Program Overview

---

Geography (with Foundation Year)

BA (Hons) or BSc (Hons)

Overview

Will you focus on environmental issues? Geopolitics? Do you dream of making a difference in the charity sector, or using your analytical skills to help businesses thrive sustainably? As one of the most versatile degrees you can study, geography opens many doors.

Our Geography with a Foundation Year starts with learning essential skills to prepare you for degree-level study. Passing this foundation year leads to our Geography BA/BSc. With our field trips, specialist labs, and strong alumni network, we’ll help you build the skills and network you’ll need to succeed in your dream career.

In physical geography, topics include desertification, marine pollution, climate policy and biodiversity loss. In human geography, you could look at international governance, the political geography of borders, the future of cities, disaster management, or environmental hazards.

These topics are all deeply interlinked. You'll explore the connections between people and the planet, learn to understand complex global problems and make a difference in the world.

Why Oxford Brookes University?

Perfect preparation

Build essential study skills with an integrated foundation year. Gain academic confidence, improve critical thinking, and strengthen subject knowledge for your degree journey.

Practical, career-focused course

Instead of exams, you’ll complete assignments such as lab experiments and reports, or create presentations, reflecting what you may be tasked with in your career.

Small, friendly classes

Most year groups have around 25-60 students. Tutors quickly get to know students and are there whenever you need support.

Widely applicable skills

You’ll learn skills like data analysis and how to use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) that are valuable across a wide range of job roles.

Get hands-on experience

With frequent field-based exercises included in your course fees (including overseas), and access to our labs, you’ll have lots of practical work to immerse yourself in.

Learn a language

Our university-wide language programme is available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

Study abroad

You may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while you are at Oxford Brookes. Although we will help as much as we can with your plans, ultimately you are responsible for organising and funding this study abroad.

Accreditation(s)

This programme has been accredited by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). Accredited degree programmes contain a solid academic foundation in geographical knowledge and skills, and prepare graduates to address the needs of the world beyond higher education.

Course details

Course structure

In your foundation year, you will study a Foundation in Humanities, building confidence and essential academic skills.

In the first year of your degree, you’ll develop a wide range of skills like river surveying, geomorphological mapping, and social research skills like interview and survey design. You’ll explore both human and physical geography.

Your second year includes a UK-based, multi-day field trip, with costs included in your fees.

In your third year you can narrow your focus and choose areas that interest you via optional modules. Topics vary across human and physical geography. Year 3 includes an international field trip, with costs included in your fees.

After your third year, you have the opportunity to get international experience in your degree via a year abroad, or you can progress to the final year of the course.

In your final year, you can specialise further in human or physical geography. Or keep studying a range of topics such as desertification and atmospheric science, or how human culture relates to nature.

Learning and teaching

You’ll learn in many different ways as you study. This will make the most of your skills - wherever your strengths lie and whatever your learning style.

You’ll experience teaching methods like:

• seminars and lectures
• field investigations
• lab experiments and analysis
• simulations
• research conferences
• debates
• interactive field trails
• group work
• visiting speakers.

Assessment

Your learning will be assessed by coursework. And you’ll carry out your coursework both individually, and in small groups. You’ll run project investigations, write reports and essays, create digital stories, compile portfolios and compose learning journals. You’ll also have the chance to use dedicated data analysis software, like Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

Your coursework will be directly relevant to the changing world around you. You might write a report assessing carbon concentrations in our atmosphere. Or you might make a short film on sustainable development and climate action.

Field Trips

On this course, you’ll carry out field work both in the UK and overseas.

In your first year, if you’re a single honours student, you’ll go on a three- day field trip in the UK, where you’ll examine key geographic issues, on-site. You might analyse river quality or river flow. You might explore changing mountain environments - like areas once covered by glaciers. You might examine national identities and sense of place. Or you might learn about urban regeneration and the politics of changing landscapes.

In your second year, you’ll carry out field work overseas. You’ll work with a small project team to research a specific issue. You might examine issues like:

• coastal erosion
• water management
• management of UNESCO World Heritage sites
• cultural tourism.

You’ll be guided all the way through by one of your tutors - and you’ll emerge with confident research, project-management and team working skills.

You’ll really get to know your coursemates and your tutors well during your fieldwork. You’ll be part of a close-knit course community, and you’ll build supportive relationships with your tutors. You’ll start to feel more comfortable sharing your perspectives, and you’ll become more confident collaborating with your coursemates on projects and coursework.

The costs of travel and accommodation on all compulsory field trips are covered by the University.

Study modules

Teaching for this course takes place face-to-face. In your foundation year, you can expect around 10 hours of contact time per week. In addition to this, you should also anticipate a workload of 1,200 hours per year. When you begin your degree programme, you can expect around 10 hours of contact time per week. In addition to this, you should also anticipate a workload of 1,200 hours per year. Teaching usually takes place Monday to Friday, between 9.00am and 6.00pm.

Contact hours involve activities such as lectures, seminars, practicals, assessments, and academic advising sessions. These hours differ by year of study and typically increase significantly during placements or other types of work-based learning.

Foundation Year

• Being Human: Love, Sex and Death
• Cultural Moments
• Language, Vision and Representation
• Research Project
• The Reflective Learner
• Nation and Identity

Year 1

• Introduction to Human Geography
• Introduction to Geographical Skills and Techniques
• Investigating Geography
• Introduction to Physical Geography
• Geographical Perspectives
• Sustainability and Development

Year 2

• Advanced Research skills for Geographers
• Global Change
• Environmental Hazard Management

Optional modules

• Biogeography
• Cities: Geographies of the Urban Experience
• Conservation and Heritage Management
• Geographies of Migration
• Earth Systems
• Geographical Information Systems
• Independent Study: Work and Community Related Learning
• Political Geography: Place and Power
• Quaternary Environmental Change

Optional Placement Year

• Year Abroad

Final Year

• Geography Dissertation

Optional modules

• Sustainable Futures
• Arid Zone Environments
• Climate Change: The Physical Basis
• Cultural Geographies of Nature
• Dawn of Civilization
• Future Cities
• Independent Study in Geography
• Oceans and the Marine Environment
• Political geographies of borders: past, present and future
• Disasters, Development and Society

Careers

As a geography graduate you will have a world of opportunities open to you, with a diverse skill set that can be applied to almost any sector.

From problem solving to presentation, this course helps you develop an array of transferable skills that many employers value highly.

Our graduates are working in a range of roles such as:

• senior environment and sustainability consultant
• senior GIS Officer for a local council
• content operations assistant at a TV streaming company
• secondary school head of geography
• planning director at a housing partnership
• freelance public relations consultant
• programme director for a human trafficking and antislavery Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)
• senior research manager at a university
• AI automation logistics specialist
• founder of a social media brand management company.

Whatever your career goals, a geography degree will develop you into an insightful, multi-skilled, capable professional. We look forward to being part of your journey.

Entry requirements

• UCAS Tariff Points: 48
• A Level: DD
• IB Points: 24
• BTEC: PPP or MP

Tuition fees

• Home (UK) full time: £5,760 (Foundation); £9,535 (Degree)
• Home (UK) part time: £720 per single module (Foundation); £1,190 per single module (Degree)
• International full time: £16,750

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

• Oxford Brookes Bursary for Continuing Students
• Undergraduate maintenance loans for part-time UK students
• Undergraduate maintenance loans for full-time UK students
• Undergraduate tuition fee loans for UK students
• Oxford Brookes Bursary for New Students

All financial support and scholarships

• View all funding opportunities for this course

Information from Discover Uni

Full-time study

Part-time study

• Programme changes: On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.