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Master’s Degree in Earth and Sea Sciences – University of Palermo

Location: Palermo 

Department: Earth and Marine Sciences

Link to the course:

https://guidastudente.unipa.it/en/corsi_di_laurea/georisks-and-georesources/

The Master’s Degree programme in Earth and Sea Sciences aims at training highly specialized professionals and researchers in the field of Earth Science, with a focus on engineering geology, geological hazard assessment/prediction and resources exploration, exploitation and protection.
The study plan provides the student with higher level courses, mainly focused on the applied issues of the earth sciences disciplines aimed at the studying of georesources (groundwater, rocks, soil, oils and gases) and geologic hazards (volcanic, seismic, marine and geo-hydrological) also in a perspective of climate changing driven effects, including paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic approaches.
The first common year faces all those disciplines which are mandatory for the training of the professional figure of the geologist (geotechnics, technical engineering geology, applied geochemistry, applied geomorphology, applied geophysics, marine geology, structural geology).
The second year is organised into two curricula: Georisks and Georesources. Each curriculum includes a set of compulsory subjects (Georisks: Morphotectonics, Volcanic Risk, Geophysics for Seismic Microzonation; Georesources: Sedimentary Petrography, Sedimentology and Basin Analysis). The course is then completed by a wide list of optional subjects that allow the student to develop more specific studies of the hazard associated with earthquakes, eruptions, landslides (also submarine), soil erosion and river dynamics, for Georisks; geo-exploration aimed at identifying fossil and renewable geo-resources, paleo-environmental and paleoclimatic analysis, geomaterials and crystallographic applications.
The training course involves extensive use of laboratory and field teaching and training in seminars by experts from the world of the profession and from local and research bodies.