Program Overview

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Introduction to Human Geography and Planning

The Bachelor's degree programme in Human Geography and Planning at the University of Groningen is a full-time programme that delves into the investigation of society in its geographic context. Students learn to explain how and why cities and regions develop differently and how this relates to where and when these developments take place.

Programme Overview

• The programme covers a wide variety of topics, including urban development, globalization and labor markets, migration, and urban and regional planning.
• Geographers and planners combine these topics with a spatial perspective to make the world we live in a better place.
• During the first year, students learn academic skills and are introduced to various themes of human geography & planning.
• In the second year, students deepen their knowledge about spatial developments and improve their skills to answer spatial questions.
• In the third year, students can specialize by following extra faculty courses, broaden their view by taking a minor or doing an internship, or widen their horizon by studying abroad.
• Finally, students finish their studies by writing a bachelor’s thesis where they combine their knowledge and skills to become a human geographer or planner ready to make a positive contribution to the world around them.

Facts and Figures

• Degree: BSc in Human Geography and Planning
• Course type: Bachelor
• Duration: 36 months (180 EC)
• Croho code: 50974
• Language of instruction: English
• Start: September
• Faculty: Spatial Sciences

Why Study in Groningen?

• The strength of the programme lies in its combination of five fields: Economic Geography, Real Estate Studies, Population Studies, Cultural Geography, and Planning.
• There is an open atmosphere, and it is easy to contact other students and lecturers.

Programme Structure

Year 1

• Reflecting on Human Geography and Spatial Planning (5 EC)
• Urbanism and Planning (SP) (10 EC)
• Economic Geography (10 EC)
• Statistics 1 (5 EC)
• Introduction to Academic Research (5 EC)
• Population Geographies (10 EC)
• Geographic Information Systems (10 EC)
• Rural Geography (5 EC)

Year 2

• Migration and Development (10 EC)
• Qualitative Research Methods (5 EC)
• People, Place and Culture (10 EC)
• Restricted Elective: Healthy Ageing, Geographies of the United States, Population and Development or Real Estate Principles (5 EC)
• Governance Dynamics (SP) (5 EC)
• Physical Geography (5 EC)
• Statistics 2 (5 EC)
• Landscapes (5 EC)
• Philosophy of Social Science (5 EC)
• Quantitative Research Methods (5 EC)

Year 3

• Minor or Optional Modules (30 EC)
• Geography, Planning and the European Union (5 EC)
• Planning Dynamics (5 EC)
• Bachelor's Project (15 EC)
• Fieldwork Abroad (5 EC)

Curriculum

For more information about the courses in this programme, please refer to the course catalog.

Study Abroad

• Study abroad is optional
• For an average of 15 weeks
• Maximum of 30 EC
• Studying abroad is not the same as the field work course in the third year; fieldwork abroad is mandatory.

Entry Requirements

• Dutch diploma: VWO Natuur & Techniek, VWO Natuur & Gezondheid, VWO Economie & Maatschappij, VWO Cultuur & Maatschappij, aangevuld met wiskunde C
• International diploma: equivalent to a Dutch pre-university (VWO) degree
• Knowledge minimum: maths level comparable to the Dutch VWO Maths A, B, or C
• Language test: IELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge English C1 Advanced/C2 Proficiency

Admission Requirements

• Previous education: equivalent to a Dutch pre-university (VWO) degree
• Knowledge minimum: maths level comparable to the Dutch VWO Maths A, B, or C
• Language test: IELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge English C1 Advanced/C2 Proficiency
• Other admission requirements: Colloquium Doctum (21+) entrance test

Registration Procedure

Students with an international diploma must apply both in Studielink and the university's Progress Portal before 1 May.

Application Deadlines

• Dutch students: 01 May 2026
• EU/EEA students: 01 May 2026
• non-EU/EEA students: 01 May 2026

Tuition Fees

• EU/EEA: € 2601 (full-time)
• non-EU/EEA: € 13500 (full-time)

After Your Studies

Job Prospects

Graduates with a Bachelor's degree in Human Geography & Planning often decide to pursue a Master's degree in a related field. Suitable jobs can be found in the world of local planning and government agencies, academic and non-academic research institutes, international organizations (or NGOs), advisory/consultancy agencies, and elsewhere.

Job Examples

• Advisor spatial planning at a consultancy firm
• Project manager at a local government agency
• High school geography teacher

Research

Human Geography Planning is based on research. Not only are students educated to become researchers, but lecturers also use their own research and others to keep the education as recent and relevant as possible.

Study Associations

Ibn Battuta is the Faculty Association of Spatial Sciences. Becoming a member of Ibn Battuta means students can join social drinks, foreign trips, lectures, and all other activities organized by the Association.

Binding Study Advice

A minimum of 45 EC in the first 12 months (binding). Students will be offered study advice after the first year of study.

Study Support

The Faculty of Spatial Sciences takes a small-scale approach and helps students to learn how to work independently. Students will be assigned to a mentor group together with other first-year students whom they will get to know very well. A mentor is a senior student who can teach students all the ins and outs of the faculty.

Related Master's Programmes

• DDM Religion and Pluralism
• Theoretical and Empirical Linguistics
• Applied Linguistics - TEFL
• DDM Urban Planning, Society and Sustainability
• Theology & Religious Studies
• DDM Urban Governance within a Global Environment
• DDM Sustainable Water Management
• European Studies
• Linguistics
• Economic Geography
• Social Sciences and Humanities Education - Geography
• DDM Social Demography
• International Relations (120 EC)
• DDM International Programme in Economic Geography
• Economic Geography: Regional Competitiveness and Trade
• Spatial Sciences - Research
• Real Estate Studies
• DDM Sustainable Urban and Regional Development
• Arts and Culture
• Designing Spatial Transformations
• Environmental and Infrastructure Planning
• Film and Contemporary Audiovisual Media
• Economic Geography: Resilient Rural Regions
• Islands and Sustainability (EM)
• Multilingualism
• International Humanitarian Action (120 EC)
• Society, Sustainability and Planning
• Euroculture (EM)
• Anthropology of Religion and Culture
• Arts in Society
• DDM Demography and Social Inequality
• Heritage and Religion
• Social Sciences and Humanities Education
• Population Studies
• Popular Music and Sonic Cultures
• Interdisciplinary Research in Health Dynamics - Research
• Vertalen en Technologie