About this course
Develop an in-depth understanding of the processes that created the physical world in this hands-on, BSc Geography course.
If you have an interest in physical geography and enjoy the breadth of the discipline, this degree is ideal. It will prepare you for work in a range of fields, from economic development to environmental management, engineering or finance.
Explore and study a range of human-impacted environments while you address current and future sustainability challenges. You’ll learn how to 'read' a landscape, analyse geographical data, and use satellite images to understand our dynamic and changeable world.
As part of this course, you can:
- study specialist computing and geographical information systems
- undertake fieldwork trips to places like Tenerife, Switzerland, and Cambodia
- use specialist facilities including a purpose-built teaching lab and research-grade field equipment
- enhance your degree by studying one of 33 different minor subjects in an unrelated academic area (e.g. you can graduate with a degree in BSc Geography with Applied Economics)
- discover a new culture by studying abroad for a semester at one of our partner institutions, including Canada and Australia
- boost your employability by spending a year in employment
You’ll analyse environments, ranging from coastal to volcanic, as you discover how past climate change might hold the key to our planet's future.
During your second year, you'll spend a week in Tenerife with your peers. Here, you'll learn about life on a volcanic island and how to design and execute your own field project. This is compulsory, and there's no cost to attend.
We use the latest research to underpin our teaching. Our small-group approach means you'll spend plenty of time with academics and fellow students.
The wide variety of module choice combines theory modules, practical fieldwork (both locally and abroad) and project work. You can shape the course to your personal interests or career plans by choosing from optional subjects such as:
- glaciers
- global water resources
- desert landscapes
- coastal and human interactions
- climate change
You'll carry out an individual research project with an academic supervisor, which will develop sought-after skills and knowledge.
We regularly review our courses to ensure and improve quality. This course may be revised as a result of this. Any revision will be balanced against the requirement that the student should receive the educational service expected. Find out why, when, and how we might make changes.
Our courses are regulated in England by the Office for Students (OfS).
Course location
This course is based at Highfield.
Awarding body
This qualification is awarded by the University of Southampton.
Download the Course Description Document
The Course Description Document details your course overview, your course structure and how your course is taught and assessed.
Entry requirements
For Academic year 202526
A-levels
AAB if no prefered subjects are included or ABB if one or more preferred subjects are included.
A-levels additional information
Preferred subjects are Geography, Biology, Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Environmental Science, Geology and Politics. Offers typically exclude General Studies and Critical Thinking.
A-levels with Extended Project Qualification
If you are taking an EPQ in addition to 3 A levels, your offer will be; ABB and Grade A in the EPQ, if no prefered subjects are included or BBB and Grade A in the EPQ, if one or more preferred subjects are included.
A-levels contextual offer
We are committed to ensuring that all applicants with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise an applicant's potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme.
International Baccalaureate Diploma
Pass, with minimum 34 points overall with 17 points at Higher Level if no prefered subject taken at Higher Level or Pass, with minimum 32 points overall with 16 points at Higher Level if one or more prefered subjects taken at Higher Level.
International Baccalaureate Diploma additional information
Preferred subjects are Geography, Biology, Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Environmental Science, Geology and Politics.
International Baccalaureate contextual offer
We are committed to ensuring that all learners with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise a learner’s potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme.
International Baccalaureate Career Programme (IBCP) statement
Offers will be made on the individual Diploma Course subject(s) and the career-related study qualification. The CP core will not form part of the offer. Where there is a subject pre-requisite(s), applicants will be required to study the subject(s) at Higher Level in the Diploma course subject and/or take a specified unit in the career-related study qualification. Applicants may also be asked to achieve a specific grade in those elements. Please see the University of Southampton International Baccalaureate Career-Related Programme (IBCP) Statement for further information. Applicants are advised to contact their Faculty Admissions Office for more information.
BTEC
DDD in the BTEC Extended Diploma. DD in BTEC Diploma plus A in A-level subject or DD in BTEC Diploma plus B in a preferred A-Level subject. D in the BTEC Subsidiary Diploma plus A A from 2 A-level subjects or D in the Subsidiary Diploma plus AB from 2 A-level subjects including at least one preferred subject.
RQF BTEC
We are committed to ensuring that all learners with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise a learner’s potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme.
Additional information
BTEC Extended Diploma must be in a relevant subject area
QCF BTEC
DDD in the BTEC Extended Diploma. DD in BTEC Diploma plus A in A-level subject or DD in BTEC Diploma plus B in a preferred A-Level subject. D in the BTEC Subsidiary Diploma plus A A from 2 A-level subjects or D in the Subsidiary Diploma plus AB from 2 A-level subjects including at least one preferred subject.
