Geography

This is a Connected Degree
Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview
If you’re interested in the physical nature, characteristics and environment of the world, you can couple your interest with professional skills on this BSc (Hons) Geography degree course, accredited by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS).

You'll discover the ways in which our planet and its natural elements work, and graduate ready for a career in everything from environmental management to teaching and academic research.

• Use high-powered tech in our laboratories, including laser survey technology, drones, GIS and photogrammetry equipment and our environmental simulation cabinet – a controlled lab area that simulates different environmental conditions

• Tailor your final year to your own interests and career ambitions by choosing from a fully optional list of modules, including conservation biogeography, hazardscapes and weather science

• Immerse yourself in some of the landscapes and societies you’re studying through fieldwork, including in places such as Berlin, Malta, Sicily and Uganda

• Choose to study abroad at one of our partner universities in Poland, Spain or France, or build experience on a work placement at an organisation like the Environment Agency or Natural England

Accredited by:
This course is accredited by the Royal Geographical Society.

Careers and opportunities
Once you complete the course, you'll be ready for a career in a wide range of important fields and sectors, with technical and professional skills many employers are looking for. Our previous students have gone onto work in areas such as environmental management, business management, public services, teaching and research.

What jobs can you do with a geography degree?
Roles our graduates have taken on include:

• geographical information scientist

• environmental monitoring technician

• spatial analyst

• coastal process scientist

• urban planner

• transport planner

• geospatial consultant

• GIS cartographer

• quantity surveyor

• geography teacher

Graduate destinations
Organisations our graduates have gone on to work for include:

• Balfour Beatty

• Arcadis

• IBM

• Ordnance Survey

• Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

• Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

• The Environment Agency

• The National Trust

• MoD Civil Service

You could also go on to study at postgraduate level.

Placement year (optional)
Either before or following your third year, you can opt for a work placement year to gain valuable longer-term work experience in the industry. Placements give you the opportunity to apply what you've learnt so far in a real workplace, boosting your employability.

You can work for a company or organisation here in the UK or overseas – some Geography students have chosen Australia, Spain or Malta for their placement year.

Whichever route you choose, you'll receive support and guidance. Our specialist team of Science and Health Careers advisors can help you with finding a work placement and improving your employability skills. They'll provide you with a database of placement vacancies, support with your job search – including help with applications and interviews – and support throughout your placement year.

You'll also hear guest speakers from potential employers and get support from students who have returned from their placements.

Potential placement destinations
Our students have completed placements at organisations including:

• Atkins Global

• Pfizer Research and Development

• Hampshire Ecological Services

• The Environment Agency

• Natural England

Year 1

Core

• Changing the World (20 credits)
• Environmental Processes and Hazards (20 credits)
• Exploring Landscapes (20 credits)
• Geographical Techniques (20 credits)
• Global Environmental Challenges (20 credits)
• Society and Place (20 credits)

Year 2

Core

• Physical Geography Fieldwork and Professional Skills (20 credits)
• Research Skills (20 credits)

Optional

• Developing Professional Skills (20 credits)
• Environmental Change (20 credits)
• Geographies of Development (20 credits)
• Gis and Remote Sensing (20 credits)
• Introduction to Teaching (20 credits)
• River Processes (20 credits)
• Sustainable Environmental Management (20 credits)
• Uneven Cities, Planning and Design (20 credits)
• Volcanoes (20 credits)
• Wildlife Crime: Threats and Response (20 credits)
• Young People and Place (20 credits)

Placement year
Boost your employability by taking an industry-based work placement year with a relevant organisation or immerse yourself in another culture by studying for a year at one of our partner universities worldwide.

This is an amazing opportunity to either put everything you’ve learned so far into action in a real workplace or expand your horizons and set yourself up for your future career by studying abroad and becoming a student ambassador for our university."
Depending on what you choose, we’ll help you find and secure an exciting placement opportunity within an appropriate company or organisation, or you’ll expand your global perspective and develop additional skills to boost your future career during a study abroad year.

This is a Connected Degree

We're the only university that gives you the flexibility to choose when to take a work placement. Take it after your 2nd year, before returning to finish your studies. Or after your final year, connecting you into the workplace.

If you're not sure if or when to take your placement, don't worry. You'll have plenty of time to settle into your studies and explore your options before making your choice.

Year 3

Core

• Research Project (40 credits)

Optional

• Climate Change (20 credits)
• Coastal Recreation - Planning and Management (20 credits)
• Cold Environments (20 credits)
• Conservation in a Changing World (20 credits)
• Creative Economy and Urban Placemaking (20 credits)
• Environment and Society (20 credits)
• Environmental Assessment and Management (20 credits)
• Environmental Pollution and Waste Management (20 credits)
• Gender and Development (20 credits)
• Hazardscapes (20 credits)
• Introduction to Teaching (20 credits)
• Quaternary Geology & Geomorphology (20 credits)
• Transport and Sustainability (20 credits)
• Weather Science (20 credits)

Changes to course content
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry. If a module doesn't run, we'll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

You’ll be assessed through coursework, examinations, contributions to electronic discussion forums, web page design, posters, projects, presentations, portfolios.
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

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

• Royal Geographical Society