BSc (Hons) Geography (with Foundation Year option)

Core units 

• Academic and Professional Study Skills: You will gain the fundamental academic and research skills required for degree level study. The unit will introduce you to a broad grounding in literature searching, literature review, data collection, methodological approach, data analysis and interpretation and ethical practice. It will also support you to begin to develop a critical and analytical approach to your work and identify areas for personal development. 
• Applied Sciences: You'll gain a basic understanding of some fundamental aspects of science underpinning more specific disciplines, and an appreciation of how various scientific disciplines impact human life. You'll understand the differences between pure and applied science, as well as the roles of different ways applied science can be funded, and implications of these funding mechanisms. 
• Introduction to Biology: Biology is the study of life and hence knowledge of plant and animal cell biology is fundamental to understanding wider concepts in biology. This unit also introduces key themes in human, environmental and ecological sciences to provide a sound underpinning in knowledge for future studies. 
• Introduction to Psychology: This unit is designed to prepare you for advanced coursework in psychology. You will complete the unit with a good understanding of the various areas of psychology and how they seek to explain behaviour. 
• Mathematics in Science: You will build your confidence in mathematics, in order to perform calculations on a range of scientific data from biology, chemistry and psychology and to be able to represent the findings in an appropriate format, including graphs. In order to carry this out it is essential to be able to convert the data between systems of units and to understand how to present very large and very small numbers in standard form. Basic statistical analysis of tabulated data will be carried out to introduce the concept of confidence limits and familiarisation of statistical testing. 
• Foundation Year Project: You will carry out a research task on scientific topics chosen by the unit leader which you will be able to conduct a scientific investigation on. You will devise your own investigation and produce a literature review as a final scientific report.

Core units

• Scientific Research Skills: This unit provides the necessary skills to conduct independent research in geography. These skills involve finding and evaluating academic literature, formulating scientific arguments and discussion, writing and presenting these ideas as essays, opinions and research papers. You may also collect field or laboratory data and perform simple numeric calculations and present data in graphical formats. To facilitate discussion and questions, much of the unit will be taught in tutorial sessions, which also allows you to get to know the core teaching team for your programme.
• Physical Geography: Taking an Earth Systems approach we will look at the evolution of our planet’s lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere focusing on the dynamic interactions between different earth system and how these interactions lead to environmental change through a narrative-based lecture series.  Key themes will include the earth’s geological processes; basic principles of our solar system; heat engine atmospheric and oceanographic systems; biogeographical systems and surface processes, focussing on the physics common to all geomorphological processes.
• Practical Skills in Geography: This unit will give you the necessary practical skills needed for the field or laboratory. The skills learnt through observation and record keeping will help you come to logical inferences about the data collected. You will learn through a series of short courses utilising both field and lecture room settings. This is followed-up by a self-directed exercise where you take what you have learnt and combine all these skills. 
• Earth and Society: Building an understanding of the way in which key aspects of our physical environment interact and impact the human environment, this unit provides a foundation in elements of Human and Physical Geography on which detailed knowledge can be built on in subsequent years.
• Human Geography: Providing an overview of the human, social and cultural aspects of geography, you will focus on key theories and fundamental principles of human geography, including economic, political and cultural aspects, often using case studies based on contemporary news stories and local development. You will appreciate the linkages and differences between physical and human geography, looking at settlement geography; cities, towns and villages and the key processes influencing landscapes and communities. Your theoretical knowledge will be enhanced by field trips.  
• Residential Field Trip: This unit allows you to learn important field skills for your discipline and demonstrate your ability to work effectively as part of a team through experiencing the necessary conditions to conduct field research (both academically and socially). You will have four days of activities related to your discipline, followed by a final project day, where you will work on a team designed project of your choice.

Core units

• Advanced Scientific Research Skills: This unit builds and refreshes academic skills required for successful independent research in geography. Through small group discussions it will enable you to plan a successful independent research project and write a research proposal. It will also equip you with necessary survey, experimental design and data analysis techniques for completing the research project independently.  
• Geographic Information Systems: Developing your expertise and knowledge in the area of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geo-spatial science, we will provide you with an understanding of the principles underpinning spatial information science and its associated technology as well as its use in the real world to answer a wide variety of questions.  You will manipulate and interrogate spatial data of various kinds whilst developing expertise in GIS and modelling. Emphasis is placed on data capture, analysis and the application of spatial information science for geographic and environmental decision making.
• Coasts and Coastal Adaptation: The geography of the marine environment will be covered in this unit through consideration of the key resources found in marine and coastal environments and their management frameworks, including key factors affecting marine and coastal biodiversity and aspects relevant to biogeography, characterisation of the physical environment and associated dynamic processes, environmental change and implications to the sustainable management of renewable and non-renewable resources.  An important element of this unit is the collection and interpretation of marine and coastal data. 

