Geography BSc(Hons)

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We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

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Top reasons to choose this course

• Professional accreditation from the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)
• Learn field skills on frequent day trips and residential field trips.
• Travel and accommodation included in the fees for mandatory residential trips to locations such as Wales and Sicily (go to the fees and costs section for more info).
• Work experience throughout the course including the option of a placement year.
• Option to specialise in sustainability and climate change, geomorphology and landscape change, and social and political geography.
• Build professional skills in geospatial data analysis, environmental impact assessment and planning.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through Student View.

Year 1

The first year introduces key themes in physical, human and environmental geography, with core modules that cover the physical forces of landscape change, the impacts of environmental change on the physical and human environments and the effect that humans have on environmental processes.

Modules

• Academic Learning for Geography and Environmental Studies

  This module will introduce you to academic study, observational and transferable skills for geographers, environmental managers and environmental scientists. You'll be supported in how to learn at university, and in particular, with learning independently. You'll also be introduced to survey design where you'll learn questionnaire and other survey design techniques as your first step towards independent research design.

• Exploring Environments: An Introduction to Geographical and Environmental Fieldwork

  On this module you'll undertake a UK-based residential field course over three working days, supported by lectures and workshops. You'll take part in intensive study and field research skills training in different field environments. Themes that you'll cover include physical geography, environmental geography/ecology and human geography, with an introduction to risk assessment, research ethics and working across difference. 

• Statistical and Spatial Data Analysis

  This module introduces techniques used to analyse geographical and environmental data in both the academic and professional worlds. You'll develop the skills and abilities needed to display data graphically and visually, and to assess patterns/relationships through statistical testing, and geospatial display and analysis. You'll become a competent user of statistical software to support and hone your skills, and in the use and application of geospatial/remote sensing data and associated geographical information systems (GIS) software packages.

• Global Challenges: Climate Change and Environmental Degradation

  On this module you'll explore global environmental challenges from natural science and social science case perspectives. Case studies will introduce you to topical and current environmental challenges and you'll examine how some issues may be addressed through interdisciplinary management and mitigation. Alongside lectures, you'll take part in workshops where you'll look at research on contemporary issues that has been developed by students and small group engagement that will help you to deepen your thinking around the subject.

• Fundamentals of Physical Geography

  This module provides a theoretical and practical introduction to azonal (tectonic, climatic, hydrological, fluvial, coastal, slope, aeolian, and biogeographical) and zonal (glacial and periglacial) physical geographical systems. You will examine the ways in which these systems interact with and influence human activities, both at the present day and over archaeological timescales.

• Human Geography

  This module provides a critical introduction to key themes in human geography. You will develop an appreciation of geographical concepts such as nature, space, place and scale through consideration of geographies of global political-economic change, past and contemporary cultural geographies and geographical imaginations, and social geographies of everyday life.

Year 2

Year 2 is where you start to explore the subjects that interest you most by choosing option modules. To support your studies, core modules develop your employability and professional skills, and you'll work on your investigative and analytical field skills.

Core modules

• Earth Surface Processes
• Professional Practice for Global Challenges
• Research Design and Advanced Data Analysis
• Geography and Environment International Field Work

Options*

• Sustainable Futures
• Environmental Pollution
• Political and Economic Geography
• Social Justice in Cultural Spaces
• GIS and Remote Sensing: Principles and Practice
• Ice Age Earth

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Placement year

A placement year offers you a great opportunity to:

• build knowledge of real-world businesses and organisations
• develop existing skills and discover new ones
• make contacts in industry and commerce
• increase your confidence
• improve your time management.

In recent years, our students have been successful in competing for nationally advertised positions with the Department for Energy and Climate Change, Transport for London and the Field Studies Council.

Other students have secured placements with environmental firms and consultancies, a multi-national telecommunications company and a renewable energy research centre in Spain.

Final year 

The focus for your final year is your independent dissertation. You will work closely with an expert academic to investigate a topic of your choice, applying the research methods and analytical skills covered in the first two years of your course.

Option modules enable you to tailor your programme of study to support your dissertation and your future career aspirations.

Core module

• Dissertation

Options*

• Humans of Ice Age Britain
• Geographies of Genders and Sexualities
• Community Placement
• Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing
• Atmosphere, Weather and Climate
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• The Frozen Planet
• Water, Sanitation and Health
• Political Ecology: Contested Environments
• Confronting Coloniality and Racism: Political Geographies of Territory and Security
• Current Topics in Aquatic Environments

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Meet the team

Dr Lorna Linch, course leader

As well as being course leader for Geography BSc(Hons) I am involved in teaching several modules for the Geography and Environment courses from Foundation through to Masters level. My main teaching interests are in glacial and periglacial processes and geomorphology; palaeoglaciology and reconstructing Quaternary environments; glacial pollutants and contaminants; and sedimentology and micromorphology.

There are two main things I enjoy most about teaching: to inspire students to want to learn about the environment and to be curious about science; and to help students reach their full potential and achieve the best results they can – this may require a little extra support or guidance, and that is what I am here to help with. 

I also enjoy teaching in the field where my students can get hands-on and see real world examples. I use a variety of innovative, interactive, blended learning techniques in lectures and practical classes, such as virtual reality field trips, videos, Q&As, quizzes, pair/group work etc., as well as through personal tutorials.

Find out more about Dr Linch

Find out about the rest of the course team

• Professor James Ebdon
• Professor David Nash
• Dr Georgios Maniatis
• Dr Matthew Brolly
• Dr Kevin Wyche

Course fees

If you choose to take the professional placement (sandwich) year offered on this course you will pay a reduced fee during this year. Our fee for the professional placement year is £1,500 for UK students and £2,280 for international students. This fee may be subject to small increases, in line with inflation.

Fee information for this course for 2025 entry will be updated here no later than December 2024.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2024–25.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Brighton Boost – cost of living help for our new undergrad students. Find out about how we can help with your study, accommodation or travel costs and more...
• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international undergraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• Read our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf) for more on University of Brighton tuition fees.

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