Building a Habitable Planet: A Brief History of the Earth



Overview

What factors lead to a habitable planet?

We live on Earth, the only known habitable planet in our solar system, and we have yet to detect life elsewhere in the Universe. How the Earth developed its unique habitability has been at the frontier of Earth science research and now space exploration as we investigate our own solar system and planetary systems around other stars with the latest probes and telescopes.

This panoramic course synthesises the latest findings from physics, astronomy, chemistry, geology, and biology to narrate Earth's story, from the formation of chemical elements in stars, to the evolution of a habitable climate on Earth, to the origin of life and humankind, and to today’s environmental challenges on a societal and global scale.

This course combines online study with a weekly 1-hour live webinar led by your tutor. Find out more about how our short online courses are taught.

Programme details

This course begins on the 17 April 2026 which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting which will be held on 24 April 2026 (UK time).

The last live meeting  will be held on 26 June 2026.

  • Natural systems and Earth history
  • The Big Bang to the formation of our solar system: producing the building blocks of Life
  • Understanding geological time
  • The early development of the Earth and its neighbourhood.
  • Plate tectonics and chemical cycles
  • The origins and evolution of life
  • Planetary evolution and mass extinctions.
  • Earth’s treasure chest
  • Global warming and cooling
  • Human civilization and its future

Certification

Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points 

Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework. All those enrolled on an online course are registered for credit and will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.

See more information on CATS points

Digital credentials

All students who pass their final assignment will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so. 

Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail. 

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £360.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Suman Chowdhury

Dr Suman Chowdhury holds a doctorate in geophysics from the University of Oxford.  He has over two decades of experience in the energy industry, spanning three continents.

Dr Chowdhury is a Fellow of both the Geological Society and the Royal Astronomical Society.

Course aims

This course aims to:

  • Discuss the processes that led to life on Earth
  • Demonstrate how plate tectonics, chemical cycles and life interact to produce planetary evolution
  • Discuss threats to life and human civilisation and to look at possible solutions to these threats

Teaching methods

This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams. Shortly before a course commences, students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.

All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.

 

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to:

  1. Demonstrate basic knowledge of the processes that led to life on Earth, including plate tectonics, chemical cycles, and environmental interactions leading to planetary evolution
  2. Critically evaluate scientific literature and evidence pertaining to the subject matter of the course at a foundational level
  3. Communicate verbally and in writing contemporary threats to life and human civilisation and to evaluate possible solutions to these threats in a critical manner

Assessment methods

You will be set independent formative and summative work for this course. Formative work will be submitted for informal assessment and feedback from your tutor, but has no impact on your final grade. The summative work will be formally assessed as pass or fail.

 

Application

Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.

 

Level and demands

This course is open to all and no prior knowledge is required.

This course is offered at FHEQ Level 4 (i.e. first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments and for the weekly webinar. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours, including those spent in live webinars.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information visit our regarding English language requirements webpage. 

IT requirements

Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome. We also recommend that students join the live webinars on Microsoft Teams using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone or tablet due to the limited functionality of the app on these devices.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support