BSc (Hons) Geography (with integrated foundation year)

Program Overview

This BSc (Hons) Geography program with integrated foundation year provides students with the skills and knowledge to progress into the full BSc Geography program. The program emphasizes a blended approach to geography, encompassing human, physical, and environmental aspects, and equips graduates with skills for careers in environmental consulting, GIS analysis, and sustainable development. The program leverages the unique location of the Lake District, offering a real-world laboratory for studying geography.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This program is a BSc (Hons) Geography (with integrated foundation year) offered by the University of Cumbria. The degree is designed for students who have alternative qualifications or do not meet the standard entry requirements for a direct entry to the BSc Geography program. The foundation year, based in Carlisle, provides students with the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to progress onto the full BSc (Hons) Geography program, which is based in the Lake District. The program emphasizes a blended approach to geography, encompassing human, physical, and environmental aspects. It aims to equip students with a comprehensive understanding of global challenges facing humanity and the planet, including climate change, inequality, and valuing ecosystem services.

Outline:

Year One:

• Essential University Skills 1: This module develops academic and professional skills required for effective learning and progression through the degree program.
• Essential Biology: Develops knowledge and understanding of fundamental biology principles essential for further study.
• Scientific Investigation: Explores protocols associated with scientific investigation.
• Essential University Skills 2: Expands learning in research, writing structure, reflective learning, presenting research, and self-reflection.
• Environmental Sciences: Introduces field-based skills related to natural sciences with interdisciplinary content, connecting human ecology to toxicology, public health, epidemiology, and parasitology.
• Dynamic Earth: Studies applied aspects of geology, geomorphology, climatology, hydrology, and soils within a regional context, incorporating laboratory and field classes.

Year Two:

• Global Challenges: Analyzes global challenges from various perspectives and explores communication with different audiences.
• Geographical Techniques: Equips students with fundamental methods of constructing geographical data and interpretations, including techniques for field, laboratory, and archival research.
• People and Place: Introduces students to the fundamentals of historical, political, and cultural geographies, critically examining local and global challenges in the relationships between people and place.
• Environment and Resources: Introduces the fundamentals of economic, development, and environmental geography through the lens of resources.
• The Earth System: Examines uncertainties faced by the Earth System due to the Anthropocene era, providing context for geographical and environmental research themes.
• Ecological Knowledge, Interactions and Change: Develops ecological thinking and literacy in local habitats and ecosystems, studying ecological concepts and processes.

Year Three:

• Research Design: Develops understanding of methodologies and research methods within an environmental context, culminating in student-led fieldwork involving project design, execution, and reporting.
• Valuing the Environment: Explores concepts associated with valuing the environment, including natural capital, nature's contribution to people, and ecosystem services, critically evaluating frameworks for environmental valuation.
• Environmental Change: Past Present Future: Explores the significance of predicted climate change and its implications by placing it in the context of past climate and environmental changes.
• Geographical Information Systems: Provides students with a sound understanding of the theory and application of GIS relevant to their field of study and potential employment.
• The Catchment: Summit to Sea (Optional): Develops an integrated understanding of the processes shaping catchments from local to global scales.
• Culture, Identity and Place (Optional): Analyzes complex relationships between culture, identity, and place, examining their influence on geographical experiences.
• Rural Economy and Society (Optional): Investigates the functioning of rural areas in terms of their economy and society and explores their relationship with the natural environment.
• Habitats and Ecosystems (Optional): Investigates interactions within and between ecosystems, considering the influence of stakeholders on habitat management and the impact of access and legislation on habitat development.

Year Four:

• Dissertation: Develops research skills and provides experience in project management and research dissemination.
• Researching Environmental Change: Field-course: Critically explores an aspect of environmental change within a field trip, involving introductory tutor-led context, fieldwork, and individual research project development.
• Science and Politics of Climate Change: Evaluates climate culture and explores strategies for responding to climate change at various scales within different environmental contexts.
• Creative Cultural Geographies (Optional): Critically examines what it means to be a cultural geographer, interrogating geographical practices, methodologies, and approaches to cultural world reproduction, maintenance, and transformation.
• Upland Resource Management (Optional): Critically evaluates the complex relationships between resource users and managers in upland environments and explores the effectiveness of solutions.
• Cold Environments (Optional): Provides an advanced understanding of the processes and significance of the cryosphere for humans and Earth.
• Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing (Optional): Develops skills and knowledge for planning and implementing GIS and remote sensing projects to address conservation and natural resources management issues.
• Aquatic and Catchment Resource Management (Optional): Allows students to conduct independent research on topics related to animal conservation science and conservation biology.
• Contemporary Global Conservation (Optional): Critically evaluates the application of ecological processes in the context of conservation and sustainability.

Assessment:

Students are assessed through a range of methods, including:

• Fieldwork and laboratory reports
• Roleplay simulations of real-world situations
• Essays or reports
• Group work
Assessment schedules are posted online at the beginning of each academic year. Some assessments are individual, while others involve group collaboration.

Teaching:

The program utilizes a blended approach to teaching, incorporating extensive field and laboratory work, including the use of GIS. Students are exposed to a variety of field experiences, ranging from half-day and full-day outings to short and long residential trips, both within and outside the Lake District. This approach provides practical experience and develops an understanding of real-world geographical complexities.

Careers:

The program equips graduates with a range of skills relevant to diverse career paths, including:

• Environmental consulting
• Geographic information systems (GIS) analysis
• Environmental management
• Research and development
• Education and teaching
• Policy analysis
• Sustainable development

Other:

The program leverages the unique location of the Lake District, offering a real-world laboratory for studying geography. The Ambleside campus provides access to the natural beauty and opportunity for field research, while the Carlisle Fusehill Street campus offers high-quality facilities and innovative thinking. The program emphasizes developing critical thinking, analytical, and interpretative skills, enhancing employability for graduates. The program is designed to support students' return to education, providing opportunities for those with relevant employment experience but lacking traditional qualifications. The University of Cumbria promotes contextual admissions, considering an applicant's potential alongside their academic qualifications. This approach aims to ensure access to higher education for all students who have the potential to succeed.

Tuition Fees and Payment Information:

• UK: £9,250
• International: £13,575
The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs. Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.