BSc (Hons) Geography

UCAS code: F800

Start date: September

Course length: full time: three years, part time: up to six years.

Campus: Kedleston Road, Derby

This course is available to international students

This course allows you to specialise in either the physical or human areas of geography, or you could do a mix of both through our wide range of optional modules. You can study Geography on its own or as part of a joint honours degree.

Our lecturers are active researchers and consultants in the UK and overseas, so you'll be learning the very latest theories and will be kept up to date with what's new in geography. Their current research interests include flood and environmental risk assessment, climate change and population migrations and their impacts. We've also got the 'Centre for Land Evaluation and Management' and the 'Human and Physical Environments Research Group' based in our department, so you can be sure that your lecturers are at the leading edge of research and will pass that knowledge on to you.

Fieldwork is central to the course, and you'll have access to specialist field equipment such as Global Positioning System (GPS), total stations, augers and spectrometers. You'll also use laboratory facilities for testing and analysing specimens like vegetation, soil, water and rock samples. You'll be involved in lots of hands on experience which is highly valued by employers. You'll  have opportunities to go on field courses in the UK and overseas, including the Peak District, Belgium and Morocco.

Some of our students study abroad for part of their second year in the USA or Canada. This will broaden your horizons, but to do this you need to meet certain academic standards in your first year. Take a look at what one of our students got up to on her study abroad.

Stage one

You'll study these modules:

• Key Skills for Physical and Social Sciences
• Geographical Methods
• Physical Geography of the Human Realm
• Cartography and Mapping
• Introduction to Human Geography
• Environmental Conservation

Stage two

You'll study these modules:

• Geography and Geographers
• Mediterranean Environments: Geomorphological and Human Perspectives
• Research Methods in Physical and Social Sciences
• Water: Resource, Hazard, Commodity

And you'll choose two from the following modules:

• Introduction to Remote Sensing and GIS
• Population Geography
• Conservation Biogeography
• Geomorphology
• Environment, Society and Development
• Transport Geography

Stage three

You'll study these modules:

• Research Study in Geographical, Earth and Environmental Sciences

And you'll choose four from these modules:

• Terrain Evaluation
• Environment, Landscape and Place
• Applied Transport Geography
• Climate Change: Adaptation and Mitigation Perspectives
• Global Food Security and Food Futures
• Applied GIS
• Habitat Management
• Theories and Concepts of Development
• Vocational Module

Our entry requirements are usually 240 UCAS points, of which at least 200 will be from your core A2s (full A levels) or equivalent qualifications such as BTEC Diploma, International Baccalaureate, Scottish Highers etc. including Science or Social Science.

We'll accept up to 40 points towards the total from level 3 qualifications such as AS levels (where those AS levels are not taken on to A2 level), the Extended Project or Music qualifications.

We don't accept points from Key Skills Level 3. If you have any questions about what is or isn't accepted, please contact our Admissions team.

We also accept the Access to HE Diploma.

Your points at level 3 will be in addition to 5 GCSEs at grade C or equivalent level 2 qualifications.

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The UCAS tariff points are a guide - we'll also consider all the information that you've included in your application. We'll also want to see that you're enthusiastic and motivated to take this course and that you have the potential to benefit from coming to university.

General undergraduate entry requirements

Fees for 2013/14

This is a resource intensive course.

UK/EU students

• Full time: £8,250 (each year)
• £1,030 per module (you usually take 18 of these modules in total)

International students

• Full time: £10,225 (per year)

*These fees apply if you're starting this course between September 2013 and August 2014. We recommend you check fee details with us though, as they can change. Costs can increase each year.

Each single module is worth 150 hours of student study. Class contact time (lectures, tutorials and practicals etc) could be anywhere between one and four hours per week for each module. The remainder of the time is spent undertaking directed reading, making notes and doing assignments.

A typical module may consist of a one hour lecture followed (after a coffee break) by a laboratory or group practical exercise session per week. The course is primarily delivered using lectures, hands on practicals / demonstrations, tutorials, self directed exercises and field work.

How you're assessed

We use a diverse range of assessment methods, including essays, reports, field and laboratory notebooks, portfolios, posters, oral presentations and exams. You may be assessed individually or as part of a group. We’ve mapped our assessments against key graduate skillsets that employers require.

Fieldtrips

Field work is an important part of the programme. All fieldwork is associated with particular modules, many of which are optional. Most fieldwork involves half or full day trips to locations around the region (including Derby, Nottingham and the Peak District).

In the first year there is a weekend residential field course to Skegness, Lincolnshire (Geographical Methods). In the third year, overseas residential fieldwork destinations include Brussels, Belgium (Applied Transport Geography) and Agadir, Morocco (Environment, Landscape and Place).

Work placements

An optional vocational work placement module is available by negotiation in the third year.

You'll have a great chance of getting a job when you graduate, with around 90% of our graduates now working or in further study within six months of graduating. Companies who have recently employed our graduates include Clear Environmental Consultants Ltd, the National Trust, Caterpillar UK, Yorkshire Water, Derby City Council and the Civil Service.

You'll develop the knowledge and skills employers are looking for in areas like commerce, public service, research or industry. Some of our graduates have managed to get jobs as surveyors, land managers, business analysts, environmental officers, transport officers and civil servants. Lisa Watson, a senior marketing analyst, found that the human geography elements helped her to understand the GIS she uses daily. Watch a video of recent graduate Will Goring talking about his experience of studying Geograpahy here at Derby.

Graduate Ian Johnstone commented about the course saying:

"In studying Geography at Derby, I have experienced some teaching by staff who are knowledgeable, approachable and hugely supportive. The course offers a wide range of modules in both human and physical geography all of which are interesting, engaging and provide some great field trips along the way."

Amy Page, current student
"I would definitely recommend studying Geography here at Derby. The lecturers are incredibly knowledgeable and have lots of experience. They are friendly and approachable and are engaged in their own research outside of the University meaning they are up to date with new advancements in Geography which are then passed on to students."