Undergraduate students using surveying equipment on the Downs, University Park

Geography BA

University Park Campus, Nottingham, UK

Course overview

Are you passionate about creating a sustainable future for our world? If so, then our BA/BSc Geography course is perfect for you.

We'll dive into topics like climate change, globalisation, and our relationship with the earth. Moreover, you'll gain skills to analyse data related to the world in which we live.

With many fascinating and inspiring optional modules to choose from, you'll have the opportunity to put your knowledge into practice on field trips both in the UK and overseas. You can choose to analyse the impact of humans on the world's physical and built environments. You can explore the development of the global economy or solve geospatial problems. The choice is yours.

You'll have the option to spend a semester studying abroad or to spend a year on placement in industry. Our partner institutions are based in locations such as Canada, Europe and the USA or at our campuses in China or Malaysia.

You’ll study at our 300 acre, environmentally sustainable University Park campus; our largest, award-winning campus set around a lake in extensive greenery.

At the end of this course, you'll have the knowledge and skills you need for your professional career. Join us in working towards a more sustainable and just future and make a difference in the world.

Indicative modules

Mandatory

Year 1

Careers Skills for Geographers

Mandatory

Year 1

Exploring Human Geography

Mandatory

Year 1

Geographical Field Course

Mandatory

Year 1

Interpreting Geographical Data

Mandatory

Year 1

Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

Mandatory

Year 1

Planet Earth: Exploring the Physical Environment

Mandatory

Year 1

Tutorial

Optional

Year 1

Exploring Place

Optional

Year 1

Global Challenges

Optional

Year 1

Globalisation: Economy, Space and Power

Optional

Year 1

On Earth and Life

Mandatory

Year 2

Dissertation Preparation

Mandatory

Year 2

Research Tutorial

Mandatory

Year 2

Techniques in Geography

Optional

Year 2

Cultural and Historical Geography

Optional

Year 2

Earth Observation

Optional

Year 2

Economic Geography

Optional

Year 2

Living with Hazards

Optional

Year 2

Medical Geography

Optional

Year 2

Patterns of Life

Optional

Year 2

Political Geography

Optional

Year 2

Rivers in the Landscape

Optional

Year 2

Rural Environmental Geography

Optional

Year 2

Spatial Decision Making

Optional

Year 2

The Changing Environment

Optional

Year 2

Urban Geography

Mandatory

Year 3

Dissertation in Geography

Optional

Year 3

Advances in Remote Sensing

Optional

Year 3

Animal Geographies

Optional

Year 3

Critical Human Geography

Optional

Year 3

Environment, Development and Livelihoods

Optional

Year 3

Environmental Modelling

Optional

Year 3

Fashion and Food

Optional

Year 3

Freshwater Management

Optional

Year 3

Geographies of Money and Finance

Optional

Year 3

Geographies of Violence

Optional

Year 3

Global Climate Change

Optional

Year 3

Health Geographies

Optional

Year 3

Landscape, Culture and Politics

Optional

Year 3

Third Year Geography Field Course

Optional

Year 3

Tropical Environments in the Anthropocene

Optional

Year 3

Unearthing the Past

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About modules

The above is a sample of the typical modules we offer, but is not intended to be construed or relied on as a definitive list of what might be available in any given year. This content was last updated on Thursday 25 April 2024. Due to timetabling availability, there may be restrictions on some module combinations.

Teaching is via a range of methods and approaches including seminars, tutorials, and laboratory, practical and field trips.

Field trips are an exciting opportunity for you to gain hands-on experience in a range of topics and enhance the skills and techniques you'll need for your professional career. All students attend a field trip in year one. There are a number of field trips throughout years two and three depending on your module choices.

Our Cartography Unit offers student support, whether it's sourcing maps, designing maps or drawing maps. You will be taught the fundamentals of good map design and all students are encouraged to map their own research.

Teaching methods

  • Field trips
  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Tutorials
  • Computer labs
  • Labs  

We use a wide range of assessment methods including formal examinations, essays, project reports, lab reports, field notebooks, posters, verbal presentations, video diaries, and dissertations. Overall, most of our graduates will have experienced about 60-70% coursework and 30-40% examination assessments.

Assessment methods

  • Dissertation
  • Essay
  • Examinations
  • Field books
  • Lab reports
  • Presentation
  • Project work

In your first and second year, you can expect to receive an average of 9 to 11 hours of contact time via lectures, seminars, tutorials (with your academic tutor), practicals and other small group teaching. This can increase when taking into account optional field courses, laboratory work and our open door policy that allows you to meet up with academic staff in an informal one-to-one environment.

In the third year, you spend, alongside lectures, a greater proportion of your time on independent research as part of your undergraduate dissertation projects – supported throughout by your dissertation supervisor. 

For the rest of the time you will be working independently, doing the necessary reading in preparation for tutorials, writing essays or working on seminar presentations.

Geography graduates are very popular with a diverse range of employers who appreciate the personal and transferable skills they offer.

You'll gain valuable skills including data analysis and statistics, field work techniques, and quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Our first-year Careers Skills for Geographers module includes guest lectures from organisations such as the Royal Geographical Society, and a programme of career networking events.

Graduate destinations

Our graduates go on to a wide range of careers. Some enter roles that have a direct correlation to their degree, including conservation and heritage protection and land surveying. Others utilise their transferable skills in sectors such as management consultancy, PR, marketing and financial services.

Recent graduates have gone on to work for organisations such as the British Geological Survey, Capita, Historic England, Network Rail, Swiss Re, Teach First, and Tesla Motors.

Average starting salary and career progression

85.70% of undergraduates from the Faculty of Social Sciences secured graduate level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual starting salary for these graduates was £29,197.

HESA Graduate Outcomes (2017-2021 cohorts). The Graduate Outcomes % is calculated using The Guardian University Guide methodology. The average annual salary is based on graduates working full-time within the UK.

Studying for a degree at the University of Nottingham will provide you with the type of skills and experiences that will prove invaluable in any career, whichever direction you decide to take.

Throughout your time with us, our Careers and Employability Service can work with you to improve your employability skills even further; assisting with job or course applications, searching for appropriate work experience placements and hosting events to bring you closer to a wide range of prospective employers.

Have a look at our careers page for an overview of all the employability support and opportunities that we provide to current students.

The University of Nottingham is consistently named as one of the most targeted universities by Britain’s leading graduate employers (Ranked in the top ten in The Graduate Market in 2013-2020, High Fliers Research).

University undergraduate student Cole Pearce studying in Nightingale Hall accommodation's library, University Park. November 5th 2021.

I love that my course is so broad and takes an inter-disciplinary approach. I can combine my analytical skills with essay writing, data handling, GIS software skills, and different theories. Every day as a geographer is different therefore, I never tire of it.  

Megan Mahoney

BA Geography

Course data

Open Day June 2022