Geography (with Foundation Year) - BSc(Hons)

This course initially provides a solid grounding in geography before you choose a selection of areas to specialise in. These include ecology and conservation, resource management, river and coastal management, and climate change. Alongside these, you will also develop key analytical, communication and business skills.

Foundation Year (Year zero)

You will study the following compulsory modules:

• Environment and Sustainability
• Foundation Project
• Society, Economy and Governance
• Development and Place
• Data Analysis and Design.

You will study the Foundation year alongside students from our other Geography, Environmental Management and Planning courses, and therefore may be able to transfer to a course in one of these areas at the end of the Foundation year.

The normal expectation is that you must pass all Year zero modules before progressing to Year one.

Year one

During your first year, you will develop fundamental geographical knowledge and skills within the following modules:

• Environmental Challenges
• Earth Science
• Geographies of Globalisation
• Geographical Field Study
• Geographical Skills.

Year two

As you progress into your second year, you will be able to begin tailoring your course to suit your interests.

You will study the following compulsory modules:

• Researching Physical Geography
• Professional Development for Geographers.

In addition, you will select five optional modules, typically from:

• Climate Change: Tracing the Record
• Understanding Coastal Dynamics
• Ecology
• Meteorology
• Understanding River Dynamics
• Hot Deserts: Surviving Extremes
• Managing Global Resources.

Optional placement year

All students are encouraged to spend their third year in a work placement. Undertaking a placement will represent a fantastic opportunity to achieve a foothold on the employment ladder. The curriculum in year two will provide you with support in securing this.

Final year

In the Final year, you will have complete flexibility to study the aspects of physical geography and the environment that are of most interest to you. You will complete an independent project on a topic of your choosing and choose a further three modules, typically from:

• Global Warming and Environmental Hazards
• Managing Rivers and Coasts
• Biogeography and Conservation
• GIS and Remote Sensing Applications
• Advanced Geographic Expedition
• Environmental Management in the Global South
• Integrated Water Management
• Renewable Energy.

This structure is for the full-time course delivery only. For part-time delivery, the same modules will be studied over a longer period and the structure will differ.

The University continually enhances our offer by responding to feedback from our students and other stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is kept up to date and our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for the real world. This may result in changes to the course. If changes to your course are approved, we will inform you.

Our lecturing staff achieve consistently high scores in the National Student Survey and provide a friendly, enabling environment for learning. They are active researchers or industrial consultants and are qualified to teach at the cutting-edge of this discipline.

The course is taught through a blend of learning activities, including lectures, seminars, small group work, laboratory classes, fieldwork and workshops.

Through our Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme and to enhance your learning experience, you will receive mentoring and support from Year two students during Year one.

Find out more about our Department's approach to learning and teaching.

For more details, see our full glossary of learning and teaching terms.

Lectures, workshops/seminars, group project work and tutoring account for 12 hours of contact time per week. However, as a full-time student, you will be expected to spend at least twice as much time in essential independent study and preparation for assessments.

Modules are assessed through various combinations of examinations, essays, projects, presentations and field exercises. Most coursework is undertaken individually but there are some group assignments. Examinations take place at the middle and end of Year one, Year two and the Final year.

For more details, see our full glossary of assessment terms.