Geography, BSc

​​Please join us for the Welcome Week, where we will tell you about the key information you need to know about your course, explain your timetable, how assessments work and how to best engage with the exciting learning we have planned.

We will tell you about the various services and support the University provides and that will make your studies fun and fascinating.

You’ll get to meet your fellow students from all of our courses and you’ll meet your Personal Academic Tutor (PAT), who will be there to guide you through your studies alongside the rest of the friendly academic and technical team that is here to support you.

Your Course

In your first semester, you will be introduced to being a student in higher education and develop yourself as a learner through three small Success Modules (5 credits each), which you will choose from a selection according to your interests. The Success Modules are largely delivered online, giving you flexibility as you settle into your new life as a student.

You will learn the core field and laboratory skills you need as student of geography in the Introduction to Natural Sciences module (15 credits) led by Emilia Bertolo.

This module is delivered in campus and uses a combination of lectures/seminars and field and lab practicals that are all about doing hands-on work using the basic survey and analytical methods that set you up for success.

Alongside this you will be studying the Global Diversity: Evolution to Ecosystems module (30 credits) led by Phil Buckley.

In weekly lectures, you will explore the history of life on earth, the geology that has driven change and how organisms have evolved to create the landscapes and ecological systems found on earth today.

Also each week, in extensive practicals, you will be investigating geological and biological samples in the lab as well as learning to identify key animal and plant groups. 

In your second semester, in the Human and Physical Environments module (30 credits), you will go into greater depth on the physical environment, exploring major biomes and the processes that govern them, as well as how we as human exist within spaces and landscapes.

In the Discovery and Data module (30 credits) you will learn about scientific research methods, how to work with data and carry out statistical analysis and then apply those skills on a week-long residential field trip to north Wales, surveying the environment.

Blackboard

Learning materials, recordings of your lectures and other resources will be made available to you via Blackboard pages for each module. You’ll receive guidance on how to use this resource when you begin your studies.

To help you prepare

As you prepare for joining us, there are some short online courses you can complete on our Learning Skills Hub that will help you get ready.

You will find many other modules on the learning skills hub page that will help you get familiar with student life and how to get the most out of your studies, including modules about neurodiversity and dealing with anxiety.

A great book to buy that you will be able to use the whole way through your degree:

• Kneale, P. (2019) Study Skills for Geographers, Earth and Environmental Science Students, 4th Edition, Routledge.

It is useful to note that the University Bookshop offers 10% discount on most titles in print and have some price-beating book bundles. They also price match Amazon on core texts recommended in the module handbooks you will receive when you start in September. We also advise you to look at the second-hand book market.