Option units

• International Field Trip: Information on each trip will be provided during option selection sessions in the previous year or semester. Each trip will have a key theme or themes (e.g. ecotourism in Costa Rica, considering biodiversity outcomes but also economic and soical outcomes for local communities). Much of the work will involve field-based lectures, discussions and also local speakers, but the bulk of activities will involve work on individual projects focussed on specific tasks within these broad concepts. Tutorial sessions will be available daily when on field work with the unit tutors. Please note that you may incur additional costs not covered by your tuition fee if you choose to participate in the International Field Trip.  

• Urban Social Geography: This unit aims to provide students with an understanding of the different ways in which geography plays an important role in contextualizing contemporary urban problems. Various past and current urban theories will be considered in this unit, focusing on the topics of (i) the socio-political construction of urban structures such as cities and neighbourhoods, (ii) power and conflicts in urban space from a historical and contemporary perspective, and (iii) the interpretation of the spatial structure and functioning of urban environments.

• Quaternary Environments: The aim of this unit is to enable understanding of the principles and practice of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and how palaeoecological and Quaternary data can inform our understanding of the climate and environmental change during the Quaternary. We will also look at the changes that are believed to have taken place during the last 2.6 million years of the Quaternary. Data covered will include different biological and physical proxies such as pollen, molluscs, insects, mammals and sediments as well as more modern methods including ancient DNA. The applied nature of the discipline will also be covered. Data on past environmental change is beginning to be used to a greater extent as a base-line to understand what the environment was like before the increase in human influence i.e. during the time of hunter-gatherers (during pre-agricultural and pre-industrial times). Palaeoecological data from different proxy organism remains (animals and plants) also provide a longer timescale over which to understand ecological processes that operate beyond the length of a human lifetime or even the time represented by written history. Both climate change and other forms of environmental change such as human changes to the landscape will be covered and case studies from around the world will be included. Case studies will be used to further illustrate the theoretical perspective of the “past as the key to the future”.

Please note that if you choose to participate in the International Field Trip you must also choose one unit from each semester. This will mean you'll have asymmetrical work loadings.

Semester 1 (choose one):

• Ecosystems: We will enable you to develop an awareness of the importance of a range of ecosystems and develop your understanding of how ecosystems can be managed to conserve them. 

• Environmental Pollution: On this unit you will learn to understand a range of polluting impacts that human activities have on the environment. It will provide an overview of the causes of environmental pollution, the harm caused to the environment and the strategies used to both reduce and ameliorate negative environmental impacts.

Semester 2 (choose one):

• Environmental and Societal Challenges: Whilst you consider the relationships between humanity and the environment, you will be introduced to some of the big challenges faced by society today that stem from the impact of humanity on the earth system. By discussions about your place in society and your role in providing solutions to these challenges this unit will further your knowledge of science policy and application. 

• Applications of Environmental Sciences: You will review a range of applied case studies in which environmental science is an important component.  Topics likely to be covered are: air quality management, waste management and technology, Environmental Impact Assessment, renewable energy technology & policy, flood risk management & sustainable urban drainage systems, building efficiency & carbon management plans, environmental policy & legislation, concepts of sustainability, environmental economics.
• Understanding Globalisation: This unit explores debates about globalisation within sociology and cognate social science disciplines. In this unit, you will examine globalisation as a contested, often debated concept within sociology and related disciplines. You will explore how far present day global integration and interconnection differs from that of previous historical eras. You will critically investigate global institutions and transnational corporations, and examine a series of global processes and flows of people, ideas, money and commodities in the present day.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

You may choose to complete a 2-week placement during the course of your study and a minimum 30-week work placement on a sandwich-year course, which can be carried out anywhere in the world. The placement (sandwich) year offers a chance to gain experience and make contacts for the future. Those not on a sandwich-year course will complete a 2-week and 4-week short placement during their course.

Core unit

• Independent Research Project: Your project provides you with an opportunity to gain experience of research in a topic of your choice relevant to your degree and to demonstrate your ability to report that research. Such experience is considered essential for those students interested in pursuing academic and/or professional research at a higher level of responsibility and achievement.

Option units

Semester 1 (choose two):

• Space Place and Environment: Making use of our fantastic location along the south coast, this unit will give you the opportunity of practical ‘hands on’ study, via field trips to locations such as Poole Bay and Poole Harbour. Through a combination of lectures, group problem-solving sessions and field trips, you will develop knowledge and understanding of the history of biological oceanography, the plankton, the benthos, the overall functioning of the ocean biota, as well as introducing some practical problems in biological oceanography (accumulation of pollutants, ocean acidification, and the possible manipulation of the biological pump). 

