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Geography BA

Entry Year: 2023

2 study options

Geography BA (Hons)

Key information

Degree
BA (Hons)
Duration
3 years
Start
September 2023
UCAS code
L700
Institution code
Q50
Typical A-Level offer
Grades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
Full entry requirements (including contextual admissions)
Home fees
£9,250
Overseas fees
£21,200
Funding information
Paying your fees

Geography with Year Abroad BA (Hons)

Key information

Degree
BA (Hons)
Duration
4 years
Start
September 2023
UCAS code
L701
Institution code
Q50
Typical A-Level offer
Grades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies.
Full entry requirements (including contextual admissions)
Home fees
£9,250
Overseas fees
£21,200
Funding information
Paying your fees

Year abroad cost

Finances for studying abroad on exchange

View details

Overview

Do you want to understand and help address some of the most important issues facing societies across our planet?

Our Geography BA programme will develop your knowledge of the social, political, economic, and environmental processes that shape the world around us and allow you to explore critical global challenges from globalisation and international development to climate change and social justice. Year One provides a broad foundation in human and physical geography and Years Two and Three offer a range of exciting optional modules from both sides of the discipline, providing flexibility to tailor your study towards your interests and career goals. You will develop both subject-specific and transferable skills including social science research methods, geographical information systems (GIS), effective communication and problem-solving, unlocking a wide range of employment options after graduation. You can also explore key concepts from human geography through fieldwork in the UK and destinations further afield such as New York and Boston, before designing your own research project in your final year with guidance and support from our experts.

This programme is based in the School of Geography on QMUL’s Mile End campus in the vibrant heart of east London. You will join a learning community of students and academics, drawn from over 35 countries across the world. Each student has an academic advisor who supports their studies and transition to university. Our student experience and engagement team provide further pastoral care and social opportunities outside of the classroom. The School’s dedicated Careers Consultant offers one-to-one advice and coaching meetings for students and hosts regular employer events on campus that often feature returning graduates from the School.

Professional recognition

This programme is accredited by the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers).

Structure

You can complete your Geography degree in three or four years. If you choose to study abroad, this will take place in Year 3 and Year 3 modules will instead be studied in Year 4.

Year 1

  • Academic Study Skills *
  • Reinventing Britain
  • Global Worlds
  • Earth Surface Science
  • Critical Geography: Environment and Society
  • Introduction to Research Methods
  • Planetary Emergencies: From Analysis to Action

For full details on all of our modules please go to the online module directory

*Fieldwork module. Fieldwork destinations may vary year-on-year, are subject to availability and depend on the module combinations chosen. Overseas fieldwork modules run in alternate years. Places are limited - if a module is oversubscribed, places will be allocated by ballot. Students on overseas field trips are responsible for securing their own visas, if required.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 2

Compulsory

  • Advanced Research Methods

Choose from

  • Development Geographies: From International to Global Perspectives
  • Economic Geographies
  • Health, Space and Justice
  • Geographical Information Systems
  • Cultural Geographies
  • Society and Space
  • Boston Reworked: The Making of a North American City *
  • Colonial Live and Afterlives
  • Past Environmental Change
  • Geomorphology
  • Ecosystem Science
  • Climate Change in Practice

For full details on our modules please go to the online module directory

*Fieldwork module. Fieldwork destinations may vary year-on-year, are subject to availability and depend on the module combinations chosen. Overseas fieldwork modules run in alternate years. Places are limited - if a module is oversubscribed, places will be allocated by ballot. Students on overseas field trips are responsible for securing their own visas, if required.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 3

Compulsory

  • Dissertation

Choose from

  • Geographies of Home
  • Climate Change and Climate Policy
  • Latin American Debates
  • Urban Water in and beyond the Pipes
  • Healthy City, Sick Cities
  • Advanced Geospatial Science
  • Historical Geographies of Medicine: from Imperial Hygiene to Global Health
  • Urban African Economies
  • Boston Reworked: The Making of a North American City*
  • Global Historical Geographies
  • The Public Life of Cities
  • Victorian London: Economy, Society and Culture
  • Flood Risk Management and Modelling
  • Volcanoes, Climate Change and Society 
  • Nature-based Climate Solutions
  • Flood Risk Management and Modelling

For full details on our modules please go to the online module directory

*Fieldwork module. Fieldwork destinations may vary year-on-year, are subject to availability and depend on the module combinations chosen. Overseas fieldwork modules run in alternate years. Places are limited - if a module is oversubscribed, places will be allocated by ballot. Students on overseas field trips are responsible for securing their own visas, if required.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Study options

Apply for this degree with any of the following options. Take care to use the correct UCAS code - it may not be possible to change your selection later.