We are committed to ensuring that all learners with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise a learner’s potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme.
Access to HE Diploma
60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at Level 3, of which 39 must be at Distinction and 6 credits at Merit or 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at Level 3, or which 30 must be a Distinction and 15 credits at Merit if a preferred subject.
Irish Leaving Certificate
Irish Leaving Certificate (first awarded 2017)
H1 H2 H2 H2 H2 H2 if no preferred subject is included or H1 H2 H2 H2 H3 H3 if one or more preferred subjects included.
Irish Leaving Certificate (first awarded 2016)
A2 A2 A2 A2 B1 B1 if no preferred subject is included or A2 A2 B1 B1 B1 B1 if one or more preferred subjects included
Irish certificate additional information
Preferred subjects are Geography, Biology, Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Environmental Science, Geology and Politics.
Scottish Qualification
Offers will be based on exams being taken at the end of S6. Subjects taken and qualifications achieved in S5 will be reviewed. Careful consideration will be given to an individual’s academic achievement, taking in to account the context and circumstances of their pre-university education.
Please see the University of Southampton’s Curriculum for Excellence Scotland Statement (PDF) for further information. Applicants are advised to contact their Faculty Admissions Office for more information.
Cambridge Pre-U
D3 D3 M2 if no prefered subject included or D3 M2 M2 if one or more preferred subject is included.
Cambridge Pre-U additional information
Cambridge Pre-U's can be used in combination with other qualifications such as A Levels to achieve the equivalent of the typical offer where grade D3 can be used in lieu of grade A or M2 can be used in lieu of grade B. Preferred subjects are Geography, Biology, Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Environmental Science, Geology and Politics.
Welsh Baccalaureate
AAB from 3 A Levels if no prefered subjects are included or AA from 2 A levels if one or more preferred subjects are included and B from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate. or ABB from 3 A Levels if one or more preferred subjects are included. or AB from 2 A levels if one or more preferred subjects are included and B from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate.
Welsh Baccalaureate additional information
Preferred subjects are Geography, Biology, Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Environmental Science, Geology and Politics. Offers typically exclude General Studies and Critical Thinking.
Welsh Baccalaureate contextual offer
We are committed to ensuring that all learners with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise a learner’s potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme.
T-Level
An overall distinction with grade A in the core element in the Science T-Level
Other requirements
GCSE requirements
Applicants must hold GCSE English language (or GCSE English) and Mathematics at minimum grade 4/C.
Find the equivalent international qualifications for our entry requirements.
English language requirements
If English isn't your first language, you'll need to complete an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to demonstrate your competence in English. You'll need all of the following scores as a minimum:
IELTS score requirements
- overall score
- 6.5
- reading
- 6.0
- writing
- 6.0
- speaking
- 6.0
- listening
- 6.0
We accept other English language tests. Find out which English language tests we accept.
If you don’t meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.
You might meet our criteria in other ways if you do not have the qualifications we need. Find out more about:
- our Ignite your Journey scheme for students living permanently in the UK (including residential summer school, application support and scholarship)
- skills you might have gained through work or other life experiences (otherwise known as recognition of prior learning)
Find out more about our Admissions Policy.
Got a question?
Please contact our enquiries team if you're not sure that you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.
Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000
Course structure
This degree consists of a set of core and compulsory modules and a selection of optional modules. You can choose your options from:
- geography
- related disciplines such as environmental science, geology, oceanography, sociology and politics
- other subjects, such as modern languages
A major part of all our degree programmes is the research project. This involves personal fieldwork or documentary research, in the UK or abroad. You'll develop your topic with a member of staff who will give ongoing supervision. You'll start the project in your second year, and complete it in your final year.
Year 1 overview
This year provides a broad academic foundation in physical and human geography. Statistical and computing skills are also an important element in the early part of the degree.
You'll study a module called 'Dangerous Worlds'. This module explores aspects of climate change, including:
- risks
- exposure
- vulnerability
- resilience
- sustainability
You'll also attend an in-depth, non-residential field course within the UK, looking at both physical and human geography topics.
There is a wide choice of optional modules.
Year 2 overview
You'll take core modules in physical geography. You can learn about remote sensing for earth observation or global water resources.
The highlight is the second year field course, where you will spend a full week in Tenerife with your peers learning about everything from life on a volcanic island (volcanology, biodiversity, hazards and natural resources) to how to design and execute your own field project. This is compulsory and there is no cost to attend.
Beyond the core modules, there are a wide range of other options to choose from. For example, you can learn the basic concepts and techniques behind geographic information systems.
