Where should I study Geography?
If you have established that geography is the subject that you want to study, you need now only find the university best for you. However this is easier said than done because there are so many universities offering excellent geography courses to choose from.
There are a number of considerations, away from the subject, that you must make first. After this filtering of universities, you can then start to examine the courses and teaching methods to ensure that you make the correct choice.
There are a number of considerations, away from the subject, that you must make first. After this filtering of universities, you can then start to examine the courses and teaching methods to ensure that you make the correct choice.
Initial Considerations
There are just a few things you must consider before studying the geography courses of each university in more detail:
1. How high to apply
Each university requires certain A-Level, IB or equivilant grades from students it will accept. You should have a decent idea of what you are capable of in order to apply to uni's that you have a good chance of being offered a place at, with grades required being attainable. Because you can apply to five uni's it is a good idea to apply to a group of universities which have a range of grade requirements so that you have a spread of offers which enable you to have a few options depending on your results scenario.
The highest offers students can expect are likely to be (A-Levels) A*AA, from a select group of elite universities. Many look for AAA or AAB, and some offer below these grades.
2. How far away from home
This issue may seem fairly obvious but, due to it's intensely geographical nature, it had to be given a mention. Some people enjoy living far away from their known worlds, creating a new life for themselves in different areas of the country. However other students may prefer only being 30 minutes or less away from home. These preferences are entirely personal and will not impact what university will be to students. The important thing to do is to have a good think about what the right distance away from home is for you and then looking at universities that fall within that criteria. A good method for this is to get a map, draw a rough line which equals X hours away from home, draw a curve based on this distances and then look at the universities that fall within (or beyond).
1. How high to apply
Each university requires certain A-Level, IB or equivilant grades from students it will accept. You should have a decent idea of what you are capable of in order to apply to uni's that you have a good chance of being offered a place at, with grades required being attainable. Because you can apply to five uni's it is a good idea to apply to a group of universities which have a range of grade requirements so that you have a spread of offers which enable you to have a few options depending on your results scenario.
The highest offers students can expect are likely to be (A-Levels) A*AA, from a select group of elite universities. Many look for AAA or AAB, and some offer below these grades.
2. How far away from home
This issue may seem fairly obvious but, due to it's intensely geographical nature, it had to be given a mention. Some people enjoy living far away from their known worlds, creating a new life for themselves in different areas of the country. However other students may prefer only being 30 minutes or less away from home. These preferences are entirely personal and will not impact what university will be to students. The important thing to do is to have a good think about what the right distance away from home is for you and then looking at universities that fall within that criteria. A good method for this is to get a map, draw a rough line which equals X hours away from home, draw a curve based on this distances and then look at the universities that fall within (or beyond).
Geography matters
1. The Course
Probably the single most important part of selecting where to apply to is to pick courses that appeal to your interests and/or learning style. If a student is sure they are a physical geographer, a physical-only course, or one which permits physical only-study in years 2 and 3 may be the best option. Often, but not always, these degrees are BSc degrees rather than BA ones. Similarly if a student is confident that they will be most interested in human geography a degree course focusing on this side of the subject may be the best option.
That said, the geographical topics students enjoy at school may be very different, or non-existant at geography at university. Also when exposed to new topics and ways of thinking about geographical issues, students often find that their preferences change. Therefore broad courses run by departments with research conducted in many areas is usually a really good reason criterion for course selection.
Other things to look out for, to give you a picture of the course, are how many hours of contact time you get. Despite what uni's may say, having direct contact with leaders in subjects does make a degree more fufilling, enjoyable and instructive than merely lectures and long reading lists (at least in our experience anyway). Read through all available course information in prospectuses and on websites and ask yourself: Does the course look well thought out? Are there opportunities for students to meet lecturers to ask questions and check things? These small factors, in many students' experiences, can point towards a good course.
2. The Department
Most geography courses are run from within a geography and/or environmental sciences department or school. These organisations within the wider university are home to all the staff, both academic and administrative, who support students throughout degree courses.
