Year 1

You will study a broad range of physical and human geography topics in order to understand, and build a foundation in, the breadth of the discipline. A UK-based residential field trip will get you out of the lecture theatre and into the field where you will develop fieldwork skills and work as a team to complete project work. 

Modules

• Human Geography for a Globalized World
• Skills for Professional Geographers
• The Digital World
• Evolution of the Earth System
• Environment/Nature/Society
• Human Geography Fieldcourse: The dynamics of people and place
• Working with Geographical Information 
• The Contemporary Earth System

Apart from the field module, the course material in year one is the same as BSc in Geography. This enables you to switch between the two degrees at the end of your first year, should you wish.

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Year 2

During this year you will begin to focus on the human aspects of geography, covering topics such as environmental justice, gentrification, and the politics of development. Your second year will involve an international field trip (previous locations have included New York and Vancouver ). A physical Geography option remains and you will take the interdisciplinary Climate Change module in semester one.

Core modules

• Histories and Philosophies of Human Geography
• Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation  
• Research Design and Methods (with Dissertation Planning)*
• Geographical Research in the Field (Human Geography Overseas Field Course)
• Geographical Information Science

* Qualifying mark of 40% in dissertation proposal is required for progression into year 3.

Option modules 

Choose two option modules from:

• A Critical Geography of Environment and Development
• Economy, Society and Space
• Social and Cultural Geography
• The Dynamic Biosphere

Then choose one option module from:

• Political Geography: Space, Territory and Power
• Geography in Education

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Year Abroad or in Industry (optional)

If you want to, you can spend the third year of the BA studying abroad at one of our partner institutions or working in an industrial placement. Alternatively, you can opt to continue studying at the University and complete your degree in three years.

Year Abroad

We’ll make sure you have everything you need for your future career: not just by awarding you a high quality degree, but also by helping you to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence you need to make your mark in the world as a Citizen of Change. One way you can do this is by opting to take a Year Abroad between Years 2 and 3 of your degree.

Studying abroad is not just for people who are interested in travelling and meeting new people. It is about acquiring life skills that are becoming increasingly significant for a wide range of jobs in our modern globalised society. Whether you go on to a career in the private, public or third sector - or plough your own furrow as an entrepreneur – you will find the experience invaluable.

For more information, including a list of destinations, please visit our Study Abroad website.

Please note

• A year spent abroad still incurs a tuition fee, but this is much lower than for a normal year at Leicester. See the Fees and Funding tab of this page for details.
• You may be eligible for a travel grant from Student Finance England.
• Places are offered on a competitive basis, and eligibility is dependent on your academic performance in Years 1 and 2.
• Language courses, at beginners or advanced level, are available through our Languages at Leicester scheme.

Year in Industry

A Year in Industry gives you the opportunity to stand out from the crowd when it comes to applying for graduate jobs with work experience incorporated into your programme of study. If this is for you, in Year 2 you will take a module in which we prepare you for that year in work and support you with your search for a placement in an industry or organisation relevant to your career aspirations. After your Year in Industry you will return to University for your final year of study.

A year in industry still incurs a tuition fee, but this is much lower than for a normal year at Leicester. See the Fees and Funding tab of this page for details.

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Final Year

Your final year incorporates a blend of teaching and independent research. You will select a topic to research in your dissertation and choose from a wide range of research-led optional modules. Here you may chose to focus on particular themes of interest, or select from a wide range of topics to be more of a generalist.

Core modules

• Dissertation

Option modules

Semester 1

Choose two option modules from:

• Contemporary Environmental Challenges
• Geographies of the Market Place
• Geographies of Health and Wellbeing
• Critical Digital Geographies
• Neotropical Rainforests
• Sustainability Enterprise Project

Semester 2

Choose four option modules from:

• Cities of the Global South
• Migration, Place and Diversity
• Critical, Symbolic and Emotional Rural Geographies
• Overseas Field Option (Berlin)
• Information Visualisation
• Research Communications
• Remote Sensing of the Environment
• Ecology, Climate and Land-use processes of the Amazon Tropical Forests

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork is integral to any Geography degree. In the field you develop new skills and apply learning from the classroom to real world problems. Our field trips will be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences for both Human and Physical Geography students. 

All of our core field course costs are subsidised by the University of Leicester. Optional field courses in Year 3 do come with an additional cost, although there are bursaries available.

If you study on the Geography BA or Human Geography BA, your field trips can include: 

Sheffield (Core - Year 1)

On this residential field trip, you will study Sheffield's fascinating environmental and industrial heritage, via urban exploration and training in creative visual methods.

International field course (Core - Year 2) 

In previous years this course has been run in New York City and Vancouver. In this module students examine topics like multiculturalism, gentrification, migration and settlement in the city. This week-long residential field course includes a variety of day trips that interrogate the composition and evolution of global cities.

Berlin (Option - Year 3)

The Berlin field course is an optional course that considers geopolitics at the urban scale and the ways in which Berlin’s (and Germany’s) geopolitical history continues to shape the geography of the city. The field trip considers Cold War geopolitics, the Berlin Wall and the division of Germany on the city. It also examines Germany’s colonial legacies; the geopolitics of nature; sexual geopolitics; and, everyday life in the DDR (East Germany). The module is an opportunity to apply critical and creative geographical approaches to researching the politics of housing and migration in Berlin.

And you’ll be pleased to know our staff are involved in field-based research worldwide, ensuring that our teaching draws on active field experience.

• Find out more about fieldwork opportunities.

Fieldwork locations may vary and are subject to availability.

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.