You'll also go on an overseas field course to explore physical environments. Here, you'll get hands-on experience of collecting, analysing and presenting data.
You can take up to 2 modules outside geography. For example, you could explore:
- environmental impact assessment
- global health issues
- social enterprise
Year 3 overview
You'll have a broad range of advanced options to choose from. These are based on the research interests of academic staff, and bring you to the frontier of current knowledge in geography.
You'll also have the option to travel further afield to Switzerland and Cambodia.
Whether fluvial processes, urban geography or health care provision fascinate you, you'll get a sense of cutting-edge issues and debate.
You will also complete a research project in your final year.
Want more detail? See all the modules in the course.
Modules
The modules outlined provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. As a research-led University, we undertake a continuous review of our course to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand. Find out why, when and how we might make changes.
For entry in academic year 2025 to 2026
Year 1 modules
You must study the following modules in year 1:
A Global World
The module aims to introduce students to the broad topic of globalisation. As a team-taught module, specific topics may change with occasional changes to the teaching team. At the time of writing, specific topics include: trade and the global economy (e.g...
Dynamic Landscapes
To give the student a basic knowledge of the main geomorphological processes involved in the shaping of the landscape. Pre-requisite of GEOG3020/GGES13. One of the pre-requisites for GEOG2032/GGES2011, and GEOG3057/GGES3019.
Exploring Urban and Natural Environments
Explorers visit and observe different places in order to further understand the physical and cultural phenomena they encounter. This module will introduce you to methods enabling you to explore physical and human environments, in order to collect data wh...
First Year Fieldcourse
The purpose of the module is to develop students’ ability to undertake field research in geography by practice-based learning on a fieldtrip and associated lectures. The module will give practical experience of carrying out research to ensure practical...
Geographies of Risk
The module will explore risk, hazard, exposure, vulnerability, resilience, and sustainability, all in the context of climate change: how these concepts relate to the Earth's physical and ecological systems, and to cultural and socio-economic structures of...
Principles of Geography
This module aims to explore the historical development, nature and importance of Geography as a field of study, as well engaging with recent developments around what it means to be a Geographer today. It will introduce students to the key academic skills...
Society, Culture and Space
This module introduces students to social and economic change, cultural diversity and spatial organisation in cities and western societies. The module also provides an introduction to two main fields in human geography - urban geography and social geograp...
The Earth System
The module will look at the challenges posed to human societies living on a dynamic planet and how these societies adapt (or not) to a range of environmental and socio-economic hazards. Pre-requisite for GEOG2006 One of the pre-requisites for GEOG...
Year 2 modules
You must study the following modules in year 2:
Exploring Physical Environments: Overseas Fieldcourse
This module introduces students to field-based Physical Geography research and includes an overseas field component. It gives students hands-on experience at collecting data and the opportunity to practice techniques to analyse and present the data colle...
Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
The module will introduce the concepts and techniques underpinning geographic information systems.
Remote Sensing for Earth Observation
The module will look at the basic theory and practical application of remote sensing for monitoring the terrestrial environment.
Research Project Preparation
This module prepares students to undertake an independent research project as part of their final undergraduate year. In the first section of the module students will participate in a series of workshops covering a range of methods which they may wish to...
You must also choose from the following modules in year 2:
Advanced Geographical Information Systems
The module will look at the conceptual, practical and methodological issues associated with using GIS for environmental and socio-economic applications.
Are you ready for the 100-year life? How should people, business and governments adapt?
Improvements in life expectancy have been one of the major achievements of the twentieth century. Around half of all children born today in the UK are expected to live to celebrate their 100th birthday and two-thirds will celebrate their 90th birthday. Th...
Coastal Landscapes and Human Interactions
Coastal zones represent a small fraction of physical space on the Earth, but they are exceptionally important places to study physical and ecological dynamics of environmental change – in natural and anthropogenic systems, alike. This module examines n...
Cultural Geography
The module will look at key concepts in cultural geography.
Democratic Theory
Most states claim to be democratic. This module looks at the theory of democracy, including foundational questions about political inclusion, participation, and equality. As a result, students will develop a greater understanding of what democracy require...
Discovering our Universe
The aim of the course is to convey the conceptual ideas of our universe to students with no formal physics training. We will progress from Big Bang to our current understanding of the Universe. This journey starts in our Solar System and ends with discove...
Economic Geography
The module will provide a foundation in contemporary economic geography, focusing on the ways in which economic, political and social processes construct the profound diversity of modern economic life.
