We offer a high quality teaching environment where you will be taught by staff at the cutting edge of their research fields.

Full entry requirements

Geography at Leicester

The department provides a modern, stimulating and supportive environment in which to study contemporary Geography. At the interface of the human and the physical environments, Geography is an integrative discipline that fosters a broad perspective on the problems of today’s world and equips students with a variety of transferable and employable skills. We offer four single subject degrees as well as one joint degree.

Our degree programmes offer considerable module flexibility, allowing students to either specialize in particular areas of geography that interest them (physical or human geography), or to focus on topics at the science-social science interface. If you enter any course in single subject Geography you may change to another single subject course at any time prior to the beginning of the Second Year. You can also apply to move between single subject and joint degree programmes if you wish.

At Leicester we consider field experience essential to a geographical education. In recent years human geography students have had a choice of travelling to Kenya, New York, and the south-west USA, while physical geographers have visited the Californian desert, the Amazon Rainforest, and southern Spain. This international emphasis on fieldwork reflects the locations of staff members’ current research, which include the USA, Russia, Mongolia, Colombia and various African countries. Fieldwork is also an integral part of your dissertation project in the Third Year.

Why Choose Geography at Leicester?

National Student Survey Ranking: 9th for student satisfaction. 87% of students satisfied overall with their course.
Research rating: 90% of staff research rated as internationally recognised (RAE 2008).
Facilities: The Department has benefited from significant investment in computing, laboratory and student study facilities in recent years. These include the computer equipment, software and virtual reality theatre associated with our SPLINT Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. We also have a dedicated student study area, with further WiFi/computing facilities. From 2012 we will host a new geochronology laboratory.
Places: 110
Applications: 848
Example Jobs: Assistant Wildlife Ranger; Business Development Manager; Cartographer; Children’s Librarian; Computer Engineer; Data Analyst; Engineer; Environmental Consultant; Events Manager; Geography Teacher; Webmaster; Youth Engagement Officer.
Example Employers: Aker Solutions; Barclaycard; Bidwells; Capita LGS; Digital City Region; Friends of the Earth; GO Outdoors; Learn Direct; Leicester Council; RBS Group; RSPB; Teleperformance; Unipart Logistics; Waste Recycling Group.
Example jobs and employers information comes from the University’s ‘Where Did They Go?’ survey, and shows destinations of 2009/10 graduates 6 months after graduation.

At Leicester we believe that excellent research should directly inform our teaching programmes. You will be taught by internationally-recognised and world leading researchers. In geography we have a low student to staff ratio and we are committed to an extensive personal and academic tutoring system, supported by a dedicated careers advisor, links to local employers and an active student Geography Society. The department was one of only three UK Geography Departments to be recognized by HEFCE as a Centre of Excellence for Geographical Information Science (GIS) teaching. This resulted in funding for a suite of up-to-date GIS computer facilities with specialist software for spatial data analysis and a virtual reality theatre for the visualization of these data.

What makes Leicester Geography Distinct?

1. We are a friendly, vibrant and research-active department that seeks to bridge the disciplinary boundaries between the natural and social sciences. All of our academic staff are research active and, without exception, contribute directly to the undergraduate teaching programme.
2. Flexibility and coherence: Students are able to switch degree programmes at the end of year one. We also have a relatively open teaching structure that enables students to follow their interests. For instance, you can select BA and BSc modules in year two regardless of which degree course you are on. We have also developed modules with flexibility in assessment choice.
3. Support and supervision: All staff are involved in the undergraduate teaching programme. A First Year academic tutorial system provides initial learning support in conjunction with the pastoral care provided by your personal tutor. All staff have weekly office hours, giving you access to support whenever you need it.
4. Field courses: The department runs field courses throughout the degree programme. In both the first and second year these are fully subsidized by the University. Unique foreign field course options in the third year offer once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to visit environments like the Amazon Rainforest. Bursaries are also available for these third year optional field trips.
5. Learning by doing: Throughout the degree there is an emphasis on gaining practical skills and putting them to use in a critical manner. Students receive all of the training needed to carry out independent research in the field, laboratory and computer lab. There is an opportunity to gain a range of specialist IT skills in GIS and remote sensing, which is a particular strength of the department (we have one of the UK’s longest-running MSc courses in GIS).

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Students benefit from a wide variety of teaching and assessment methods, which are tailored to the learning objectives of every module. Broadly these include:

• Lectures
• Tutorials
• Seminars
• Laboratory practicals
• Field-based learning
• Computer-based practicals

Lectures provide a basic framework for university teaching and are designed to provide core material for course modules. The style will vary from traditional talks with slides and notes, through to software and web-based presentations. All lecture material is available online through our Virtual Learning Environment. Tutorials and seminars provide an important forum for discussion between students and staff, serving to train students in a range of transferable skills (e.g. debate, teamwork, oral presentations, essay writing), in addition to reinforcing key concepts from lectures.

Contact hours might vary from week to week depending on your classes, but typically they are 11 hours per week in year one, rising to as much as 15 hours per week in year two (there are residential field classes in addition to this). In year three direct contact hours drop slightly and are typically 10 hours per week. However, this reflects the 40 credits (of 120 credits) in year three that are devoted to your dissertation project, which is developed with an assigned supervisor, with whom you will meet regularly. In addition, you will have regular meetings with your personal tutor throughout the year in order to monitor your progress.

