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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Where’s good for geography please?

29 replies

EqualFranknessWithYourLadyship · 12/03/2023 18:00

Geographers, please come this way.
emphasis probably will be human geography :)
are your offspring doing geography somewhere?
do you teach it?

OP posts:
IJustHadToLookHavingReadTheBook · 12/03/2023 18:03

Kings and UCL have always been good for HG. Husbands a geographer who teaches it. He says also Manchester, Edinburgh and Leeds.

EqualFranknessWithYourLadyship · 12/03/2023 18:08

Well flowers to you! Flowers

OP posts:
EqualFranknessWithYourLadyship · 12/03/2023 18:09

Any thoughts on Bristol or Exeter? We are up north so he likes the idea of the south :)

OP posts:
Oldowl · 12/03/2023 18:23

DD is just coming to the end of her human geography degree at the LSE. Ask away if you have any questions.

WarningToTheCurious · 12/03/2023 18:24

Bristol, Exeter, Southampton?

You could probably get a bit further south, but not much.

PerpetualOptimist · 12/03/2023 19:07

Lots of choices and so worth your DS digging into the detail. Just some examples:

Exeter geog degrees have variants with placement years as well as courses at Penryn (Cornwall) and in Exeter itself.

U of Southampton has a human geog degree as well as the more standard human/physical mix.

Bristol has a course variant with heavy focus on quantitative methods for social sciences, which can boost employability.

Further north, U of Birmingham has a Geography and Regional & Urban Planning degree. Geog modules can be taken within the Liberal Arts & Natural Sciences course.

EqualFranknessWithYourLadyship · 12/03/2023 19:19

Gosh lots to think about.

Right now he is drawn to human geography but a degree that kept both physical and human options open for all four years (one abroad) would be great (he’s too young to decide that yet he reckons and I agree)

OP posts:
EqualFranknessWithYourLadyship · 12/03/2023 19:20

Old owl what is she doing next?

OP posts:
Oldowl · 12/03/2023 22:18

Having a gap year, but after that she has no idea.

Dobbyismyabsolutefav · 12/03/2023 23:26

My teenager is studying Geography at Exeter and 1st year is a 50/50 split between human and physical although you can add modules from other departments. You can definitely do a year abroad but you need a 2:1 in year 2 for this option.

From memory Bristol was rules out as I believe you need Maths A level, school flagged this in year 12.

Teenager had offers from Durham, Lancaster, Sheffield and RH.

TizerorFizz · 12/03/2023 23:43

@Dobbyismyabsolutefav Bristol does not require maths A level for Geography BSc. It has a list of 16 A level subjects snd, if you are taking 3 of them, you get a slightly lower offer. Worth a look because Bristol is very good for Geography. London universities are expensive regarding living costs. Geography can lead to very many jobs but it is definitely worth looking at course content and destination of students.

POTC · 12/03/2023 23:48

My son is at Lincoln and really enjoying it. They've not been offering Geography for that long but outcomes and feedback have been good.

Dobbyismyabsolutefav · 12/03/2023 23:54

@TizerorFizz Maybe entry requirements have changed as my teenager dropped Maths (4th A level) and this ruled out Bristol for them. Thinking about it it might have been you needed Geography and a science A level or Maths. Any way a good university for Geography but not an option in our house.

riverwalker · 13/03/2023 10:01

I'm fairly sure they don't need Maths for Geography at Bristol as DD was offered a place (within 24 hours) last cycle without it (no Science subject either). She applied for the 4-year programme with a year overseas in the third year. But Geog is a BSc at Bristol with an emphasis on quantitative methods. I think it was A, A, A needed for Bristol.

OP - you could have a look at the Complete University Guide (search Geog courses) to get an idea of the most popular / well-regarded Geography degrees.

Basically, they need A star, A, A predicted to apply for Cambridge, Oxford or Durham (but realistically most successful students will have higher predictions than this).

Cambridge and Oxford both offer courses that cover physical and human modules to begin with - but there are opportunities to specialise as the course goes on (or not).

Durham offer a BA (more Human Geog) or BSc (more Physical Geog).

UCL also offer a BSc or a BA, but they make little distinction between the two as it depends on the modules they choose once there and whether they prefer to graduate with a BSc or BA. UCL also offer a 4-year course where they spend a year abroad. I think the minimum grade threshold is A, A, A for UCL.

Another respected course is LSE where it is a purely Human Geography BA (again, A, A, A).

Exeter Uni have various Geography courses, inc a 4-year International Programme. Courses are offered on the Exeter campus or the one in Penryn, Cornwall (less competitive).

I believe Lancaster Uni offer a purely Human Geog degree? It might be something like A, B, B there?

Apart from these, Bath Uni offer a course called 'International Development with Economics' which, when you look at the modules, it very similar to a Human Geography BA. This course also has the option of an international year (work placement or uni).

Warwick do not offer Geography at all.

DD is at Cambridge and, like your DS, thought she would only opt for the Human Geog modules but actually, this has not been the case as the course encourages linked perspectives. It is hard work but fascinating and they frequently have guest speakers in the Cambridge Union who are at the forefront of research - eg. Danny Dorling was there recently and so was Brian Cox (I know he's a physicist, but still).

Xenia · 13/03/2023 10:55

My son did a BSc in Geography at Bristol and loved it (although he is now a trainee solicitor so has not used it for career).
His A levels were geography history and economics (so not science ones) but he managed all the parts of the BSc fine and could pick modules. Bristol is lovely. 3 of my children studied there.
Re. the comment above about maths and Bristol I think AAA in any subjects is a Bristol option or AAB in specified ones www.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/2024/geography/bsc-geography/

Another of my children did BSc geography at Nottingham University and again liked the course I believe.

rambunctiousSlug · 13/03/2023 12:47

Southampton is particularly good for physical geography - worth looking at the school of ocean and earth science and national oceanography centre. Even if planning on mainly HG, might be worth looking at what else is on offer.

EqualFranknessWithYourLadyship · 13/03/2023 13:44

I appreciate these answers!

OP posts:
TizerorFizz · 13/03/2023 16:05

Yes - Higher grades required at Bristol if you don’t have 3 of their 16 listed.

FannythePinkFlamingo · 13/03/2023 16:16

DS did a BA in Geography at Sussex. As it was a BA it was more human focussed. He works in finance now so nothing Geography related at all.

cptartapp · 13/03/2023 16:44

DS1 does Human Geography at Nottingham. AAB. Is second year now and really enjoying it. Lovely campus and great city to be a student.
He also liked Lancaster (who have dropped their requirements this year from AAB to ABB) although the city isn't for everyone, and Liverpool.

Rhumba · 23/03/2023 16:23

Any one heard if St Andrews is any good? DS thinking of next year.

AuntieMarys · 23/03/2023 16:37

Ds did geography at LSE

nandos12 · 23/03/2023 16:42

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

SlightlyJaded · 24/03/2023 18:21

DD is doing Human Geography and hoping to go to Leeds which ranks 8th nationally for Geog. They've asked for AAB

For reference she was also offered
Manchester AAB
Newcastle ABB
Bristol AAB

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