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Department of Earth Sciences

 
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Send our students into the real world:

Spain • Norfolk • Cornwall • Sedbergh • Arran • Dorset • Greece • Skye

Nick Evans
"Fieldwork adds a unique dimension that no other study can provide; there is nothing like being out in the open air, chasing contacts and exposures up streams and across mountain sides."

Tom Ingleby
"I took Natural Sciences intending to become a physicist, but by the end of my second term I was seriously considering studying geology. The first year field trip to Arran sealed the deal for me - it was great to see all the concepts we'd learnt about in lectures and practicals actually represented in reality, and it was a lot of fun!"

The opportunity to see and interpret spectacular examples of the geology taught in lectures is often a transformative experience for students. From studying gigantic ancient millipede tracks on Arran, to ancient reefs and volcanoes in Spain, fieldwork greatly enriches the undergraduate experience. In their third and fourth years, the freedom to choose imaginative mapping projects and explore their own ideas builds students' research skills and exposes them to the wealth of possibilities geology can offer.

At Cambridge's Department of Earth Sciences we pride ourselves on our welcoming and supportive environment, where teachers and students are on first name terms and bonds are formed that last a lifetime. Our extensive fieldwork programme is central to this, and to turning out strongly motivated, highly employable geologists.

By funding the fieldwork programme we ensure that no geology student is excluded on financial grounds. But with support from external sources becoming increasingly scarce, we rely more and more on the support of our alumni.  We already receive the generous support of many and hope that, through a combination of regular giving and by gradually increasing our endowment funds we can secure the future of our undergraduate fieldwork programme. All gifts, of any size, make a real difference, added together they enable future generations to have the same outstanding opportunities as their predecessors. For example:

  • £50 pays for a student rail-fare for the second year mapping course to Cumbria
  • £180 pays for a graduate student to demonstrate on the first-year field course to Arran
  • £260 covers accommodation and food costs for a student on the second-year field course to Dorset
  • £500 funds the total costs of the field component of a fourth year student research project
  • £750 pays for one third-year student to do a four-week mapping project in the UK
  • £1,300 covers the hire cost of two minibuses on the Greek field trip

With your gift we can continue to make geology fieldwork for Cambridge undergraduates an exceptional experience.

For further information, please talk to Professor Richard Harrison, Head of Department, e: , t: 01223 333400.

To make a donation to the Fieldwork Fund please visit our online giving page for the Earth Sciences Fieldwork Fund. Alternatively, you can make a donation by cheque or credit card via our postal donation form. Do please let us know if your intention is to make a donation so that we may thank you from the department, contact Alison at .

UK tax payers can use Gift Aid to make a donation worth more. For every pound you give, the department get an extra 25 pence from HM Revenue and Customs, at no extra cost to yourself, this is of enormous benefit.

Our Fundraising Promise

We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator.  Please read our Fundraising Promise: https://www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/fundraising-promise

 

Earth Sciences Student Support Fund