BA (Hons) Geography
University of Portsmouth
Key Information
Campus location
Southsea, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
3 - 4 years
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
GBP 9,250 / per year *
Application deadline
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Earliest start date
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* for UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students/EU residents | £18,300/year: international students
Scholarships
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Introduction
If you’re fascinated by the relationship between human society and the natural world, this BA (Hons) Geography degree, accredited by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), provides the skills and knowledge you need to help shape the future of the planet.
You'll investigate how we can preserve the natural environment and the social and economic well-being of human populations. When you graduate, you'll have what you need to work in a wide range of areas, such as in urban or environmental planning, the energy sector, teaching or research.
Course highlights
- Create your bespoke final year to match your interests and career ambitions by choosing from a fully optional list of modules, including environment and society, gender and development, and transport and sustainability
- Use industry-standard laboratory tech, including laser survey technology, drones, GIS and photogrammetry equipment and our environmental simulation cabinet – a controlled lab area that simulates different environmental conditions.
- Experience some of the societies, cultures and landscapes you’re studying through fieldwork, including in places such as Berlin, Malta, Sicily and Uganda
- Choose to study abroad at one of our partner universities in Canada, Australia, Germany, Malta, Slovakia, Hungary and France, or build experience on a work placement at an organisation like the Environment Agency or Natural England.
Accredited by
This course is accredited by the Royal Geographical Society. This shows the teaching on this course is of the highest quality and has been approved by an independent body of academics and industrialists.
Geography or BSc Geography?
Our BA (Hons) Geography focuses on human geography – how communities, cultures and societies interact with the environment, while BSc (Hons) Geography is more to do with the science of the natural physical world.
Whichever you choose, you'll study both types of geography in your first year before picking modules on either (or both) in years 2 and 3.
Your module choices will determine whether you graduate with a BA or a BSc in Geography, so it helps to know which area interests you most and suits your career aspirations better before choosing which degree to study.
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Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Curriculum
Modules
Year 1
Core modules this year include:
- Academic Communication Skills – 20 credits
- Environmental Processes and Hazards – 20 credits
- Global Environmental Challenges – 20 credits
- Practical Fieldwork Skills – 20 credits
- Society and Place – 20 credits
- Tools for Geographical Enquiry – 20 credits
There are no optional modules this year.
Year 2
Core modules this year include:
- Research, Fieldwork and Professional Skills – 40 credits
Optional modules this year include:
- Environmental Change – 20 credits
- Geographies of Development – 20 credits
- Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing – 20 credits
- Glaciers and Glaciation – 20 credits
- Introduction to Teaching – 20 credits
- Modern Foreign Language (Institution-wide Language Programme) – 20 credits
- River Processes – 20 credits
- Sustainable Environmental Management – 20 credits
- Overseas Study – 60 credits
- Overseas Study Research and Fieldwork Skills – 20 credits
- Transport and Sustainability – 20 credits
- Uneven Cities, Planning and Design – 20 credits
Placement year (optional)
In this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in the industry.
We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.
Year 3
Core modules this year include:
- Dissertation – 40 credits
Optional modules this year include:
- Climate Change – 20 credits
- Coastal Recreation - Planning and Management – 20 credits
- Cold Environments – 20 credits
- Creative Economy and Urban Placemaking – 20 credits
- Conservation Biogeography – 20 credits
- Environment and Society – 20 credits
- Environment Assessment and Management – 20 credits
- Environmental Pollution and Waste Management – 20 credits
- Hazardscapes – 20 credits
- Introduction to Teaching – 20 credits
- Quaternary Geology & Geomorphology – 20 credits
- The Green Economy – 20 credits
- Weather Science – 20 credits
Placement year (optional)
Before or following your third year, you can opt for a work placement year to gain valuable longer-term work experience in the industry. Placements allow you to apply what you've learnt so far in a real workplace, boosting your employability and making you attractive to employers after graduation.
You can work for a company or organisation in the UK or overseas – some Geography students have chosen Australia, Spain or Malta for their placement year.
Whichever route you choose, you'll receive support and guidance. Our specialist team of Science and Health Careers advisors can help you with finding a work placement and improving your employability skills. They'll provide you with a database of placement vacancies, support with your job search – including help with applications and interviews – and support throughout your placement year.
You'll also hear guest speakers from potential employers and get support from students who have returned from their placements.
Potential roles
Previous students have taken placement roles such as:
- environmental scientist
- research scientist
- environmental assessment officer
- surveyor
- flood risk assessor
- teacher
Potential destinations
They've completed placements at organisations including:
- Atkins Global
- Pfizer Research and Development
- Hampshire Ecological Services
- The Environment Agency
- Natural England
Career Opportunities
In this BA (Hons) Geography, you’ll learn how to sustainably develop urban areas, and how governments, businesses and individuals can help protect the planet for future generations. You’ll examine themes such as conservation, sustainability, geopolitics, and economic and urban development and hunt for answers to big questions about the world and society.
Geography graduates are valuable in all sorts of job roles. As well as learning skills to help you understand and engage with the world, you’ll develop as a professional. You’ll come away as a confident communicator, able to solve problems, make good decisions and work well with others.
When you graduate, you'll be ready for a career in a wide range of important fields and sectors, with the technical and professional skills many employers are looking for. Our previous students have worked in areas such as transport planning, engineering, civil services, teaching and research.
As the Royal Geographical Society state, 74.8% of geography graduates enter professional-level jobs after graduation, compared to an average of 60.8% for the social sciences in general.
What jobs can you do with a geography degree?
Roles our graduates have taken on include:
- geo-environmental consultant
- transport planner
- urban planner
- GIS analyst
- spatial analyst
- operations watchkeeper
- geography teacher
Graduate destinations
Organisations our graduates have gone on to work for include:
- Mott McDonald
- AECOM
- Savills
- Bulb
- Department of Business and Energy
- Thames Water
- Hampshire County Council
You could also go on to study at the postgraduate level.
Ongoing careers support
After you graduate, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability Service as you advance in your career.
Facilities
English Language Requirements
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