Physical Geography

About the course

First Year

In your first year, you will develop and deepen your understanding of sustainability, the organisation of space and place, the geological evolution of Earth, and the functioning of our global environment. We will also spend time developing your research skills using geographic information systems, data analysis, surveying and map work. Our field course, a week-long residential currently held in the English Lake District, forms a central part of your first year studies.

Second Year

You’ll visit the Swiss Alps at the start of your second year, developing your research skills. You will then develop your understanding of Earth surface processes and landforms. Areas of optional study include perspectives on global change, and geospatial information.

Final Year

Your individual research project will be the key focus of your final year studies.

This is complemented by modules that focus on developing your understanding of Glaciology and hydrogeomorphology. Optional areas of study are offered in natural hazards and disaster reduction, as well as in the area of geospatial information. 

Why choose this course?

Our physical geography degree is aimed at students with a strong interest in understanding our world from natural and environmental science based perspectives. Our flexible course structures also allow you to transfer between our geography programmes depending on how your interests develop. Practical application and fieldwork learning is at the core of this course, supported by our own specialist field station, dedicated laboratories, and facilities for geographical information analysis.

Study routes

• Part Time,
• Sandwich,

Locations

• University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Careers

Geography graduates are highly sought after in a wide range of professions.

Our graduates have found successful careers in a variety of sectors including:

• Local government
• Recreational and habitat management organisations
• Environmental consultancy,
• Teaching
• Broader graduate recruitment schemes
• Postgraduate study.

Graduates may like to consider further study for example in the University of Hertfordshire's MSc courses in Environmental Management

Teaching methods

You will develop your capacity for independent study and interpersonal skills on this programme. There is an emphasis on structured research, well-prepared written and verbal presentations and computer literacy.

You will experience a wide variety of teaching styles on the programme including:

• standard lectures
• seminars
• tutorials
• laboratories
• case studies
• individual and group projects

In your final year you will normally have the opportunity to hone your independent study and interpersonal skills by undertaking a major project or dissertation

Work Placement

You have the opportunity to take a work placement or study abroad for a year before your final year. These optional placements will enhance your future career prospects. Successful completion of your placement may also lead to the Licentiateship of the City and Guilds Institute

Structure

Year 1

Core Modules

• Sustainable Futures

  Topics that may be covered include: environmental concern and the green movement; the environmental spectrum; concepts of sustainable development; Agenda 21 and Local Agenda 21; industrial development and sustainability, sustainable development and waste, sustainable development and water; sustainable development and energy; sustainable development and agriculture; sustainable development and the developing world; and the cost of going green.

• Graduate and Professional Skills 1 - GE

  Students will complete assignments, within their discipline of choice, that include opportunities for development of their personal transferable skills. They will reflect on their development with the assistance of a personal tutor and will produce a portfolio of evidence based on the set assignments and wider experience such as from the work place or other areas of responsibility. Skills assessed are: autonomy and taking responsibility for themselves (A); group working (GW), oral and written communication (COM), information management (IM), problem solving (PS), numeracy (NUM), self evaluation and reflective practice (SERP).

• Ecosystems and Environmental Change

  *ecological processes and climate/vegetation patterns *structure and functioning of selected ecosystems (UK focus) e.g. woodlands , grasslands, agro-ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems *human influences on ecosystems,including examples of management *selected approaches to conservation of ecosystems and species *handling of ecological data, descriptive statistics

• Investigative Skills and Techniques

  The course introduces the basic approaches and methods used in a range of scientific studies, including data handling/presentation and data analysis. Students will undertake a range of appropriate practical sessions enabling practical skills to be developed. Topics that may be covered include: research approaches, experimental design, hypothesis-testing, mapping, data analysis (eg. Data transformation, relationships between variables, probability and confidence limits, data analysis with non-normally distributed data); social survey techniques; techniques for assessment of environmental impacts.

• Exploring Planet Earth

  This module provides students with an opportunity to explore the Earth s systems. The module provides an account of the history of the Earth, and then considers each of the major environmental systems in turn, focussing on the features and processes that define each system. Students will be able to develop an understanding of how the different systems interact and the importance of these interactions for shaping the surface of the Earth and its biological communities. The implication of environmental change on human activities is a central theme throughout the module.

• Dynamic Earth

  The aims of this module are to enable students to understand the dynamic processes that produce rocks and geological structures, and be able to recognise them in the laboratory and in the field. The evolution of the Earth and the importance of plate tectonics in the formation of rocks and geological structures will be studied, together with introductory igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic petrology. The module will also consider weathering, erosion, transport and deposition of Earth surface materials and the dynamic endogenic and exogenic processes that impact on anthropogenic activities.

• Geographies of Governance

  The module provides an introduction to the framework of society with a particular relationship between people and their environment (human space at a range of geographical scales from local to global) helping you to place Hertfordshire and the UK within broader geographical spaces and tiers of governance. Through lectures, field visits, workshops and problem based group learning students explore the interaction of people with the environment and will develop an understanding of the approaches adopted by geographers towards governing and planning human space and society. Lectures will introduce the structure of the UK planning system whilst also looking at European and Global governance and development. Students will have the opportunity to study a range of social and spatial issues and conflicts within human space

• Mapping Human Geographies

  Students will receive an introduction to the scope of the geographical enquiry at degree level. This will necessarily include an introduction to the philosophical and historical development of geography as an academic discipline and an introduction to the key ideas and concepts. An introduction to cartographic thought and techniques, landscape assessment, observational skills and Geographical Information Systems will be provided as the module covers various spatial perspectives, both historical and contemporary within geography.

• Introduction to Field Research

  This module includes a residential field course to a UK location. The module will cover a range of topics that may include cultural geography, biodiversity, geology, geomorphology, ecology, climate change and tourism impacts. Underpinning theory and linkage to wider research contexts are introduced in the lectures. Staff-led and student-led data collection methods are introduced and undertaken in the field. Students are then introduced to the analysis and synthesis of this field information through class and IT-lab sessions both during and after the field course.

Optional

Fees & funding

Discounts are available for International students if payment is made in full at registration

View detailed information about tuition fees

Additional course costs

his course offers fantastic opportunities for field work which gives students the chance to study the human, environmental and physical interactions in both a UK and European setting.

As a part of this course students will be going on compulsory field trips and will have to pay a fee prior to the trip.

- The Lake District will cost £250 (first year)

- Switzerland will cost £350 (second year)

This covers transport and accommodation and also includes full board (breakfast, packed lunch and hot evening meal). These trips are subsidised by the University giving students a discounted rate.

EVS handsets are required for this course at a cost of £40

For those that choose to take the Development and Tourism module in the final year there is a compulsory trip to Spain at the cost of £350

The Natural Hazards module also has a field trip which costs £80

There is a further trip that is compulsory if you choose the Rural Change module or Country recreation Management which costs  £35 each.

Other financial support

Find out more about other financial support available to UK and EU students

Living costs / accommodation

The University of Hertfordshire offers a great choice of student accommodation, on campus or nearby in the local area, to suit every student budget.

View detailed information about our accommodation

How to apply