BA Human Geography

UCAS code: L720

Entry requirements: ABB

Duration (years): Three

Undergraduate Prospectus

External Examiner: Professor Loretta Lees,
King's College, London

This is the degree for you if you wish to specialise in human geography and have interests in other social science subjects such as economics, politics, history or modern languages.

The first year begins with an introduction to questions surrounding environmental justice and sustainability, difference and inequality in urban and rural contexts, as well as techniques in data analysis. There is an emphasis on the interconnections between these different components, giving you a solid foundation for increasing specialisation during years two and three which focus more on the department’s research interests. These include environmental and resource sustainability, social justice and activism, rural geography and development geography. There is a strong emphasis on fieldwork; recent destinations include New York, Kenya and the South-West USA. You can take a year abroad with these degree programmes.

Course Structure

Students studying this degree will take no physical geography modules. Instead, remaining credits are made up with additional modules taken outside of the Geography Department teaching programme.

Year One

Semester One Semester Two
Human Worlds of Difference A Human Worlds of Difference B
Environment, Nature and Society A Environment, Nature and Society B
Professional Skills for Geographers Fieldwork skills for Professional Geographers
Working with Geographical information Exploring our Digital Planet 

Optional modules include:
Microeconomics 1 (Economics),
Modern French Language 1 (Modern Languages)
Spanish Language 1 (Advanced) (Modern Languages)
Italian Language 1 (Advanced) (Modern Languages)
Crime in Focus (Criminology)
Introduction to Criminal Justice (Criminology)

Optional modules include:
Macroeconomics 1 (Economics), Modern French Language 2 ( Modern Languages)
Spanish Language 2 (Advanced) (Modern Languages)
Italian Language 2 (Advanced) (Modern Languages)
Computers and Society (Computer Science)
Theories of Crime (Criminology)

Year Two

Semester One Semester Two
Thinking Space Geographical Research in the Field
(Overseas Field Course - in recent years, New York)
Workplace Geographies OR Geography in Education

Optional modules include:
Environment and Development, Social and Cultural Geographies, Households, Firms, Markets, Welfare (Economics)
Policing; prisons, probation and Punishment (Criminology)
History & Culture in Italian Literature
(Modern Languages)

Optional modules include:
Contemporary Issues in Human, Physical or Digital Geographies, Geographical Information Science
Remote Sensing
Market Power and Market Failure (pre-requisite: EC2000) (Economics)
Introduction à la Francophonie (Modern Languages)
The Mexico-U.S. Border: History and Culture (Pre-requisite: SP1025) (Modern Languages)
Psychology and Crime (Criminology)
Youth Crime (Criminology)
Working in Criminal Justice (Criminology)
Experiencing the Criminal Justice
System (Criminology)

Year Three

Semester One Semester Two
Dissertation Dissertation

Optional modules include:
Spaces of Social ChangeSpaces of Identity
Advanced Remote Sensing,
Contemporary Environmental Challenges

Optional modules include:
Critical Development Geographies,
Contemporary Digital Geographies,
Geographies of Culture and Representation,
Kenya: Environment, Gender and Development OR Nature, Culture, Country: SW USA field course

The tables above provide a list of typical modules available to Geography students. We cannot guarantee that any single module will be available in any given year, particularly in regard to those modules delivered by other departments.

What External Examiners say:

I was very impressed by the nice range of modules available and the strong element of relevant and appropriate fieldwork.
Loretta Lees, King’s College London. Human Geography degree programme external examiner, 2010-2012

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