In 2011 we extensively reviewed and revised our curriculum, incorporating comments from student feedback. In addition, we are continuously reviewing our assessment methods to take into account the diverse range of our students’ backgrounds and the learning objectives of our modules. The majority of our modules have a coursework component, which allows us to monitor your progress throughout the degree. The range of assessment methods includes:

• Essays
• Scientific reports
• Learning diaries
• Oral and poster presentations
• Dissertations
• Mock journal articles

Coursework is mainly undertaken on an individual basis. However, a number of modules (especially field-based modules) involve group project work. From 2011 all coursework will be submitted and marked electronically, with a guaranteed turnaround of 21 working days.

Course Opportunities

Study Abroad
As part of your undergraduate degree you can also study Geography for one year (normally your third year of study) in a European university as part of the Erasmus scheme. Many organisations have an international scope so knowledge of a foreign language and a global outlook can give you a vital edge in the graduate jobs market. The Department currently has links with:

• Utrecht University in the Netherlands
• Oulu University in Finland
• Salamanca University in Spain
• Paris Diderot University, France

Language proficiency is not required in Finland or the Netherlands, but is elsewhere.

The department also runs a Year Abroad scheme which allows students to spend a year studying Geography in:

• Miami University (Ohio) in the USA
• Texas A&M University in the USA
• University of Calgary (Alberta) in Canada
• Simon Fraser University (Vancouver) in Canada

In addition we are currently finalising a new link with Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. These courses are applied for once you have begun your studies at Leicester and you do not need to apply for these in the UCAS process.

Fieldwork
Fieldwork will be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences of your time at Leicester. We believe it is an integral part of a geography degree, giving you an opportunity to develop and apply concepts and techniques from the classroom. The University of Leicester normally funds all compulsory field classes, so the costs to you are minimal. All of the staff running field classes are involved in field-based research worldwide, ensuring that our teaching draws on real experience.

Our students travel the world! For second year human geographers (BA courses), the New York field class examines a range of urban processes, such as gentrification, multiculturalism and economic development. Second year physical geographers (BSc courses) visit Europe’s only desert; the striking badland landscape of southern Spain. This field trip focuses on interpreting the physical landscape and how we can use our observations to ask valid scientific questions about the environment.

Our third year optional field courses present an opportunity to develop advanced field skills and to experience some of the world’s most remarkable environments. A two week field trip to the tropical rainforests of the Colombian Amazon is an optional third-year module for students taking BSc Geography and Joint Geography and Geology degrees.

BSc and Joint Geography and Geology students can also travel to an equally extreme environment – the Mojave Desert in California. Staying in a purpose-built desert research station, you gain first-hand experiences of desert landscapes, investigating weathering processes, sand-dunes, salt lakes, and alluvial fans.

Human geographers alternate their annual third year field class between two locations. The trip to Kenya is an optional course offering an opportunity for field-based engagement with contemporary issues in environment and development geographies. Alternatively you can examine the contested understandings of the American landscape in the South-West USA. The field class employs critical geographical approaches to understand the different ways that Native Americans, tourists, National Parks and resource managers ‘see’ the landscapes of the South West.

Skills Gained

The department places great emphasis on students being equipped with both transferable and academic skills. Concerning the former, there is an increased emphasis on helping students to identify the specific skills they have acquired during their degree. Tutorial programmes and student-led seminars develop essay writing, critical reading, rapid thinking and presentation skills. Numerical and written skills are emphasised throughout and are important for career prospects, as is the extensive use of computers. We use personal development plans, implemented through the personal tutor system to record students’ individual strengths, with departmental and University careers initiatives helping to guide students through their post-university options. Our “Workplace Geographies” and “Geography in Education” modules provide specific focus on long-term career planning and work experience.

Graduate Opportunities

In 2010, the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s latest survey recently ranked Geography graduates as having the second lowest unemployment rates for UK graduates. The variety of intellectual, practical and social skills that Geography students develop include: problem solving; spatial awareness; analytical skills (geographers test hypotheses and often use statistical data analyses); social and environmental awareness; teamwork (fieldwork is an essential part of our courses, developing teamwork and leadership skills); self management; numeracy and literacy (preparing reports and manipulating data encourages both clarity of thought as well as written and numerical precision); and computer literacy. Geography thus provides you with excellent training for life beyond university. In the second year we offer students an employability module, which focuses on developing key skills for the workplace. Recent graduates have gone on to a range of careers in the public and private sector. Examples include:

• Environmental consultancy
• Teaching
• Town planning
• Transport analytics
• Utility suppliers
• Geosciences
• Quantity surveying
• The armed forces
• The security services (MI5) 
• The financial services sector

Full entry requirements

Opportunities to Visit and Further Information

The Department participates in the University programme of UCAS and Open days. Admissions tutors are always prepared to discuss possible study at Leicester.
0116 252 3822/3
geog@le.ac.uk
www.le.ac.uk/geography

The student geography society also has an active Facebook site, which can be accessed by potential applicants who wish to chat with current students either before or during the UCAS application process. www.facebook.com/groups/leicestergeogsoc
You can also follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/leicestergeog

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