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TBA

BA Geography at Manchester explores how people, places and environments shape each other. You’ll study some of the biggest challenges facing the world today, including:
climate change, sustainability, urbanisation, migration, geopolitics, energy, social justice and global inequality.

The course gives you a strong foundation in both human and physical geography before allowing you to focus on the areas that interest you most. In your first year, you’ll study human geographies, environmental processes, global environmental challenges and data science, while developing the academic and practical skills you’ll need for the rest of your degree.

As you progress, you’ll build more advanced skills in fieldwork, research design, GIS, data analysis, digital tools and geographical research. You’ll learn how geographers collect, interpret and communicate evidence, and how these skills can be used to understand real-world social, environmental and political challenges.

You’ll also have the flexibility to shape your studies through optional units. As a BA student, you’ll focus more on human geography and social science approaches to research, while still having opportunities to explore physical geography topics. Options are linked to themes such as social and cultural geographies; cities, economic and political geographies; climate, environment and sustainability; geographical data science; and dynamic environments.

Fieldwork is a key part of Geography at Manchester. You’ll begin with our long-running pre-course field trip to the Lake District, which helps you meet other students, get to know staff and start building field skills before teaching begins. You’ll then continue to learn through local field visits and a second-year residential field course.

In your final year, you’ll study specialist, research-led topics and complete an independent dissertation with support from an academic adviser. By the time you graduate, you’ll have developed subject-specific skills in human geography, research, data-handling, GIS and fieldwork, alongside transferable skills in communication, teamwork, project management and problem-solving.

On the BA Geography with International Study, you’ll spend your third year studying at one of our partner universities overseas before returning to Manchester for the final year of your degree. This is an opportunity to experience life in another country, broaden your perspective and develop skills that can support your future career.

Fieldwork from the start

Begin your degree with our long-running pre-course field trip to the Lake District, then continue to build your skills through local field visits and a second-year residential field course. Recent destinations have included the Pyrenees, Morocco, Crete, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Prague.

Build research, data-handling and GIS skills

Develop practical skills in data science, GIS, data visualisation and digital tools used by geographers to understand landscapes, environments and global challenges.

Study abroad in your third year

On the BA Geography with International Study, you’ll spend your third year studying Geography at one of our partner departments around the world before returning to Manchester to complete the final year of your degree. This is an opportunity to live and study in another country, broaden your outlook, gain new cultural experiences and build skills that can support your employability. Current partner locations include Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico.

Teaching methods include fieldwork, lectures, seminars, small-group learning, individual tutorials, and team work.

Important notice: factors affecting fieldwork and placements

The School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) recognises the value of fieldwork and placements. However, the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff remains our priority.

The School will assess on a regular basis the viability of any travel and fieldwork and communicate any significant changes to our students at the earliest possible opportunity.

Read more about Kate's experience studying at Manchester by . You can also visit our to discover more videos and blogs from our students, as they share what it's really like to study here.

We're one of Europe's best-equipped universities for Geography, with outstanding computing, laboratory, cartography and library facilities that are used for teaching and research and are available for our students, including:

• World-leading Geography Laboratories with a wide range of advanced capabilities for studying water, soils, sediments and microplastics, including major and trace elemental analysis, spectroscopy, microscopy and X-ray Fluorescence.
• A Geocomputational Suite supporting world-class work in GIS and Remote Sensing, with access to UAVs, and survey tools.
• A Geography Virtual Reality lab for undertaking human and physical geography research and teaching.
• Advanced computing for social sciences coding development.

The University's Main Library is is one of only five National Research Libraries and is a great place to study. It is also home to the University Map Collection, comprising around 100,000 maps of every part of the world.

Geography graduates are valued for their ability to understand complex problems, work with evidence and communicate ideas clearly.

On our BA Geography course, you’ll develop practical skills in fieldwork, research design, GIS, data analysis, digital tools and geographical research. You’ll also build wider skills in teamwork, communication, project management, problem-solving and independent working.

These skills can open up a wide range of career paths. Our graduates go on to work in areas such as:

• government and public sector roles;
• media, marketing and communications;
• business, project management and graduate schemes;
• research and policy;
• environmental management and sustainability;
• climate, ecology and conservation;
• planning and urban development;
• GIS, mapping and data analysis;
• consultancy;
• Education.

Recent graduate employers have included Accenture, HSBC, Manchester City Council, Network Rail, PwC, Sky, the BBC and the Environment Agency.

You’ll be supported to think about your future throughout the course. Careers activities are built into the programme at key points, helping you explore career options, understand your strengths, develop your CV and prepare for applications. Geography also hosts the , giving students opportunities to work with external organisations on real-world sustainability challenges.

The University has an award-winning AGCAS-accredited that you can access to as a student and for two years after you graduate.

For more information, see .