Different geography departments have different 'cluster groups' which are basically just groups of academic staff who all study in a similar area. It would be useful to look at the research cluster groups before applying as often there are opportunities for students to get involved in these groups, and the work these groups produce often shapes the work students will study on the course.
Facilities vary enormously amongst universities and it is a good idea to choose a university which takes care of the needs of geographers. In uni exam season library's and study spaces are very limited so it is a good idea to apply to uni's with library's for geographers only or computer rooms that only geographers can use.
3. Methods of study
Each geography course will be taught and examined differently. On the teaching front some will have more lectures and less seminar and tutorials, whilst others will be geared the opposite way round. Everyone learns differently, but overall close regular contact with gifted academic staff can really enhance a degree course. Therefore look out for courses which have tutorial elements as well as other methods of learning.
Written exams, coursework, presentations, interviews, fieldbook handins and videos are all methods geography courses can be assessed (don't forget first year doesn't usually count towards your degree though, it is there to help you prepare for study). Some more traditional universities asses only via written examinations, where as others take a more diversified approach towards assessment. Written work is probably best for enhancing understanding, but doing a number of different assessments can improve other skills which are often very useful beyond university land. For this reason most uni's set work and assess through a variety of different mediums. Some don't count all work submitted (some work is formative rather than summarative) and some students don't thrive under exams which will count towards 100% of a final year mark. Others will however, so the important thing is to know how you thrive and pick a course which assesses in this way.
Probably the single most important part of selecting where to apply to is to pick courses that appeal to your interests and/or learning style. If a student is sure they are a physical geographer, a physical-only course, or one which permits physical only-study in years 2 and 3 may be the best option. Often, but not always, these degrees are BSc degrees rather than BA ones. Similarly if a student is confident that they will be most interested in human geography a degree course focusing on this side of the subject may be the best option.
That said, the geographical topics students enjoy at school may be very different, or non-existant at geography at university. Also when exposed to new topics and ways of thinking about geographical issues, students often find that their preferences change. Therefore broad courses run by departments with research conducted in many areas is usually a really good reason criterion for course selection.
Other things to look out for, to give you a picture of the course, are how many hours of contact time you get. Despite what uni's may say, having direct contact with leaders in subjects does make a degree more fufilling, enjoyable and instructive than merely lectures and long reading lists (at least in our experience anyway). Read through all available course information in prospectuses and on websites and ask yourself: Does the course look well thought out? Are there opportunities for students to meet lecturers to ask questions and check things? These small factors, in many students' experiences, can point towards a good course.
2. The Department
Most geography courses are run from within a geography and/or environmental sciences department or school. These organisations within the wider university are home to all the staff, both academic and administrative, who support students throughout degree courses.
Different geography departments have different 'cluster groups' which are basically just groups of academic staff who all study in a similar area. It would be useful to look at the research cluster groups before applying as often there are opportunities for students to get involved in these groups, and the work these groups produce often shapes the work students will study on the course.
Facilities vary enormously amongst universities and it is a good idea to choose a university which takes care of the needs of geographers. In uni exam season library's and study spaces are very limited so it is a good idea to apply to uni's with library's for geographers only or computer rooms that only geographers can use.
3. Methods of study
Each geography course will be taught and examined differently. On the teaching front some will have more lectures and less seminar and tutorials, whilst others will be geared the opposite way round. Everyone learns differently, but overall close regular contact with gifted academic staff can really enhance a degree course. Therefore look out for courses which have tutorial elements as well as other methods of learning.
Written exams, coursework, presentations, interviews, fieldbook handins and videos are all methods geography courses can be assessed (don't forget first year doesn't usually count towards your degree though, it is there to help you prepare for study). Some more traditional universities asses only via written examinations, where as others take a more diversified approach towards assessment. Written work is probably best for enhancing understanding, but doing a number of different assessments can improve other skills which are often very useful beyond university land. For this reason most uni's set work and assess through a variety of different mediums. Some don't count all work submitted (some work is formative rather than summarative) and some students don't thrive under exams which will count towards 100% of a final year mark. Others will however, so the important thing is to know how you thrive and pick a course which assesses in this way.