University of Cumbria

BSc (Hons) in Geography

We have designed our geography degree course so you get the opportunity to bring together human, physical, and environmental geography. Not only will it give you a breadth of academic knowledge and plenty of hands-on fieldwork, it can be the start you need to shape your successful career.

Our broad spectrum of modules means that alongside physical and environmental geography, you’ll gain a deep knowledge of human geography – looking at people’s interaction with the environment, their communities, and the complex issues facing society today and in the future.

Plus, you will live and learn close to the shores of Windermere Lake, on our friendly Ambleside campus in the stunning Lake District, where you will be surrounded by a picturesque patchwork of more than 150 lofty peaks, 16 lakes, an abundance of rivers – all home to unique habitats and wildlife.

Modules

Our program explores many of the key grand challenges that face both humanity and the planet in the 21st Century, for example: climate change and its implications; inequality and difference at individual to global levels; and valuing the ecosystem services we derive from the Earth system. Through your studies, you will develop a progressively more sophisticated understanding of geographical thinking within four broad, interconnected thematic strands.

These four themes are developed through a variety of compulsory and optional modules with an increasing level of choice available as you progress through your studies, enabling you to specialize and follow your own interests as you develop as a Geographer.

Year One

Global Challenges

You will approach and analyze global challenges from many perspectives and explore communicating with a variety of audiences. In doing so, you will develop the range of communication and analysis skills you will need as a geographer.

Geographical Techniques

The aim of this module is to equip you with fundamental methods of constructing geographical data and interpretations, including techniques of field, laboratory, and archival research.

People and Place

Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of historical, political, and cultural geographies. Through these geographical lenses, you will critically examine local and global challenges in the relationships between people and place.

Environment and Resources

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the fundamentals of economic, development, and environmental geography, three of the core themes of Human Geography, through the lens of the ‘resource’.

The Earth System

We will examine the uncertainties that the Earth System faces as a consequence of entering the Anthropocene, an unprecedented phase of Earth history that provides the underlying context for many of the themes explored within Geographical and Environmental research.

Ecological Knowledge, Interactions, and Change

Students will develop their ecological thinking and literacy in a variety of local habitats and ecosystems. You will study and explain underpinning ecological concepts and processes that shape ecosystems.

Year Two

Research Design

Students will develop an understanding of methodologies and the research method as applied within an environmental context. This module culminates in student-led fieldwork in which you will design, execute, and report a research project.

Valuing the Environment

The aim of this module is to explore the concepts associated with valuing the environment including natural capital, nature’s contribution to people, and ecosystem services. You will critically evaluate these as frameworks for enabling people to “value” the environment.

Environmental Change: Past Present Future

Anthropogenic climate change is perhaps the biggest challenge facing humanity in the 21st Century. However, to understand the significance of predicted climate change and its implications, we need to place this in the context of how climate and environments have changed in the past.

Geographical Information Systems

The aim of this module is to provide students with a sound understanding of the theory and application of GIS in a manner relevant to their field of study and potential future employment

The Catchment: Summit to Sea (Optional)

The catchment can be considered the fundamental building block of landscape, and this module develops an integrated understanding of the processes that shape catchments from local and global scales.

Culture, Identity, and Place (Optional)

This module enables you to examine and analyze complex relationships between culture, identity, and place. The extent to which these relationships influence people’s geographical experiences will be examined using critical and creative approaches.

Rural Economy and Society (Optional)

The aims of this module are to allow you to investigate in depth the functioning of rural areas as regards their economy and society, and to explore how these two interrelate with the wider natural environment.

Habitats and Ecosystems (Optional)

You will investigate the interactions within and between ecosystems together with the influence of stakeholders on the management of such habitats. The influence of access and other legislative processes will be considered on the development and resulting habitats through a series of field visits.

Year Three

Dissertation

This module provides an opportunity to develop research skills and gain valuable experience in project management and research dissemination. A key component of all research is considering who the intended audience is, and how the findings will be disseminated.

Researching Environmental Change: Field-course

Allows you to critically explore an aspect of the key geographical issue of environmental change within a field trip. You will spend two days engaging in introductory tutor-led context and fieldwork, before designing, executing, and reporting a small research project during the field course.

Science and Politics of Climate Change

Evaluating climate culture will lead to an exploration of how we can most effectively respond to this challenge at local to global scales within multiple environmental contexts.

Creative Cultural Geographies (Optional)

This module provides you with the opportunity to examine critically and creatively what it means to be a cultural geographer. It interrogates geographical practices, methodologies, and approaches to the (re)production, maintenance, and transformation of cultural worlds.

Upland Resource Management (Optional)

The aim of this module is to critically evaluate the complex relationships between resource users and managers in upland environments. We will also have an opportunity to discuss the effectiveness of some solutions and design our own for a known area.

Cold Environments (Optional)

The cryosphere is one of the most sensitive (and influential) elements of our global climate system, responding to, and driving rapid climate changes. This module aims to give you an advanced understanding of the processes and explore the broader significance of the cryosphere for humans and Earth.

Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing (Optional)

The aim of this module is to provide students with the skills and knowledge to plan and implement projects using GIS and remote sensing to solve issues in the fields of conservation and natural resources management.

Aquatic and Catchment Resource Management (Optional)

This module aims to provide you with an opportunity to undertake an independent piece of in-depth research into a topic of your choice that is related to the fields of animal conservation science and conservation biology.

Contemporary Global Conservation (Optional)

Students will critically evaluate the application of ecological processes within the context of conservation and sustainability. Where possible the module will be delivered in context to allow specificity, pragmatism, and depth.

How You Will Be Assessed

Throughout your program, your theoretical knowledge and practical skills will be assessed through a range of methods. These may include:

• Fieldwork and laboratory reports
• Roleplay to simulate real-world situations
• Essays or reports
• Group-work.

Assessment schedules are posted online at the beginning of the year. Some assessments will require individual work, while others will include working with classmates in small groups.

On This Course You Will...

• Study geography at the University of Cumbria in the Lake District, the UK's only university campus in a UNESCO World Heritage Site – unbeatable natural surroundings that enable you to live your geography degree.
• Be taught by experienced and passionate lecturers, who will encourage you to learn by doing.
• Have access to up-to-date technology used in the modern workplace, including advanced Geographical Information Systems and remote sensing.
• Learn to solve large global challenges and local issues like small-scale flood management, boosting your problem-solving skills.
• Embark on exhilarating field trips and dive into real-world opportunities as you collaborate with top employers, to grow your network and gain invaluable hands-on experience!