Geography

Geography is key to understanding and resolving many of the most pressing problems faced by society, including climate change, poverty, energy transitions, sustainable development and environmental conservation. Our degree programmes reflect these modern-day challenges, with core and optional courses aimed at producing highly skilled graduates who can think critically and develop solutions to tackle these problems.

Human Geography at Aberdeen is ranked 1st in the UK for student satisfaction by the 2024 National Student Survey, with an overall satisfaction score of 100%.

Our teaching is research-led, delivered by staff who are actively investigating some of the most important problems facing the world today – problems with social and environmental dimensions which geographical knowledge can help us understand and resolve.

In the First Year of your Geography degree, you will study two courses that provide an introduction to Geography in all its diversity. Both courses incorporate a workgroup programme alongside a lecture series covering aspects of Human and Physical Geography.

• Creating the Anthropocene reflects upon the role humans have played in creating the Anthropocene (the epoch we are now living in) and modifying the world we currently live in.

• The UN Sustainable Development Goals looks at how we address the contemporary global challenges that we are facing today. This course builds on the Anthropocene, and introduces the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as a global call for action.

In Second Year and Third Year, you will begin specialising in the areas of Geography that most interest you or align with your career aspirations. In the Fourth Year, you will pursue an individual piece of geographical research in your Dissertation Project, often field-based, and choose courses that reflect the truly cutting-edge research strengths of the Department of Geography and the Environment in Aberdeen.

BSc or MA?
At Aberdeen, you can choose to study Geography through either the Bachelor of Science (BSc) or Master of Arts (MA) degree programmes. The main difference between the BSc and MA programmes is the other subjects you will study alongside Geography. For the BSc, these will be mainly science subjects, while MA students can choose subsidiary courses from across the humanities and social sciences. Both the BSc and MA Geography degrees are accredited by the Royal Geographical Society.

Course Modules

View all modules on the programme page to find out more about what you will be studying and when. University of Aberdeen modules are designed to give you breadth and depth to your degree. The range of modules you study will allow you to become proficient in all subjects which are directly relevant to your degree giving you greater career options.

The use of various forms of assessment and learning environments facilitates the development of generic transferable skills enhancing student employability.

Students are assessed by any combination of three assessment methods: coursework such as essays and reports completed throughout the course; practical assessments of the skills and competencies they learn on the course; and written examinations at the end of each course. The exact mix of these methods differs between subject areas, years of study and individual courses.

Honours projects are typically assessed on the basis of a written dissertation.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Royal Geographical Society