Emerging and Resilient India
According to the United Nations, India has now overtaken China as the most populous country in the world. Since the introduction of economic liberalisation policies in early 1990s, India has emerged as the world’s sixth largest economy in terms of nominal...
Environmental Impact Assessment
This module examines the process of assessing the potential impacts of major developments on the environment- known worldwide as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The module has two major themes. In the first part of the module emphasis is placed ...
Ethics in Science, Engineering and Technology: Jekyll and Hyde
Starting from the underlying themes in Jekyll and Hyde, wherein a scientific discovery can be seen as having both beneficial (Dr. Jekyll) and detrimental aspects (Mr. Hyde), this module delves into the general area of the ethics and social responsibility ...
Evolution
The module seeks to: - explore the main evolutionary processes - consider evolution at the phenotypic as well as the molecular level - consider evolutionary processes occurring at different time scales
Freshwater Ecosystems
Freshwater Ecosystems initially considers the interplay between the physics, chemistry and biology of freshwater ecosystems. A comparative approach is adopted, in which upland streams, lowland rivers, lakes and other standing freshwater environments are c...
Geohazards
Geopolitics, Borders & Development
The module aims to introduce students to field of critical development and issues related to poverty, inequality, injustice and policy. As a team-taught module, specific topics may change with occasional changes to the teaching team.
Global Climate Change: Science, Impacts and Policy
The topic is addressed from three perspectives: the science of climate change, impact and adaptation, and policy towards adaptation and mitigation. One of the pre-requisites for GGES3019
Global Health
The global health module is an exciting opportunity to examine the factors associated with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases such as the recent outbreak of Ebola and Swine Flu that quickly spread around the world, and non-communicable diseases ...
Global Sustainability Challenges
The global challenge that is 'sustainability' impacts every dimension of all of our lives. Regardless of your degree, the social, cultural, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability have important implications for your studies, your daily ...
Global Tipping Points
This module will explore how humans have been impacting the planet over recent millennia, and how more recently the increased impacts are leading to tipping points in many global systems, from biogeophysical to social. As such the module will discuss a ra...
Intercultural Communication in a Global World
In a world of fast and easy communication, we are increasingly working and studying alongside people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Understanding our intercultural encounters allows us to develop awareness of ourselves and others, as ...
Introduction to Energy in The Environment
Is it necessary -- and is it possible -- for the UK and other countries to make the change from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources? And what sort of changes would be involved, on a global, national and personal scale? Is there any one renewable ener...
Introduction to Teachers and Teaching
This module will develop your critical knowledge and understanding of aspects of the work and lives of teachers in schools and relate this to your own experience. You will develop an understanding of key themes relating to teachers, teaching and classroo...
Life in the Cosmos
Are we really alone in the Universe? That's a question that has been asked across the centuries and is always evolving. The course will discuss all the environmental circumstances that seem to encourage the start of any life form and investigate the c...
Long-term Environmental Change
GGES2004 examines long-term environmental change through the period of the glacial-interglacial cycles. These dramatic shifts in Earth's systems are fascinating to study because they show us how the environment reacted to rapid climate change in the past ...
Pure and Applied Population Ecology
This module builds on the basic principles of population ecology introduced in year 1, to achieve a broad appreciation of current theory and practice in population and community ecology. Lectures and practicals will explore the processes involved in the d...
Social Enterprise
This is an interactive and practical module aiming to inspire students to social enterprise and entrepreneurship by giving them an experiential introduction to human centred design processes. The emphasis in this module is on the translation of knowled...
Urban Geography
This module provides an introduction to the sub-discipline of urban geography and the topics and approaches it covers, including urbanisation, urban development, urban policy, current urban challenges, and current debates in urban geography.
Water Pollution
An understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes involved during contamination of air, water and soil is essential if society is going to effectively monitor and control the effects of pollution using modern technology and engineering p...
Water, People and Environment: Cambodia Field Course
The major river systems that drain the Himalayas provide water that sustains the lives and livelihoods of a significant proportion of the global population, but a variety of pressures, including population growth, the motivation to stimulate economic deve...
Year 3 modules
You must study the following module in year 3:
You must also choose from the following modules in year 3:
Adapting to Climate Change and Weather Hazards
GGES3019 is a multidisciplinary unit designed for students with an interest in how individuals and societies understand and respond to environmental shocks and stresses, and their different capacities for adaptation. The focus of the module is on climate ...
Advanced Arid Environments Field Course (Namibia)
This advanced field course module is delivered as a residential fieldcourse to Namibia (primarily based at the Gobabeb Namib Research Institute). It is designed for students interested in all aspects of physical geography and environmental change, but wi...
