BA Geography with International Study / Course details

BA Geography with International Study allows you to study the interaction between people and their environment and explore the diverse cultural, economic, urban and political dimensions of current global challenges - with your third year normally spent overseas, anywhere from Europe, the US and Canada, to Australia or South East Asia.  

Here at The University of Manchester, we've been teaching Geography for more than 125 years - after all, where better to study the subject than this rapidly changing metropolis, with its surrounding national parks and stretching coastlines? 

The wide range of teaching and research interests of our academics - who have an impressive international research reputation - will make it easy for you to be flexible about what, and how, you learn.   

This allows you the maximum choice to tailor your studies to suit your interests.  

Not sure if you're a human or physical geographer just yet? Don't worry - our course allows you to study both human and physical geography in your first year, before specialising to study for a BA or a BSc later in your course.   

You don't need to apply to both courses either - apply for just one via UCAS, and you'll be allowed to switch after beginning your course.

Flexible options

At first and second-year level you can take 'free choice' from degree courses across the University.

You could continue earlier study or try something new including taking course units from UCIL

Stellify award

Use your Geography experience to underpin the prestigious University of Manchester Stellify award .

Employability support

Throughout our courses, we offer employability support in conjunction with the Careers Service and our alumni.

Fieldwork

This course has normally included a field trip. Past locations include Fieldwork options during the degree currently include trips to Crete, Spain, Amsterdam, Morocco, and the Czech Republic - and, of course, around the city of Manchester itself.

For more information, see Fieldwork .

Manchester University Geographical Society (MUGS)

You can also join the Manchester University Geographical Society (MUGS), a society run by Geography students for Geography Students.

Our pre-course field trip for new geography students is a tradition amongst Manchester geographers.

The trip usually takes place in Keswick, the Lake District, over three days in the week before Welcome Week in September.

The residential trip is a great opportunity to get to know your fellow students and future tutors.

It's the first chance to meet some friends who you'll remain close to throughout your course and - in many cases - for long after you graduate.

Teaching methods include fieldwork, lectures, seminars, small-group learning, individual tutorials, and team work.

Important notice

The School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) recognises the value of fieldwork. However, the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff remains our priority. The School will assess on a regular basis the viability of any travel and fieldwork and communicate any significant changes to our students at the earliest possible opportunity.

The ability of fieldwork and travel to proceed, and whether any changes to proposed fieldwork and travel might be necessary, will remain subject to factors such as the:

• rules and guidance on travel and activities implemented and published by the UK and overseas governments;
• outcome of any risk assessments conducted by the University;
• educational value and student experience of the fieldwork, if significant changes to the proposed fieldwork would be necessary;
• availability of appropriate insurance cover;
• availability of appropriate travel and accommodation and any significant changes to their financial costs.

All fieldwork and travel will be subject to a rigorous risk assessment process and the implementation of any protective measures identified by the risk assessment to ensure the health and safety of all our students and staff.

In some circumstances, it may become necessary to make changes to fieldwork or programme related travel. The University will notify you of those changes at the earliest opportunity. If any fieldwork does not go ahead as planned, then the School's focus will be on seeking to offer a suitable alternative and ensure that the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) of the programme are met.

Please note that Countries may change their immigration and visa regulations at short notice. The School cannot guarantee that where visas are required for fieldwork, they will be granted but we will take steps so that if a visa is refused, affected students are not academically disadvantaged.

We're one of Europe's best-equipped universities for geography, with excellent library, cartography, computing, and laboratory facilities.  

You can learn professional computer-based skills such as coding and programming - as well as how to use industry-standard software such as image processing, GIS, GPS, and cartographic representation - in our computer labs. 

The University's Main Library is the largest university library system in the UK (apart from the copyright libraries) and has many different working spaces.  

It is home to the University Map Collection, which comprises about 100,000 map sheets of every part of the world. 

Depending on your interests you may also take advantage of our excellent physical geography labs, which offer a wide spectrum of advanced equipment for environmental analyses, including dedicated sediments, microscopy, spectroscopy, and X-ray facilities. 

See facilities  for more information.