Master of Geology

Curtin University and similar institutions offer these courses with two streams: mineral and petroleum geology. Student choice of stream will determine what units are available. For instance, the mineral stream will provide students with units in topics like radiometrics for exploration and mining geology resource estimation, whereas the petroleum stream will focus on applied sedimentology and stratigraphy.

These courses tend to take around one and a half years of full time study to complete, or up to four years part time. They are well suited to students with a background in the subject.

Employment options

The employment options specified here are ideal choices for Master of Geology graduates. A career in field seismology working for companies like WGP Group, for instance, is great for people wanting to explore the deepest reaches of the earth. Aspiring geochemists can work for companies like ALS Global to investigate the locations of fossil fuels and the chemical composition of fluids and rocks. These are all great ways to utilise this qualification.

Scholarships and funding

There are some great scholarships available to students of geology. Some of these include:

• The APPEA Tony Noon Scholarship, providing $3,000 to a student seeking a career in the upstream petroleum industry. Applicants must present an explanation of how their field of study relates to the oil and gas industry, which geology students should have no trouble with. They must also provide a statement of how this scholarship would benefit their future career in the industry and details of how and where the funds would be allocated.
• MRIWA Postgraduate Scholarships provide $30,000 pa in support of research benefiting the mining industry. Students ought to note that these programs are targeted at PhD students, with other degrees being considered so long as they have a strong application.

There are also general scholarship opportunities available should applicants fail to meet these requirements. Some of these include:

• ANU offers Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships. These are worth $69,500 pa and are designed especially for international study. Their high value is matched only by the high competition surrounding them.
• Curtin University offers the EU 2020 Horizon Scholarship to their students. This allows for free travel over the course of a successful applicant’s study.
• The Rotary Club of Sydney Soukup Memorial Postgraduate Coursework Scholarship is a fantastic opportunity designed specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. It’s offered to any applicant who can adequately prove they’re going through personal or financial hardship. Those who are successful should be careful to maintain at least a credit GPA (65%) however, because funding will be revoked should this requirement not be met. This is regardless of adverse circumstances.

Prerequisites and selection process

A prior bachelor degree in geology or cognate discipline is mandatory for entry into these courses, as they are based heavily off prior knowledge. Some will also require applicants to have obtain a credit GPA (65%) from prior study, but this is rarely the case for these courses.

International students will also need to obtain an IELTS collective score of 6.5. To learn how this is done, you can read our article on the subject here.