Advanced Geographical Information Systems
The module will look at the conceptual, practical and methodological issues associated with geospatial analysis for environmental and socio-economic applications.
Applied GIS: Using GIS in the Workplace
This module will provide students with the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills required for developing their own GIS-based projects, either as standalone analysis or as part of a larger piece of work for both environmental and social applications....
Are you ready for the 100-year life? How should people, business and governments adapt?
Improvements in life expectancy have been one of the major achievements of the twentieth century. Around half of all children born today in the UK are expected to live to celebrate their 100th birthday and two-thirds will celebrate their 90th birthday. Th...
Arolla Fieldcourse: Geographical Research in Alpine Environments
To enable students to design efficient and effective field, modelling, laboratory and data analytical approaches to conducting research on a range of physical geographical problems, with a particular focus on mountain environments
Biodiversity and Conservation
This module concerns global biodiversity, what we understand by it and why it is in crisis, and current efforts to conserve and manage it. We begin with an appraisal of different values of diversity at scales from genetic to species, communities and ecosy...
Desert Landscapes: Modelling and Measuring Aeolian Systems
Some of the biggest uncertainties in climate change predictions come from our lack of understanding of the impact of some of the smallest airborne dust particles. These dust particles are transported between continents from some of the hottest and most u...
Discovering our Universe
The aim of the course is to convey the conceptual ideas of our universe to students with no formal physics training. We will progress from Big Bang to our current understanding of the Universe. This journey starts in our Solar System and ends with discove...
Emerging and Resilient India
According to the United Nations, India has now overtaken China as the most populous country in the world. Since the introduction of economic liberalisation policies in early 1990s, India has emerged as the world’s sixth largest economy in terms of nominal...
Environment and Health
Health and the provision of health care are important issues in our everyday lives. Many of the debates surrounding health are inherently spatial in nature and as such geographers are well placed to play an important role in informing research and providi...
Environmental Law and Management
This module will enable students to apply their understanding of environmental problems and assess potential solutions through the application of law, policy, and management. The lecture sessions will introduce and analyse the theoretical development and ...
Environmental Sensing for Real World Geomorphological Challenges
This course seeks to make use of innovative and cutting edge technologies in the field of Earth surface process monitoring to address the real world challenges encountered by commercial and/or governmental organisations. Students on this module will ta...
Ethics in Science, Engineering and Technology: Jekyll and Hyde
Starting from the underlying themes in Jekyll and Hyde, wherein a scientific discovery can be seen as having both beneficial (Dr. Jekyll) and detrimental aspects (Mr. Hyde), this module delves into the general area of the ethics and social responsibility ...
Evolutionary Economic Geography
There has been growing interest in the past few years in how cities and regions respond and adapt to rapid, and often turbulent, economic change, and why some cities and regions appear much more successful than others in coping with and taking advantage o...
Geographies of Nature: food, animals and other nonhuman life
This is a Module not about learning new facts or figures, or necessarily huge swathes of substantive knowledge about food consumption and food production (a dominant theme). Rather it invites you to develop a repertoire of theories and concepts to think c...
Geographies of Social Justice, Welfare and Rights
The module will introduce students to critical geographical themes as they relate to welfare, rights and social justice, including the state and territorialisation, community, confinement, deinstitutionalisation, landscapes of care, fragmentation and loca...
Glaciers in a Changing Climate
To investigate the modern research into glacial processes, to investigate analytical approaches to test contemporary controversial problems and to show how these processes formed the present day landscape
Global Health
The global health module is an exciting opportunity to examine the factors associated with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases such as the recent outbreak of Ebola and Swine Flu that quickly spread around the world, and non-communicable diseases ...
Global Sustainability Challenges
The global challenge that is 'sustainability' impacts every dimension of all of our lives. Regardless of your degree, the social, cultural, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability have important implications for your studies, your daily ...
Intercultural Communication in a Global World
In a world of fast and easy communication, we are increasingly working and studying alongside people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Understanding our intercultural encounters allows us to develop awareness of ourselves and others, as ...
Introduction to Teachers and Teaching
This module will develop your critical knowledge and understanding of aspects of the work and lives of teachers in schools and relate this to your own experience. You will develop an understanding of key themes relating to teachers, teaching and classroo...
Life in the Cosmos
Are we really alone in the Universe? That's a question that has been asked across the centuries and is always evolving. The course will discuss all the environmental circumstances that seem to encourage the start of any life form and investigate the c...
Migration and Development
GGES3020 is a multidisciplinary unit designed for students with an interest in human migration and development and the interaction between the two. The module will emphasise the importance of place and scale in its approach to these themes, although it wi...
