Addressing global challenges – climate change, environmental hazards, the transition to green energy, and the need for sustainable resources – require a deep understanding of how our planet works. Earth Sciences provides the essential insights that underpin effective action, informed policy, and responsible innovation.
Cambridge is home to one of the world’s longest‑established Earth Sciences departments, yet our approach is anything but traditional. We work across disciplines, sectors, and borders to deliver high‑impact research with real‑world relevance.
Ranked #1 in the UK in the latest Research Excellence Framework for our pioneering discovery science, we tackle critical issues including future energy systems, climate dynamics, sustainable resource development, and environmental risk. Our expertise spans geology, geophysics, geochemistry, mathematics, and more – creating a powerful platform for cutting‑edge, impactful research.
We firmly believe that science shouldn’t be siloed, and that the most exciting developments happen when we ask questions at the frontier between subjects. This is the ethos behind our research and teaching.
What we do
Our teaching
Undergraduate. Our Earth Sciences degree is unique in being taught through the Natural Sciences Tripos, allowing students to study complementary physical and biological subjects. This interdisciplinary training sets our graduates up with the skills to understand Earth and its interconnected challenges.
Postgraduate. Join Cambridge Earth Sciences for a PhD or Masters course, focussing on one research area, or through programmes such as Quantitative Climate and Environmental Science and Planetary Science and Life in the Universe.
Our Research
We actively welcome collaboration and currently host projects across the University and with partners nationally and internationally, spanning both academia and industry. Our research explores the full breadth of Earth, environmental, and planetary sciences using cross-disciplinary thinking and the latest scientific techniques. Examples of topics we work on include:
- Sustainable resources, including critical minerals
- Future energy solutions, including geothermal and nuclear
- Carbon capture and storage
- Methane emissions from wetlands
- Environmental change, such as coral reef responses to climate change
- Global carbon cycling
- Natural hazards, such as volcanic pollution and extreme events
Department Life
The Sedgwick Museum
We’re proud to be one of the few Earth Science departments with an affiliated museum, The Sedgwick, which houses over 2 million rocks, minerals, and fossils. The Sedgwick Museum sits at the heart of our welcoming community, hosting events for students, including LGBTea gatherings that celebrate and connect the Department’s Queer Community.
Our Student Society
The Sedgwick Club—the oldest student-run geological society in the world – brings students together for talks, socials, and a shared love of Earth Sciences.