Year abroad

Go global and study abroad as part of your degree – apply for our Geography BA with a Year Abroad. Queen Mary has links with universities in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia (partnerships vary for each degree programme).

Find out more about study abroad opportunities at Queen Mary and what the progression requirements are. 

Additional Costs

Compulsory fieldwork will not cost you anything extra. Optional overseas fieldwork trips in the second and third year cost approximately £400-£1,400 (based on 2017-18 costs). On some trips you may also need to pay extra for flights.

student profile image
Testimonial

Spending the entire first week in the field was not only beneficial to our studies but also served as bonding time, allowing students to interact with each other and make new friends.

Catarina da Silva Neves, Geography BA (2019)

Teaching

Teaching and learning

On average, you can expect to spend eight to 12 hours per week in a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops and practical classes.

You’ll also take part in small-group tutorials, receiving further guidance on the course material and developing your study skills.

In the final year, tutorials are replaced with one-to-one meetings with your tutor as you prepare for your independent research project and plan your future career.

For every hour of classes, expect to do a further four to six hours of independent study.

Assessment

Modules are assessed through a combination of coursework and examination. Coursework may include extended essays, short reports, posters, oral presentations and group work.

Students must also complete a final-year independent study project of 10,000 words, based on an original study of their choice.

Resources and facilities

The School offers excellent on-campus resources to aid your studies, including:

  • undergraduate computer room
  • group study spaces
  • geography teaching laboratory
  • field equipment
  • environmental preparation laboratory
  • elemental analysis laboratory
  • river laboratory.

Full details on our laboratory facilities can be found here.

Video

What our students say

Find out what our students think about studying geography at Queen Mary.

Funding

Loans and grants

UK students accepted onto this course are eligible to apply for tuition fee and maintenance loans from Student Finance England or other government bodies.

Scholarships and bursaries

Queen Mary offers a generous package of scholarships and bursaries, which currently benefits around 50 per cent of our undergraduates.

Scholarships are available for home, EU and international students. Specific funding is also available for students from the local area. International students may be eligible for a fee reduction. We offer means-tested funding, as well as subject-specific funding for many degrees.

Find out what scholarships and bursaries are available to you.

Support from Queen Mary

We offer specialist support on all financial and welfare issues through our Advice and Counselling Service, which you can access as soon as you have applied for a place at Queen Mary.

Take a look at our Student Advice Guides which cover ways to finance your degree, including:

  • additional sources of funding
  • planning your budget and cutting costs
  • part-time and vacation work
  • money for lone parents.

Careers

Many of our graduates use their subject knowledge directly, in environmental policy, town or transport planning or geographical information systems (GIS). Others take their transferable skills into other careers, from business to health.

Recent graduates have been hired by:

  • Citizens UK
  • Deloitte
  • Environment Agency
  • Jacobs
  • Ordnance Survey
  • WWF

Career support

Geography students benefit from dedicated careers support, including lectures and tutorials on career choice, getting work experience and presenting degree skills to an employer at interview. We also run an annual career options event with graduate speakers.

The Queen Mary careers team can also offer:

  • specialist advice on choosing a career path
  • support with finding work experience, internships and graduate jobs
  • feedback on CVs, cover letters and application forms
  • interview coaching.

Learn more about career support and development at Queen Mary.

Data for these courses

Geography - BA (Hons)

Geography with Year Abroad - BA (Hons)

The Discover Uni dataset (formerly Unistats)

About the School

The School of Geography at Queen Mary University of London provides an innovative education across diverse subject areas in a supportive and inclusive environment.   

Staff and students alike strive to solve the major environmental and societal challenges of our time, generating rigorous research evidence and turning that into impactful practical and policy change at a local or national and even global level, often working with powerful partners like government agencies and big tech companies to drive progress.  

The School is one of the top 100 geography departments in the world (QS World University Rankings 2023), while the Research Excellence Framework (2021) puts the quality of our research in the UK top 10.  

Thanks to our local, national and international links, you’ll have opportunities to work with community groups, environmental trusts and charities, applying your classroom learning to real-world problems.

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