Essentials of Geophysics
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this survey of the major subdisciplines of geophysics: geodesy, gravity, geomagnetism, seismology, and geodynamics. Rather than treating Earth in isolation, the course repeatedly asks how each method and finding might extend to other planets, framing geophysics as a comparative planetary science. No prior background in Earth sciences is required, but the material assumes comfort with vector calculus, classical mechanics, and potential field theory, so the course moves quickly into the mathematical machinery behind gravity fields, magnetic fields, and seismic wave propagation. As with other MIT OCW offerings, the site provides lecture notes, problem sets, and readings for self-study, free to access, with no certificate attached. It suits students who already have a physics or engineering foundation and want a rigorous introduction to how planets are studied from the inside out.