Geography with Psychology and optional placement year - BSc (Hons) drafted draft
| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2023-09-17 | 2023-06-30 |
| 2024-01-22 | 2024-11-30 |
Program Overview
Each semester, students will take 2 modules in Geography and 1 module in Psychology.
Geography is an integrated study of the Earth’s places, societies, environments and landscapes. So if you are interested in learning about the world in which we live and about pressing issues that affect us such as climate change, environmental hazards, conflict and social inequality, and sustainable development, then a geography degree is for you. The discipline of geography is unique because it is the only university degree that bridges the social sciences and humanities (human geography) with the natural sciences (physical geography) in a coherent way.
It remains one of the most popular degrees to study at university and students enjoy the programme because of the insights they gain about the world around them. Because geography provides an ideal framework for relating other fields of knowledge, students trained as geographers can contribute substantially to the applied management of the Earth’s resources and its environments. At Ulster we have designed programmes which cover the main elements of geographical analysis. The advanced training that you will receive in geography is designed to enhance your employment skills once you graduate.
The School of Geography and Environmental Sciences is one of the largest of its kind in Britain and Ireland, with over 350 full-time undergraduate students, 250 postgraduate students and 23 academic, technical and administrative staff. Particular strengths in the School are the development of interdisciplinary taught and research programmes that integrate the environmental, earth and marine sciences with human geography and the use of spatial analysis to investigate relationships between the environment and society. Teaching in the School was rated as 'excellent' in the most recent Teaching Quality Assessment Exercise conducted by the Higher Education and Funding Council, and has consistently been included as one of the top ten of its kind in the UK in independent league tables published by national newspapers. We were also recently commended by the Quality Assurance Agency's Institutional Audit for the quality of our teaching and management of the learning experience.
Associate awards
Diploma in Professional Practice DPP
Diploma in International Academic Studies DIAS
Attendance
Three years (four years with DPP/DIAS option).
On campus five days a week, contact time average 16 hours per week, 34 hours per week average independent study including academic assessment.
Start dates
Teaching, Learning and Assessment
Knowledge and understanding are required through lectures, practical sessions, directed reading, case study work, fieldwork, seminars, tutorials, and primary and secondary data evaluation techniques. Modules are assessed by a combination of coursework and examinations or by coursework only. The assessment methods used in individual modules are specified in the module handbooks. Each module adopts its own assessment strategy and may include one or more of the following: essays; literature reviews; seminar oral presentations; seminar write-ups; class tests; research projects/dissertations and examinations.
Academic profile
The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.
Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (20%) or Lecturers (55%).
We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advanced HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.
The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.
Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.
Figures correct for academic year 2021-2022.