School of Geography

Independent learning

Part of studying at university is that you will take increasing responsibility for your own learning as you progress through your degree. Developing the skills to think and work independently is crucial to your success both at university and in your future career. Independent study involves a lot of reading around the subject, and although this may seem daunting at first, we will guide and support you to ensure you are able to:

• use the Library resources and find information
• read critically and develop a balanced argument
• plan and prepare academic assignments
• take and make good notes
• develop strategies for dealing with the volume of reading required for your course
• effectively manage your time to meet deadlines

Teaching

Lectures are a student’s staple diet - the main source of information and knowledge - but probably quite different to anything you have encountered at school. Lectures are usually 50 minutes long and may be attended by over 150 students at Level 1, but are smaller at Level 2 and smaller still at Level 3.

Lectures are a great way to introduce you to a topic, but you are never really sure whether you have understood a subject area until you have had the chance to discuss it in more detail in smaller groups. For this reason we also deliver teaching through tutorials (groups of six); seminars (groups of approximately 30); computer classes; lab practical classes; group-work; online exercises and fieldwork. Opportunities for extra help, including 'drop-in' workshops, one-to-one assistance, and an extensive programme of generic skills training offered by Skills@Library, are also readily available.

Workload

The style of learning and teaching at university is quite different to what you will have been used to at school or college. At university, you are expected to read widely for each module you study. A twenty-credit module equates to 200 hours study time, which includes contact time (lectures, classes), independent reading and study time, preparation of assignments and exam revision. A full workload is 120 credits at each level of study, so you are expected to spend about 40 hours per week during term-time on your studies.

Feedback

We appreciate how important it is that you receive prompt and constructive feedback on all your work so that you know how well you are progressing with your studies. Feedback also provides us with an opportunity to advise you on any particular areas where we feel you may benefit from further reading or additional study skills support. Different styles of feedback that you are most likely to encounter in your studies include:

• One-to-one, group or whole class verbal feedback
• Peer review feedback
• Electronic feedback via email or posted on the VLE (Blackboard)
• Written feedback – on a feedback sheet, and as annotations on your work
• Example or model answers made available to the whole group

Attendance

We monitor attendance to ensure that we can identify and help you if you are experiencing any personal or academic difficulties which are impacting on your ability to study. Attendance is compulsory and registers are taken at some sessions. We ask you to notify the School if you are unable to attend for any reason.

Assessment

Assessment methods vary from module to module, and this gives you the flexibility to choose modules based on the assessment criteria that suits your particular strengths. Types of assessment include:

• examinations
• individual or group reports
• practical exercises
• individual or group presentations
• essays
• posters
• projects (such as the dissertation)
• reflective logs

Year 1 provides you with the foundational skills needed to be a physical geographer. You will be taught in small groups (tutorials), in lectures, in the computer and chemical laboratory, and in the field, and introduced to some key issues within physical geography such as climate change, the human impact on the natural environment, and the basics of how ecosystems function.

You will study the following compulsory modules:

GEOG1040: Dynamic Landscapes

• Why are there mountains?
• Are glaciers the most erosive features in the natural world, 'bull-dozing' all before them?
• How much do 'slow' processes, such as soil creep, shape landscapes?
• How does water move through the landscape and how does it affect weathering and erosion processes around the world?
• What is a geomorphological hazard?

GEOG1045: Living Planet

• What are biogeochemical cycles and why are they also known as 'cycles of life'?
• What is a soil and how do soils affect life on earth?
• What is a biome and how did the earth's biomes form?
• Why are flamingos pink?
• How do ecosystems respond to human disturbance?

GEOG1055: Environmental Change: Past and Future

• Is climate change really happening?
• How rapidly has climate changed in the past?
• How many ice ages have there been?
• How have humans responded/adapted to climate change in the past?
• What does the future hold for planet earth under a changing climate?

GEOG1065: Nature, Society and Environment

• What do we mean by sustainability?
• What is an ecosystem service?
• Is there such a thing as environmental justice?
• How will climate change affect human societies?
• What is re-wilding?

GEOG1070: Physical Geography Tutorial

This module introduces the ways in which physical geographers seek to understand the natural world around them (and the human impact on the natural world). In small groups (5-7 students) you will learn how to read and understand academic papers, the scientific process, and how to write cogent and convincing explanations of the different research approaches used in physical geography.

GEOG1075: Data Analysis for Physical Geography

This module will give you foundational skills in geographical information systems (GIS), statistics, and report writing that will underpin the rest of your degree. These skills are gained using a virtual geomorphological tour through the fascinating arid environment of Death Valley, California.

In addition you will study 20 credits of electives.