• Contemporary Topics in Geography: The aim of this unit is to enable you to use your knowledge and understanding of geography to explore in depth a range of currently important contemporary topics. You will critically evaluate each topic from a range of perspectives and develop i) your skills in evaluating data in the context of contemporary issues ii) your powers of reflection on your own perspective and ability to appreciate and integrate other perspectives.

• Geomorphological Research: To introduce students to practical geomorphological research using selected case studies thereby developing their ability to design and execute research projects and undertake professional practice within geomorphology.

• Emergence & Extinction: Giving you an understanding of past and current theories surrounding the nature and effects of environmental change during the last 10 million years, various lines of evidence are considered including geomorphology, palynology, ice cores, fossil flora and fauna and genetics. The unit will include aspects of evolutionary theory and will consider theories relating both the emergence and extinction of species to wider environmental change. Consideration will also be given to differing approaches to understanding broad ecological changes and to competing hypotheses regarding both individual and mass extinctions.

• Environmental Remote Sensing: The unit develops expertise and knowledge in the area of environmental remote sensing, providing a detailed understanding of the principles of remote sensing as a source of spatial information. You will learn to manipulate and interrogate remotely sensed data of various kinds whilst developing expertise in image analysis and integrated

• Marine Conservation: This unit aims to enable you to critically evaluate approaches to the conservation and management of marine biodiversity including fisheries and protected areas. You will also examine legal processes and mechanisms that are applied to the conservation of marine and coastal environments. 

• Wildlife and Ecotourism: This unit covers the range and impact of human activities on the natural environment on a global scale. You will explore the impact of tourism and look at strategies adopted to conserve and protect the natural environment. New forms of tourism have emerged, developed and diversified in both developed and developing countries in recent decades, and you will examine their philosophy and practices of wildlife, nature and ecotourism.

Semester 2 (choose two):

• Sustainable Development and Globalisation: Exploring the inter-relationships between controversial and contested terms, sustainable development and globalisation, you will develop the knowledge and skills to analyse, interpret and evaluate, the current issues and debates related to both concepts. We will extend conceptual knowledge of how sustainable development might be achieved in a context where globalisation is the predominant development ethos and unsustainable development and social injustice are accepted. The concepts will be examined from a number of disciplinary perspectives to enable you to evaluate the potential for, and limits to, the development of alternative relationships between people and their environments in a rapidly globalising world.

• Conservation Biogeography: Conservation biogeography focusses on the analysis and description of geographical patterns and their effects on biological processes. The unit will look at changes in such patterns over time in response to natural and anthropogenic factors, and the relationships between spatial pattern and biological processes that operate at landscape and regional scales. Many of the environmental pressures affecting sites managed for conservation relate to the surrounding patterns of land use, and to a range of processes operating at larger spatial scales. Contemporary environmental management is thus increasingly supported by spatially explicit analyses that take a broad geographical perspective. Successful completion of the unit will enable you to recognise, assess and analyse landscape and regional scale patterns of land use resulting from both natural processes and human activities, and critically evaluate how such patterns influence key processes affecting biodiversity and the provision of environmental services.

• Climate and Environmental Change: Combining the expertise of our lecturers and special guest lecturers, this unit will provide a scientific background in the causes of climatic change, both natural and anthropogenic, and the trends that characterise and attribute this. With a key focus on examining the environmental, social and economic impacts of climatic change, you will have the opportunity to explore and voice your predictions of future impacts and the inevitability of uncertainty of those predicted futures. Including a local field trip to investigate microclimates, this unit will allow you to critically evaluate the potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation and the role of policy makers in this.

• Environmental Law: You will need a critical understanding of the body of law that is concerned with threats to environmental quality and ecosystems. In a complex world, functioning legal rules and other governance tools are mainstays of the movement towards environmental protection, security and sustainable development. Laws on permitting, standards, compliance and enforcement mechanisms, voluntary instruments, liability regimes and citizens’ environmental rights all play a part in translating policies, goal and social objectives into reality. In this unit, we aim to critically consider the dynamics of the legal and policy applications of environmental law and its role in environmental protection.

• Freshwater Resource Management: The aim of the unit is to present theory and practice for issues relating to the conservation and management of freshwater resources. It covers a range of aspects of freshwater resource management including sustainable development, conservation and key issues from a planning policy and decision making perspective. By providing a framework to actively make managerial decisions, the unit enables problems to be identified, analysed and solutions to be proposed including the promotion of sustainable communities and public participation in the planning process and environmental assessment.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

Contact hours

The hours below give an indication of how you can expect to spend your time during each year of this course. You will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops and practical sessions.

Your independent learning could include reading books and journal articles, working on group projects, preparing presentations, conducting library research and writing your assignments. Support in key skills is embedded from the first year and throughout the course.

In your second and third year you will work on placements as well as having guided independent study time. In your final year you will also have field research skills week, which includes practical exercises and group based research within the local environment.

