Geography degrees

[Hedgehoghairy]

Hi, my son is interested in studying Geography at Uni - leaning towards human but happy with a bit of physical so a BA. He will hopefuly get AAB or ABB so not Cambridge etc. We are looking at Exeter, Loughborough, Southampton and Swansea - can anyone recomend any others? He is looking for a good social life/campus. We are south east. Thank you.

Yes - just turn up and wander around to get the feel of the place. If you phone the department in advance they might have somebody free for a chat and a quick look round.

That's the same course my DD has just started. She's also taking Politics and Sociology, and although only a week into lectures, she appears to be enjoying it.

We are based in London, so DD has had 18 years of big city living already. Lancaster is a welcome change. Still lots going on, but a little calmer. 😊

@17againmovie yes please. Looking for feedback on Notts and Liverpool which are the open days we couldn't do.

Geography building at Notts has been the least exciting to walk around, lab lower ground floor and felt quite dated. Shares building with Economics dpt. Having said that, faculty seemed enthusiastic, mapping specialism, unfortunately talk given by admissions director rather than member of teaching staff - shame when they do that as you kids don't get a feel for the teaching style but he presented the course and uni offering comprehensively. He said they never look at personal statements of those who meet the grades or above, only when they assess at clearing. Talk was packed almost every seat in theatre taken. Sports taken very seriously, no doubt attracts sporty kids. Shame that all on campus halls are catered, but self-catered option not far. City is important to DD and it looks like a 15min tram ride in and there is a tram stop at one self-catered accommodations. It seems to score highly on teaching and student experience and student volunteers on the day all genuine, confident, happy kids.

@Bigfatsquirrel - I might PM you too if that is ok? Many thanks

@17againmovie both my DS and I were students in Nottingham and can confirm it’s a great city to be a student in. He was a Geographer and loved the variety in the degree modules (after the first year which was a bit tedious for him going over old ground). Employability stats are superb

@Angelasparty of course. Happy to help.

17 My Nottingham and Bristol BSc geographers both liked their course (both are now solicitors, the younger one qualified this year). Bristol is probably a better regarded university so probably best to go there not Nottingham if someone can get into Bristol. I don't know enough about the two BScs to contrast them.

My ds has just started BA geography at Nottingham - got AAB at A a levels. Great department and he loves it. Staying in self catered accommodation just outside the main campus, which is beautiful.

Thank you Xenia. You may or may not know this information but perhaps can stab a guess: how many places are there for Geography BSc vs. Geography BSc with Year Abroad at Bristol? I am just mulling over whether it limits my DD chances at offer, if she were to apply for Year Abroad, with the thought that perhaps there are fewer available places for it and those places may be more over-subscribed than the straight 3 year degree. Or maybe Bristol don't start with a quota. Any information on this would be most helpful.

Congrats to your DS. I hear a lot of positive student feedback re. Nottingham. My DS would be the same as yours - self-catered (we looked at Broadgate on Open Day this month), it made me wonder whether with predominantly catered accommodation, the self-catered (or non-competitive sporty YP) can feel a little on the sidelines. Sport seemed to reverberate round the campus at every building we attended with lots of uni prizes. DS loved the gym facilities and the odd tennis court round campus for a knock around but would probably not join teams. Notts in the running for her 5 I believe.

17againmovie the self catering accommodation just outside the main campus is huge (2000 students) and very popular. My ds enjoys sport but isn't competitive - just loves going to the gym/swimming etc. He's having the best time (and he wasn't even particularly sociable at home!). There's a club for everyone.

Brilliant to get such high praise for Notts and congrats to your DS for choosing the right place!

On the Nottingham catered / self catered debate my DS said in hindsight the self catered would have been better - the catering wasn’t up to much and wasn’t really the catalyst for forming friendships etc that we thought it might be - perhaps naively I thought it might be a bit like boarding school with everyone dining together etc. the reality was that everyone had breakfast in their rooms (if at all) and the evening meal was served ridiculously early so not convenient if you had late lectures/seminar or sporting commitments. He heated up ready meals in the kitchenette on the corridor most days 😐

I think the other thing is how well they’d cope with all the changes, all at once. Catered gives another year to get used to shopping and cooking on top of everything else.

Re meeting others - it’s worked really well for some that are on less sociable corridors than others. That’s the problem with the flats/self catering setup - if you don’t gel with your flatmates there are no spaces (apart from clubs, your course etc) where people regularly congregate to meet others. The dining hall/common rooms of catered give this.

I am afraid I do not know about the year abroad Bristol option. I just looked www.bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/2025/geography/bsc-geography-with-study-abroad/ and it seems interesting but I am not sure how the year abroad is funded and as a parent helping with university costs 4 years (eg Scotland) always put me off a bit particularly as 4 of my 5 children then did law post graduate after for two years so that was 5 years of study from age 18.

My Nottingham child liked the catered on the campus. I think catered can be a good way to get to know other people are you eat together. I was very disappointed not to get a catered hall at my university but in those days if you put not prepared to share a room on the form (I was NOT prepared to share a room) you could get shunted into self catering. It worked out fine and you just have to make the best of what is presented to you.

@SpentAll my DS did not experience that communal aspect in the catered hall at all - I remember him saying the common room was always empty! He would have preferred - with the benefit of hindsight- a flat set up. Horses for courses I suppose.

From what I can gather it very much depends on the halls - with some seemingly
more sociable than others. And some groups will go out of their way to pick up waifs and strays at dinner etc.

Year abroad at Bristol. Apply for it (rather than assume you can opt into it as places are understandably limited.) Get 60%+ in your first year.

It's: approx 10% of usual Bristol fees (from memory), which is the same elsewhere plus flights and accommodation and spending money / living costs where you go abroad . You don't pay USA fees if you go to the USA for example. It's an exchange programme between the unis.

Quite a few do a 4 year option from several different courses inc geography. From year 1 the tutor group is those doing the extra year so you get to know others that are doing this option.

Highly recommend for personal growth, was of interest in job interviews etc, and great experience.