Year 2 builds on year 1 and helps develop your skills in computational physical geography and the design and execution of research projects. You will also build on your specialist subject knowledge as a physical geographer in diverse areas including global climate, geomorphological processes in temperate and glacial catchments, evolution and ecosystem processes, and resource management. A key part of the second year is a week-long residential field trip to either the Austrian Alps or the Cevennes in southern France. A specialist careers module helps you plan your post-degree options.

You will study the following compulsory modules:

GEOG2015: Career Skills in Geography

• What career opportunities are there for geography graduates?
• What processes do companies use to select their employees?
• How can I write a CV that impresses potential employers?
• How should I conduct myself at an interview?
• What can I do now that will help my employment prospects when I graduate?

GEOG2095: Skills for Physical Geographers

• How do we use computer technologies – particularly geographical information systems (GIS) and remote sensing software – to organise and analyse information about the world around us?
• How do physical geographers develop research question and a testable hypothesis?
• As physical geographers how should we collect and analyse data to answer our research questions?
• What physical geography problems can statistical analysis help answer, and is a statistical approach always appropriate?
• Can key questions within physical geography be tackled using more than one research approach?

Optional modules include:

GEOG2005: Field class: The dynamic environment of the Cévennes National Park (Massif Central, France)

• What physical and biological processes characterise the upland landscape of the Cevennes National Park in southern France?
• How has the environment of the Cevennes changed over time in response to human activity and shifts in climate?
• How can present and past processes be studied and measured in the field and the laboratory, and what research approaches and techniques are most useful?
• What does the future hold for the Cevennes National Park, and what challenges face its environmental managers?

GEOG2009: Field class: The dynamic environment of the Hohe Tauern National Park (Eastern Alps, Austria)

• What physical forms and processes are peculiar to Alpine environments?
• How is a knowledge of physical geography essential to understanding Alpine environments?
• What processes in particular have shaped the Alpine landscape (e.g. glacial and fluvial processes)?
• How can these be studied and measured in the field, and what techniques are most useful?
• How might climate change and human activities influence Alpine landscapes?
• How do Alpine processes affect human resources such as hydro power and water supply?

GEOG2060: Living within limits: natural resource management for sustainable development

This module explores the interface between physical and human geography, and explores how humans 'exploit' their natural environment. Key questions that will be discussed on the module include:

• What is a natural resource?
• What are the different approaches to natural resource management?
• Are there limits to growth and how well does the 'technofix' model describe resource use?
• How is environmental and resource policy developed?
• What role do non-governmental advocacy groups and the private sector play in policy making?

GEOG2080: Earth Surface Processes

This module focuses on hydrological and geomorphological processes and landforms in temperate and glacierised catchments, and provides answers to questions such as:

• How do hydrological and glacial processes respond to climate change?
• Why do rivers flood and how can we reduce the flood hazard?
• How do avalanches occur; how great a hazard are they?
• What are the factors that control the magnitude and severity of glacial outburst floods?

GEOG2085: Ecosystems: process, pattern and change

• What evolutionary processes have shaped life on earth?
• What are mass extinctions and how do they occur?
• How do biomes and ecosystems function?
• How does the global carbon cycle interact with climate?
• What is the 'Anthropocene'?

GEOG2090: Climate Systems

• How can we conceptualise and model (using computers) the global climate system?
• What are the most important controls on global climate?
• What is the role of the oceans in the global climate system?
• Why, in its recent geological past, has the earth undergone repeated glaciations and de-glaciations?
• What are the causes and nature of recent climate change?

You also have the option of taking up to 20 credits of electives.

In Year 3 you work on a large, independent research project – the dissertation – with specialist help from an academic tutor. The dissertation is your chance to tackle a geographical research question (or questions) of your choice and to put into practice the skills and subject knowledge you have acquired in the first two years. You also study three specialist modules, one of which can be a field-trip module to New Zealand or Greenland (alternate years). The topic-based modules range from computer modelling of environmental processes to soil hydrological and biochemical processes.

GEOG3600: Dissertation

In this module you design and undertake your own piece of original research with guidance from an academic tutor. This is your chance to make an original contribution to knowledge and to put into practice the skills and subject understanding you have gained in the previous two years. Many projects involve answering geographical research questions through field data collection and subsequent data analysis. However, some projects are almost entirely laboratory-based and some involve computer modelling.

GEOG3062: New Zealand Fieldtrip

The New Zealand field trip takes place in early December and lasts for two weeks. Initially, there is a guided tour of several glaciated parts of the Mt Cook National Park. You will then undertake an independent research project in the Matukituki valley near Wanaka, Mt Aspiring National Park. In this project you will study first-hand some of the most dynamic glacial, hydrological, geomorphological and ecological systems anywhere in the world. The module boasts an excellent staff-student ratio, exceptional resources in the form of supplementary material, and the field trip is an excellent example of research-led teaching because it capitalises on considerable staff research expertise in this area. As a student on this module, you will not be disappointed!

