all areas. You can find out more about it here.

We aim for financial reasons to not be a barrier to studying at Imperial, and there is some financial support available. The Imperial College Bursary is one of the most generous university bursary schemes in the UK. A number of different scholarships are available are available for prospective and current undergraduate students to assist them through their studies.

Departmental administered scholarships

Departmental academic awards

The department awards a number of prizes and scholarships at the end of each academic year. Students are eligible for these prizes and scholarships once they have completed their first year and are informed of their award after the release of examination results at the end of June.

Fieldwork funding

For taught field trips the department arranges and funds all travel and accommodation. 

Geology stream students carry out an independent mapping trip in June of their second year. This is not funded by the department, and costs vary by location. The department encourages students to apply for internal and external sources of funding to contribute towards any extra fieldwork costs.  

The department provides safety equipment and first aid training for all students. Students are expected to provide their own geological equipment (a rock hammer, compass clino and a hand lens). The department recommends that you do not purchase these ahead of your studies.

All taught field trips in the undergraduate degrees are included in the cost of tuition, except for a contribution to food costs on fully catered trips (currently approx. £25/week) and the Year 2 independent mapping project which Geology students and some Earth and Planetary Science students undertake in a location of their choice.

Externally administered scholarships notified by ESE

MinSouth Student

Each year, MinSouth awards a sponsorship to a final year undergraduate student. Find out more about MinSouth sponsorship and initiatives to assist students with their studies

BP Scholarships

BP Supports education of students as they pursue their undergraduate degree. Find out more about BP scholarships.

Ivor Tupper Fund (Geologists Association)

Open to all Earth Sciences students. The fund is designed to give financial assistance – a single award of £2000 cash annually – to a deserving undergraduate in their second, third or fourth year at university, studying Geology or Earth Sciences. The award will be made by the Council of the Geologists’ Association to the student they feel best demonstrates both a genuine commitment to the discipline and academic excellence. Nominations are made by university departments by invitation. Find out more about the Ivor Tupper Fund.

The Geological Society

Open to all Earth Sciences students, the Geological Society provide undergraduate bursary opportunities. Find out more about Geological Society of London Grants.

Imperial College Earth Science and Engineering UROP Bursaries: 

What is UROP? UROP provides an opportunity for students who have yet to graduate from their  degree to participate in real research. The express purpose is for the participant to acquire experience of the research undertaken by a particular member of staff or research group by either undertaking a project or developing technical skills.

Who is eligible? Undergraduate students of all years in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering are invited to apply for a bursary. This includes students who are to graduate in the same summer as doing the UROP. 

How do you find a project? You need to approach a member of staff that you think you would be interested in working with.  You can also look on the College website where individual staff sometimes put projects that they are offering. The Imperial UROP webpages also give you ideas to think about when you start to look for a project.

Found a project supervisor? Here are the rules and guidelines for applications:

• Applications for an individual bursary are invited from students registered as Imperial College Undergraduates at the time of application and whose proposed project placement lasts at least 4 weeks (full-time).
• Projects are typically 6 or 8 weeks, though up to 12 weeks is possible
• Bursary values from the Imperial College Bursary scheme were ~£300/week in 2019

How do you apply for funding?

• Information on the application procedure for Imperial College Bursaries, and notes on other possible funding sources, are provided on the Central College UROP pages. Imperial College bursary applications normally open in January and close mid-February. Your supervisor may be able to assist you with applying for funding from other sources

Registering your placement 

In addition to any bursary applications, UROP placements must be registered before they commence. See Central College information page for details.

Computing

• Please read and comply with Imperial’s Conditions of use of IT resources.
• Also note that you should not consume any food or drink, other than bottled water, in computer rooms.

• Please speak to the Computing Team for general advice or Linux support. See ESE information for staff page or Professional, Technical, Operational Staff for more information. 

• Please speak to ICT in the first instance for Windows / Mac support, see:

  • Information and Communication Technologies
  • Contact the ICT Service Desk
  • ASK Imperial

• Please speak to the Computing Team if you are not satisfied with the support received or if you have any queries about it. The Computing Team also have a range of computers for short term loans. Please speak to us for more information.

ICT Storage

Please do not store your important data in just one place. Everything should be backed up, the more important the data or the harder it is to create the most locations and types of storage you should back it up on.