Bachelor's Degree Programme Geosciences

• Duration of study: 6 semesters
• ECTS credit points: 180
• Academic degree: Bachelor of Science (BSc)
• Language of instruction: German

You have the opportunity to specialise in the following subject areas:

Geology: You become familiar with the regional geology of Austria, the regional geology of the continents, continental collision, and mountain and rift formation (rifting). As part of your training, you learn about the evolution of the Earth's surface and gain basic knowledge about the forces and stresses leading to lithosphere deformation.

Palaeontology and Stratigraphy: You will learn the fundamentals of palaeontology, including morphology. While doing so, you learn about fossils and the rock layers surrounding them, as well as the structures and forms of organisms. You will also learn methods of classification (taxonomy) and the fundamentals of evolution, as well as paleoecology (ecosystems throughout geologic history). In addition, you will acquire basic knowledge of the evolutionary history of the Earth and the methods used to record this history. A special focus is placed, among other things, on the origin and development of the biosphere and climate change.

Petrology and Geochemistry: You learn fundamental information about the formation of magmatic, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. You also learn how to describe rocks, identify them, and become familiar with theoretical concepts used in petrology.

Mineralogy and Hydrogeochemistry: You will acquire knowledge about the minerals of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. Among other things, you become familiar with materials and rocks with regard to their use in industry and technology, crystallization processes, or soil and groundwater contamination.

Hydrogeology: You explore the area of general hydrogeology, learning more about the key points of the groundwater balance, groundwater dynamics, and the fundamentals of groundwater hydraulics, soil formation, and the soil water balance.

Engineering Geology: You will learn the fundamentals of engineering geology and geomechanics. You will also learn how to use both physical measuring methods and seismic, gravimetric, radiometric, geothermal energy, geoelectric and geomagnetic methods, as well as statics and strength theory.

Geoscientists have a social responsibility. They make it possible to locate and characterise geogenic resources. In doing so, they create the foundation for the environmentally sound and sustainable use of raw materials.

Research in the fields of mineralogy and hydrogeochemistry is conducted, among other things, to protect human life. For example, these researchers examine fissured rock masses and the effects of these fissures on the safety of dams and landslide processes. They develop possible containment strategies or use geostatistical methods to document and predict the geological conditions during tunnel construction.

From an economic point of view, the geosciences play an important role, for example, in the extraction of raw materials, environmental protection, and in construction economics and water resources management. And here, safety is also a priority issue. For this reason, slope stability analyses, excavation pit monitoring, tunnel documentation, natural hazard assessments, or observations of various structures such as bridges or towers are carried out.

Winter semester 2024/25

Admission period: 8 July to 5 September 2024

Summer semester 2025

Admission period: 7 January to 5 February 2025