GEOG3065: Water Science and Management

• How do the natural dynamics of river systems influence their morphology, flows, water quality and biological communities?
• What are the most serious issues requiring the management of rivers and their catchments?
• How can hydrological and geomorphological alterations benefit river ecosystems by improving water quality?
• What are the approaches to managing water sustainably, both in an environmental context and within water supply/treatment networks?
• How do key water policies and legislation impact on the management of our rivers?

GEOG3130: Alternative Urban Futures

• What are the different kinds of alternative futures urban areas face?
• How will key challenges such as peak oil, climate change, social and spatial justice impact on our urban spaces?
• What role will eco-modernisation, localisation, state renewal and grassroots democracy have to play in determining these futures?
• How will the multi-faceted nature of urban change impact on future urban scenarios and alternatives in practice?

GEOG3180: Management of Wilderness and Global Ecosystems

• What are wildernesses and why should we protect them?
• How is the idea of wilderness linked to the rise of the 'environmental movement'?
• Why is wilderness an essential component of the ecosystem services model?
• How can GIS be used to identify, map and manage wilderness landscapes?
• What is rewilding and why should we create more wilderness?
• How does wilderness feature in world conservation policy?

GEOG3440: Environment, Conflict and Policy

• What are the key principles underlying policies aimed at solving environmental conflicts?
• What is the fundamental science underlying the application of these key principles?
• How do actual environmental disputes develop and how can contrasting viewpoints of different stakeholders be reconciled?
• When does the politics of policy sometimes override science?
• How can negotiation skills be used in practise to manage debates on environmental conflict?

GEOG3520: Workplace Co-operative Project

This module is mutually exclusive with GEOG3820: Research Placement. The module provides students with an opportunity to:

• Work in collaboration with an outside organisation on a project that is of use to the organisation and suitable as an advanced component of a degree in Geography.
• Design, negotiate, record and manage their work in cooperation with an academic supervisor and a member of staff from the outside organisation.

GEOG3690: Tropical forests and sustainable development

• How resilient have tropical rain forests been to environmental change during geological history?
• What is the role of glacial ‘refugia’ in shaping current tropical rain forest communities?
• How have indigenous people affected tropical rain forests landscapes?
• What factors control the diversity of tropical rain forests?
• How do tropical rain forests affect the climate system?
• Is sustainable development possible in SE Asia?
• What constraints on economic and social development are imposed by the fragile natural environments of SE Asia?
• How do national-governmental and international policies affect land-use in SE Asia?
• In a land-use context, what is meant by 'good governance'?
• What are the causes of land-use change in SE Asia and what is the relationship between land-use change and social and economic development?

GEOG3710: Digital worlds: computer simulation of Earth's dynamic environments

• What is an environmental model and why do scientists and environmental managers use models?
• How can models be both wrong and useful?
• How are models constructed?
• How are models tested and used both by practitioners (e.g., policy makers) and scientists?
• What is a numerical experiment and what can it tell us about an environmental system?

GEOG3820: Research Placement

This module is mutually exclusive with GEOG3012: New Zealand Research Project and GEOG3520: Workplace Co-operative Project. In this module students undertake a substantial piece of original research on a project put forward by an academic supervisor. Often, the project will be an important part of a wider research programme of the supervisor. Students will be expected to contribute to the design of the project and will gain an in-depth appreciation of how academics ‘do’ research. The module is useful for those considering a career in research through study for a higher degree (MSc or PhD).

GEOG3875: Biogeochemical Cycles: Process to Policy

Global biogeochemical cycles describe the movement of biologically important elements through the Earth System (the combination of atmosphere, oceans, rocks and biota). The processes which govern such cycles are fundamental to all life, and result in a complex series of interactions and feedbacks. This module takes an Earth System Science approach to the study of the global cycling of biologically important elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous. You will learn about the processes governing the movement of these elements, and how to represent them using simple box models and address questions such as:

• How do biogeochemical cycles combine to control Earth evolution, regulation, and climate?
• How have humans impacted biogeochemical cycles, and what are the future implications of this?

GEOG3885: Ecosystems of the Quaternary

With a focus on the Quaternary period of Earth’s history (the last 2.6 million years), this module uses a palaeoecological approach to address the following questions:

• How have modern ecosystems come into being?
• How do plants and animals respond biogeographically to climate change?
• What effect have Quaternary climate cycles had on the evolution of species and communities?
• How can we apply this knowledge to managing the ecological consequences of human impact on the environment?