Year 1 – 26% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities

• Learning and teaching: 240 hours
• Independent learning: 960 hours

Year 2 – 22% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities

• Learning and teaching: 240 hours
• Independent learning: 780 hours

Year 3 – 19% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities

• Learning and teaching: 264 hours
• Independent learning: 916 hours

A placement should be a highly rewarding experience for you and the employing company and we do our best to ensure that everyone involved feels that they have got the most that they can from the experience.

Placements provide a great opportunity to make your first career steps and enhance your employability while you’re completing your studies. You’ll get the opportunity to:

• Put the theory learnt throughout the course into professional practice
• Enhance your study and help you decide on subject options (where appropriate)
• Learn a wide range of skills such as time management, problem solving and team work (all of these are important to succeed in any career)
• Make contacts, as it is not uncommon for our students to be offered permanent positions to return to after graduating
• Gain a real insight into how the industry operates in roles that would be almost impossible to achieve for an outsider.

Many of our students, during their placement, are given responsibilities normally associated with graduate trainees.

All students complete work placements to gain valuable employment skills, contacts and real world experience with a wide range of local and international opportunities, making contacts for the future. You will need to complete your first short 2-week placement before the start of your second year of study. You then either complete another short 4-week placement or you enter your placement year which consists of a work placement of at least 30 weeks.

We have important links to outside agencies and organisations to best support you along your professional development, and dedicated Placement Officers to support you.

• Environment Agency
• Southern Water
• Dorset County Council
• The National Trust
• Forestry Commission
• Dyfed Wildlife Trust
• Fawley Research Laboratories
• Scottish National Heritage.

Gain additional practical skills and experience through the Student Environment Research Team.

SERT gives you the opportunity to gain experience and practical skills, as a volunteer, through a wide range of short projects relevant to your professional practice. Each SERT project and its report is viewable on the web so you can demonstrate the skills you have gained to future employers.

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website. 

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we'll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You'll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

It is essential you are willing and able to engage with the public. Geographers must be multifaceted and able to think multi-dimensionally, on different levels and from different perspectives.

You should also be comfortable with complex, abstract ideas (be able to conceptualise, as well as process and synthesise varied issues) and especially be able to think spatially. Being comfortable with trigonometry is a bonus, but IT is essential to contemporary geography and therefore you must be proficient using computers.

Most of all potential geography students must be avidly interested in the world around them and be aware of the impacts in/of both physical and human environments.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application; there are usually no interviews or selection activities needed. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. You can find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

AccessBU gives you the chance to tell us more about you and your life experiences if you haven’t had the same educational opportunities as other applicants. If you are eligible for AccessBU, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS Tariff Points below the published tariff.

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

These courses have compulsory elements involving working with dangerous substances in laboratory conditions and/or undertaking field trips in less accessible environments. Students must complete a health and safety risk assessment taking part in these activities, for their safety and that of others.  As part of that assessment students provide information about any conditions or disabilities that might affect their ability to undertake these activities fully or safely. 

If you have such a condition or disability, please let us know as soon as possible. You can contact our Additional Learning Support (ALS) service about this before or after making an application. We will then work with you to identify any support or adjustments you would need. Our ALS team works with the Faculty to seek to put in place reasonable adjustments and health and safety plans. 

Exceptionally, it may not be possible to arrange for a student to access these courses without either over-riding their core standards or competencies or creating unacceptable risks to health and safety. If that is the case we will help you explore alternative course choices.

Our graduates are working in various roles across a range of organisations and sectors. This includes positions such as:

• Environmental Scientist
• Land Surveyor
• Development Assistant
• Schools Coordinator.

As you progress through the course, option units, field trip opportunities and setting up your placement will help you establish the exact career path you want to follow, and the sector in which you want to put your studies to use.

Among the organisations you could work for on graduating are government agencies, local authorities, environmental and landscape consultancies, multi-national companies and voluntary organisations. There are many fields you can specialise in, such as:

• Resource management
• Planning
• Surveying
• Renewable energy
• Countryside management

Having knowledge of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is particularly sought after by many employers and honing this skill while studying for your degree will mean you have many options when it comes to employment after you graduate.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master’s degrees.

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course, including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Materials for laboratory and field-based teaching activity
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team
• Loan of lab coats and safety glasses.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies (including lab or field notebook). Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses.
• Accommodation and living costs. Please visit our website for more information.
• Travel costs for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable).
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass can be purchased alongside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study
• SportBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

Andrew is an experienced Lecturer in Geoinformatics at BU. He's skilled in Geospatial Science, Remote Sensing (esp. InSAR, Photogrammetry, LiDAR), Surveying (GNSS, TST, TLS), Geomorphology (esp. Glaciology, Mass-Movement and Coastal Processes), environmental hazards and Teaching. He is a graduate of Kingston and Leicester Universities.