Nature Based Solutions
Nature Based Solutions (NBS) – actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems – can play a critical role in mitigating not only climate change, but also increasing other benefits from nature (ecosystem services) that hu...
Palaeoclimate Change
River Basin Management and Restoration
To develop an holistic approach to river basin management and restoration based on an understanding of physical processes and human modification of natural river systems.
Social Enterprise
This is an interactive and practical module aiming to inspire students to social enterprise and entrepreneurship by giving them an experiential introduction to human centred design processes. The emphasis in this module is on the translation of knowled...
Sustainable Resource Management
If we are to address society’s waste problem we need to fully understand the environmental, occupational, public health, technical, fiscal, social, cultural, demographic and political influences on waste collection, reuse, recycling, minimisation and prev...
The Creative Economy
GGES3021 is a module designed for students who are interested in the creative economy and how it is being shaped by geographical processes related to globalisation, digitisation and flexibilisation. The module will cover topics that are central to underst...
The Professional Geographer
The Professional Geographer is a high-level skills practical module. The module aims to help students understand the changing nature of work, the dynamic and diverse labour market for geography graduates and to develop skills, knowledge and experience to ...
Water, People and Environment: Cambodia Field Course
The major river systems that drain the Himalayas provide water that sustains the lives and livelihoods of a significant proportion of the global population, but a variety of pressures, including population growth, the motivation to stimulate economic deve...
Learning and assessment
The learning activities for this course include the following:
- lectures
- classes and tutorials
- coursework
- individual and group projects
- independent learning (studying on your own)
Course time
How you'll spend your course time:
Year 1
Study time
Your scheduled learning, teaching and independent study for year 1:
How we'll assess you
- coursework, laboratory reports and essays
- developing websites
- individual and group projects
- oral presentations
- written and practical exams
Your assessment breakdown
Year 1:
Year 2
Study time
Your scheduled learning, teaching and independent study for year 2:
How we'll assess you
- coursework, laboratory reports and essays
- developing websites
- individual and group projects
- oral presentations
- written and practical exams
Your assessment breakdown
Year 2:
Academic support
You’ll be supported by a personal academic tutor and have access to a senior tutor.
Course leader
Joanna Nield is the course leader.
Careers
You have access to many career choices with geography qualifications. You'll graduate with knowledge and skills that are highly sought after by employers, such as:
- quantitative and qualitative research methods
- statistics
- good communication
- lateral thinking across different social phenomena
Our graduates are always in demand for geography careers in:
- environmental management and consultancy
- urban and rural planning
- GIS
- economic development work
They also find work in a diverse range of fields beyond geography, such as engineering, finance and management.
Careers services at Southampton
We are a top 20 UK university for employability (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022). Our Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise team will support you. This support includes:
- work experience schemes
- CV and interview skills and workshops
- networking events
- careers fairs attended by top employers
- a wealth of volunteering opportunities
- study abroad and summer school opportunities
We have a vibrant entrepreneurship culture and our dedicated start-up supporter, Futureworlds, is open to every student.
Work in industry
You’ll have the opportunity to take a paid year in employment between your second and third year.
Fees, costs and funding
Tuition fees
Fees for a year's study:
- UK students pay £9,250.
- EU and international students pay £29,400.
The Government has recently announced changes to UK tuition fees from September 2025 onwards. We will update our website to reflect this shortly.
What your fees pay for
Your tuition fees pay for the full cost of tuition and standard exams.
Find out how to:
Accommodation and living costs, such as travel and food, are not included in your tuition fees. There may also be extra costs for retake and professional exams.
Explore:
Bursaries, scholarships and other funding
If you're a UK or EU student and your household income is under £25,000 a year, you may be able to get a University of Southampton bursary to help with your living costs. Find out about bursaries and other funding we offer at Southampton.
If you're a care leaver or estranged from your parents, you may be able to get a specific bursary.
Get in touch for advice about student money matters.
Scholarships and grants
You may be able to get a scholarship or grant to help fund your studies.
We award scholarships and grants for travel, academic excellence, or to students from under-represented backgrounds.
Support during your course
The Student Hub offers support and advice on money to students. You may be able to access our Student Support fund and other sources of financial support during your course.
Funding for EU and international students
Find out about funding you could get as an international student.
How to apply
What happens after you apply?
We will assess your application on the strength of your:
- predicted grades
- academic achievements
- personal statement
- academic reference
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- A missing link between continental shelves and the deep sea: Have we underestimated the importance of land-detached canyons?
