Geography (with integrated foundation year)

Why study Geography (with integrated foundation year) at Aberystwyth University?

Set on the coast of Cardigan Bay and surrounded by a great diversity of beautiful environments, including marine, moorland, mountain and grassland, the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth is uniquely placed to make the most of the stunning landscapes that surround it, providing you with a fabulous variety of fieldwork and recreational opportunities. This degree will equip you with the skills, abilities and expertise to face and engage with the challenges facing society today.

We offer a broad range of fieldwork opportunities including a free trip at the beginning of the first year. In the second year we offer a range of trips to suit a variety of specialisms and budgets. Previous destinations have included Crete, Berlin, and a free, low-carbon trip to Mid and South Wales. Optional day trips are also embedded in many modules throughout your degree.

Opportunities for Geography students at Aberystwyth include:

• being taught by world-leading researchers in their respective fields throughout your course
• use of exceptional facilities for laboratory work in chemical and physical analysis (for example, for soils, water quality and pollen work), social investigation and data processing.

As a large dynamic Geography community we are able to offer you an extremely broad range of geographical specialisms, opportunities and facilities:

• River catchment processes
• Glaciology
• Biogeography
• Quaternary Environmental change
• Current trends in Geohazards
• Urban sustainability
• Regional Development
• Political and Cultural geography
• Fieldwork opportunities in New Zealand, Crete, New York, and Ireland
• Travel awards available each year to fund your own adventures (up to £400)
• State of the art teaching facilities with the latest technology to enhance learning
• Fully stocked laboratories with an array of analytical instruments e.g. mass spectrometers and core scanners of which can be used for fieldwork and independent study.

Our Staff

Department of Geography and Earth Science: lecturers are all qualified to PhD level or working towards a PhD.

Employability is embedded within all our courses. Our degrees provide a solid foundation for a vast array of careers across a range of sectors. In a rapidly shifting global economy, our graduates are adaptable and able to draw on a range of transferable skills, ensuring that they are always in demand. Our graduates have, for example, found employment as environmental consultants, planners, civil servants, surveyors, and in education to name a few.

Studying Geography also equips students with the following skill sets:

• Enhanced mathematical and computational skills
• Effective problem solving and creative thinking skills
• Information technology skills
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Time-management, organisational skills
• Communication skills both written and oral
• Self-motivation and self-reliance.

What will I learn?

The breakdown below will provide you with an illustration of what you may study during the four-year degree scheme.

In the first foundation year, you will be introduced to the following:

• Academic Skills Foundation 1&2
• Critical Thinking and Research Skills
• Foundation - Dialogue
• Learning Experience.

In your second year, you will be introduced to:

• Conflict and Change: the Making of Urban and Rural Spaces *
• Earth Surface Environments *
• Living with Global Change *
• Place and Identity
• Researching the World: Data Collection and Analysis
• How to Build a Planet *.

In your third year you will develop further in:

• Geographical Information Systems
• Concepts for Geographers
• Geography Fieldwork *
• Physical Analysis of Natural Materials
• Frozen Planet
• Catchment Systems *
• Placing Politics *
• Placing Culture
• Sustainable Society
• Geohazards *
• Researching People and Place *.

In your final year:

• You will undertake an independent research project involving collection, analysis and interpretation of your own data
• You will be allocated your own advisor who will provide expert guidance
• Optional modules as diverse as glaciology, hydrology, volcanic hazards, past climate change, urbanisation, and rural change will enable you to tailor your study to suit your interests.

How will I be taught?

Our courses are taught through lectures, seminars, laboratory and computer practical classes, small group tutorials, field courses and individual supervision of project work.

How will I be assessed?

We assess our students through a different range of methods. Some modules are assessed in part through traditional exams, but some have elements of coursework. We also have some modules that may require the student to produce practical reports, oral presentations, the design of web pages, production of short films, or contribution to online discussion forums. Some modules, notably the tutorials and field courses are assessed entirely through coursework. 

* also available partially or entirely through the medium of Welsh.