BSc (Hons) Geography Bachelor's degree at Royal Holloway, University of London

Develop an understanding of the factors that control the physical, biological and chemical forces which shape the Earth's surface. Study oceanic and atmospheric processes, plate tectonics, hydrology and coastal processes, glaciation, and arid environments.

Develop an understanding of the complexity of the relationship between people and environment. Examine how and why ecosystems vary spatially and the impact of human activity, such as deforestation and agriculture, on the physical environment. Consider the nature of environmental change, including climatology.

Engage with key issues in human geography. Consider human geography as a distinctive way to approach the world, examining key questions about globalisation, inequality, identity and the nature of place. Look at approaches to economic, cultural and historical geography, and the development of the discipline.

Introduction to human geographical perspectives on political processes, societies, development and the environment. Develop an appreciation of the importance of scale, networks and spatial patterns, and how geographers have approached the challenges of inequality at local, national and global scales.

Introduction to the methods for collecting, interpreting and presenting physical and human geographical information, in both the field and in the laboratory. Conduct physical and human geography fieldwork in the local area, with activities including surveying and mapping, vegetation sampling and identification, soil and water analysis, interpreting past history, exploratory and inferential data analysis, questionnaire design, interviewing, and visual and textual interpretation.

Introduction to the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in physical and human geographical research, giving practical experience in the use of ArcMap. Look at the use of satellite remote sensing for geomorphological mapping, census classifications and boundaries, and volunteered geographic information.

Develop practical research skills on a week-long field-trip to Andalusia in Southern Spain. Spend four days looking at specific local examples of physical, environmental, social, economic and cultural processes. Then spend two days working in small groups, conducting a short piece of original research on a topic of choice.

Describe the key principles of academic integrity, focusing on university assignments. Cover plagiarism, collusion and commissioning as activities that undermine academic integrity, and the possible consequences of engaging in such activities.

Develop skills in research design, data collection and analysis. Learn how to handle and process advanced human or physical geography data sets, and further the ability to apply geographical information systems (GIS) techniques. Start to plan dissertation, thinking about proposal design, and risk and research ethics assessments.

Conduct field research in Cyprus, Malawi, New York, Sicily or London, with each destination focussing on a different area of Geography. Develop ability to analyse and problem-solve in the field, collecting, interpreting and combining different types of geographical evidence.

Focus on the use and management of resources, in the context of inputs and outputs to environmental systems, with an emphasis on processes and the impacts of human activities. Gain hands-on experience through practical work relating to the processes, functioning and management of environmental systems in the context of sustainability.

Focus on two overall themes: 1) the earth surface processes responsible for shaping the physical landscape and 2) natural hazards, where extreme earth surface process events pose a societal risk. Centre on geomorphological systems: slopes, rivers, glaciers and dunes. Cover key hazards including landslides, floods, glacier lake outburst floods and dust storms.

Develop an appreciation of the historical context which underpins theory concerning environmental history, present-day environmental problems, and the prediction of future environmental changes. Practical training in laboratory methods relevant to testing such theories. Train for readiness to undertake fieldwork and third-year independent studies in a range of topical research themes in Quaternary environmental change.

Provide a sound theoretical and historical background to biogeographical research and the basis of biodiversity. Explore dispersal strategies of organisms; the principal factors limiting species distribution at the present day; geographical centres for origination and dispersal; natural selection and evolution; the role of past and present ecosystems; island biogeography; the Quaternary histories of different groups of flora and fauna; natural and anthropogenic threats to ecosystems; extinction

Introduce key concepts and ideas in political geography and geopolitics promoting an appreciation of the relationship between politics and geography through a range of different theoretical lenses, a series of diverse contexts, and at a variety of scales. Cover 'lens' lectures and 'context and theme' lectures addressing contemporary political geography.

Introduce the concepts and theories used to interpret and explain urbanisation and urban processes, providing critical knowledge of urban political economy, urban political ecology and urban social movements. Equip students with critical tools to analyse the ecological transformations implied by political economic shifts.

Concern with the character of place and culture in the modern world. Explore the material cultural transformations wrought by processes of modernisation and how people understand and imagine the places, spaces, times and environments they inhabit. Address issues of global geographies of cultural change, questions of place, identity and landscape, the significance of place and space in the invention of modern traditions, and nature-society relations.

Undertake an individual piece of geographical research, on a topic of choice, around 10,000 words in length. Allocated a member of staff as dissertation adviser who will provide advice on research design, data collection and analysis.

Undertake an individual and independent piece of geographical research in conjunction with a placement organisation. Connect knowledge and approaches to human or physical geographical research with those practiced in partner organisations. Gain workplace skills including performing in a team of experts within a professional environment.