- A study of rolling contact fatigue in electric vehicles (EVs)
- Acoustic monitoring of forest exploitation to establish community perspectives of sustainable hunting
- Acoustic sensing and characterisation of soil organic matter
- Advancing intersectional geographies of diaspora-led development in times of multiple crises
- Aero engine fan wake turbulence – Simulation and wind tunnel experiments
- Against Climate Change (DACC): improving the estimates of forest fire smoke emissions
- All-in-one Mars in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) system and life-supporting using non-thermal plasma
- An electromagnetic study of the continent-ocean transition southwest of the UK
- An investigation of the relationship between health, home and law in the context of poor and precarious housing, and complex and advanced illness
- Antibiotic resistance genes in chalk streams
- Being autistic in care: Understanding differences in care experiences including breakdowns in placements for autistic and non-autistic children
- Biogeochemical cycling in the critical coastal zone: Developing novel methods to make reliable measurements of geochemical fluxes in permeable sediments
- Bloom and bust: seasonal cycles of phytoplankton and carbon flux
- British Black Lives Matter: The emergence of a modern civil rights movement
- Building physics for low carbon comfort using artificial intelligence
- Building-resolved large-eddy simulations of wind and dispersion over a city scale urban area
- Business studies and management: accounting
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- Carbon storage in reactive rock systems: determining the coupling of geo-chemo-mechanical processes in reactive transport
- Cascading hazards from the largest volcanic eruption in over a century: What happened when Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted in January 2022?
- Characterisation of cast austenitic stainless steels using ultrasonic backscatter and artificial intelligence
- Climate Change effects on the developmental physiology of the small-spotted catshark
- Climate at the time of the Human settlement of the Eastern Pacific
- Collaborative privacy in data marketplaces
- Compatibility of climate and biodiversity targets under future land use change
- Cost of living in modern and fossil animals
- Creative clusters in rural, coastal and post-industrial towns
- Deep oceanic convection: the outsized role of small-scale processes
- Defect categories and their realisation in supersymmetric gauge theory
- Defining the Marine Fisheries-Energy-Environment Nexus: Learning from shocks to enhance natural resource resilience
- Design and fabrication of next generation optical fibres
- Developing a practical application of unmanned aerial vehicle technologies for conservation research and monitoring of endangered wildlife
- Development and evolution of animal biomineral skeletons
- Development of all-in-one in-situ resource utilisation system for crewed Mars exploration missions
- Ecological role of offshore artificial structures
- Effect of embankment and subgrade weathering on railway track performance
- Efficient ‘whole-life’ anchoring systems for offshore floating renewables
- Electrochemical sensing of the sea surface microlayer
- Engagement with nature among children from minority ethnic backgrounds
- Enhancing UAV manoeuvres and control using distributed sensor arrays
- Ensuring the Safety and Security of Autonomous Cyber-Physical Systems
- Environmental and genetic determinants of Brassica crop damage by the agricultural pest Diamondback moth
- Estimating marine mammal abundance and distribution from passive acoustic and biotelemetry data
- Evolution of symbiosis in a warmer world
- Examining evolutionary loss of calcification in coccolithophores
- Explainable AI (XAI) for health
- Explaining process, pattern and dynamics of marine predator hotspots in the Southern Ocean
- Exploring dynamics of natural capital in coastal barrier systems
- Exploring the mechanisms of microplastics incorporation and their influence on the functioning of coral holobionts
- Exploring the potential electrical activity of gut for healthcare and wellbeing
- Exploring the trans-local nature of cultural scene
- Facilitating forest restoration sustainability of tropical swidden agriculture
- Faulting, fluids and geohazards within subduction zone forearcs
- Faulting, magmatism and fluid flow during volcanic rifting in East Africa
- Fingerprinting environmental releases from nuclear facilities
- Flexible hybrid thermoelectric materials for wearable energy harvesting
- Floating hydrokinetic power converter
- Glacial sedimentology associated subglacial hydrology
- Green and sustainable Internet of Things
- How do antimicrobial peptides alter T cell cytokine production?
- How do calcifying marine organisms grow? Determining the role of non-classical precipitation processes in biogenic marine calcite formation
- How do neutrophils alter T cell metabolism?
- How well can we predict future changes in biodiversity using machine learning?
