Geography

Our Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) accredited BSc Geography programme covers themes which include glaciology, climate and weather science, earth observation, using satellite data to study environmental change, volcanology and earth sciences.

Geography at Swansea Offers:

• A flexible degree path that you can customise by choosing from a mixture of human and physical geography modules.

• The opportunity to study abroad for a year, or work in industry.

• A strong emphasis on fieldwork. We take advantage of the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Nature Beauty (now the Gower National Landscape) on our doorstep, and Wales’ nearby national parks for regular, local field trips.

• Field courses in the second and third year that give you the chance to carry out fieldwork in Europe and North America, as well as specialised field modules to Asia, with low-carbon options that explore the Isles of Scilly.

Course Modules

Typically, modules in Year 1 have included several compulsory modules covering topics such as global environmental change, people place and nation, global shifts and sustainability. You will then choose from optional modules covering geographical skills and methods, writing skills and personal development planning and practical field projects, and topics such as mobilities and migration, urban geography and geology.
In Year 2, you'll choose from a range of optional modules which have typically included data analysis, approaches to human and physical geography, and conducting social and environmental research. You'll study topics such as geographic information systems, glacial environments and processes, creative geographies, quaternary environmental change, regional economic development and policy, boundaries and connections, global vegetation patterns and dynamics, political geographies, urban modelling and geological record of past environments. You'll also have an opportunity to take part in an overseas field trip.
In Year 3, you'll undertake your dissertation and choose from a range of optional modules covering topics such as migration, security and humanism, contemporary rural Britain, geographies of national identity, glaciology, humid tropical environments and landscapes, meteorology and atmospheric science, plate tectonics and global geophysics, World cities, environmental modelling and the climate of the last 1,000 years. You may also have the opportunity to undertake an interdisciplinary field trip to the Indian Himalayas (Sikkim).

On the BSc Geography course you will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, practical classes and field classes. You will be assessed through a variety of methods, including examinations, coursework, practical work, fieldwork and continuous assessment from tutorials. You will also complete a dissertation in Year Three.