Revitalised undergraduate programmes in the Department of Geography
Dr Becky Briant explains the exciting changes coming to the 'Geography family' programmes starting October 2017
Here in the Department of Geography we have been making some changes to our 'Geography family' programmes (Geography, Environmental Management, Development and Globalisation and, new from 2017, Human Geography) that will happen for all students (new and current) in October 2017.
Full details of these changes are on the programme pages but our basic principle has been to make sure whatever route students take through their studies they are given the right building blocks from the very start. We have looked again at the content of all our level four modules to make sure they introduce students to the basic concepts and types of data that they will need to know later on in their studies. Some content has changed and we have renamed a number of modules. We have also been working really hard on providing students with an introduction to the skills that they will need to learn effectively. This study skills training happens in the very first term that students are with us in our module Humans and the Environment. From October 2017 all 'Geography family' students will study on this module, meaning that all students will now be part of our compulsory residential field trip within a month of the start of their studies. This introduces field work as a key element of the discipline of geography and helps them to get to know each other. We are paying for everything except travel for this and our summer compulsory level four trip to ensure that all students can take advantage of this opportunity.
At level five we have thought hard about our specialisms and devised a set of modules that between them cover all the sub specialisms in the Department of Geography. In addition to our long standing modules in Methods, Analysis and Techniques, Environmental Processes and Environment, Economy and Society in Europe which have been updated, we now also have modules in Managing Environments and Culture and Development. These reflect our key areas of research in cultural and development geography, economic and urban geography, physical geography and environmental geography and will give students an essential introduction to these areas, enabling them to do better in our level six courses, all of which reflect the research specialisms of the member of staff who teaches them. They include a new module which enables a few students to visit Delhi alongside our Masters students, gaining an in depth understanding of this complex city.
Also at level five we have introduced modules to complement the general research methods training of Methods Analysis and Techniques with more specialist technical training, both in the computer laboratory (level five Principles of GIS) and the field. Students can choose between our new Urban Studies field trip which in 2018 will go to Berlin and our Storms module which teaches hydrological techniques in the UK and Mallorca. Both of these are taught almost entirely in the field.
We are really excited about these changes which we have agreed and planned as a Department. They are going to greatly enhance the experience of all students studying with us by providing the skills needed to make the most of their studies and linking more closely to key areas of research in the Department.
- Dr Becky Briant, Programme Director