- Hydrant dynamics for acoustic leak detection in water pipes
- If ‘Black Lives Matter’, do ‘Asian Lives Matter’ too? Impact trajectories of organisation activism on wellbeing of ethnic minority communities
- Illuminating luciferin bioluminescence in dinoflagellates
- Imaging quantum materials with an XFEL
- Impact of neuromodulating drugs on gut microbiome homeostasis
- Impact of pharmaceuticals in the marine environment in a changing world
- Improving subsea navigation using environment observations for long term autonomy
- Information theoretic methods for sensor management
- Installation effect on the noise of small high speed fans
- Integrated earth observation mapping change land sea
- Interconnections of past greenhouse climates
- Investigating IgG cell depletion mechanisms
- Is ocean mixing upside down? How mixing processes drive upwelling in a deep-ocean basin
- Landing gear aerodynamics and aeroacoustics
- Lightweight gas storage: real-world strategies for the hydrogen economy
- Machine learning for multi-robot perception
- Machine learning for multi-robot perception
- Marine ecosystem responses to past climate change and its oceanographic impacts
- Mechanical effects in the surf zone - in situ electrochemical sensing
- Microfluidic cell isolation systems for sepsis
- Migrant entrepreneurship, gender and generation: context and family dynamics in small town Britain
- Miniaturisation in fishes: evolutionary and ecological perspectives
- Modelling high-power fibre laser and amplifier stability
- Modelling soil dewatering and recharge for cost-effective and climate resilient infrastructure
- Modelling the evolution of adaptive responses to climate change across spatial landscapes
- Nanomaterials sensors for biomedicine and/or the environment
- New high-resolution observations of ocean surface current and winds from innovative airborne and satellite measurements
- New perspectives on ocean photosynthesis
- Novel methods of detecting carbon cycling pathways in lakes and their impact on ecosystem change
- Novel technologies for cyber-physical security
- Novel transparent conducting films with unusual optoelectronic properties
- Novel wavelength fibre lasers for industrial applications
- Ocean circulation and the Southern Ocean carbon sink
- Ocean influence on recent climate extremes
- Ocean methane sensing using novel surface plasmon resonance technology
- Ocean physics and ecology: can robots disentangle the mix?
- Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Assessing the utility of coastal enhanced weathering
- Offshore renewable energy (ORE) foundations on rock seabeds: advancing design through analogue testing and modelling
- Optical fibre sensing for acoustic leak detection in buried pipelines
- Optimal energy transfer in nonlinear systems
- Optimal energy transfer in nonlinear systems
- Optimizing machine learning for embedded systems
- Oxidation of fossil organic matter as a source of atmospheric CO2
- Partnership dissolution and re-formation in later life among individuals from minority ethnic communities in the UK
- Personalized multimodal human-robot interactions
- Preventing disease by enhancing the cleaning power of domestic water taps using sound
- Quantifying riparian vegetation dynamics and flow interactions for Nature Based Solutions using novel environmental sensing techniques
- Quantifying the response and sensitivity of tropical forest carbon sinks to various drivers
- Quantifying variability in phytoplankton electron requirements for carbon fixation
- Resilient and sustainable steel-framed building structures
- Resolving Antarctic meltwater events in Southern Ocean marine sediments and exploring their significance using climate models
- Robust acoustic leak detection in water pipes using contact sound guides
- Silicon synapses for artificial intelligence hardware
- Smart photon delivery via reconfigurable optical fibres
- The Gulf Stream control of the North Atlantic carbon sink
- The Mayflower Studentship: a prestigious fully funded PhD studentship in bioscience
- The calming effect of group living in social fishes
- The duration of ridge flank hydrothermal exchange and its role in global biogeochemical cycles
- The evolution of symmetry in echinoderms
- The impact of early life stress on neuronal enhancer function
- The oceanic fingerprints on changing monsoons over South and Southeast Asia
- The role of iron in nitrogen fixation and photosynthesis in changing polar oceans
- The role of singlet oxygen signaling in plant responses to heat and drought stress
- Time variability on turbulent mixing of heat around melting ice in the West Antarctic
- Triggers and Feedbacks of Climate Tipping Points
- Uncovering the drivers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease progression using patient derived organoids
- Understanding recent land-use change in Snowdonia to plan a sustainable future for uplands: integrating palaeoecology and conservation practice
- Understanding the role of cell motility in resource acquisition by marine phytoplankton
- Understanding the structure and engagement of personal networks that support older people with complex care needs in marginalised communities and their ability to adapt to increasingly ‘digitalised’ health and social care
- Unpicking the Anthropocene in the Hawaiian Archipelago
- Unraveling oceanic multi-element cycles using single cell ionomics
- Unravelling southwest Indian Ocean biological productivity and physics: a machine learning approach
- Using acoustics to monitor how small cracks develop into bursts in pipelines
- Using machine learning to improve predictions of ocean carbon storage by marine life
- Vulnerability of low-lying coastal transportation networks to natural hazards
- X-ray imaging and property characterisation of porous materials
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