BA Geography with Professional Placement / Course details

BA Geography with Professional Placement allows you to study the interaction between people and their environment and explore the diverse cultural, economic, urban and political dimensions of current global.  

You will also broaden your horizons and enhance your employability by normally spending a year in a professional placement.  

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.

Employability  

Our Skills for Geographers course is designed to support students as they begin exploring their future career paths, and what they need to get there.   

This includes practicing core and transferrable skills and identifying areas of expertise.  

On the BA Geography with Professional Placement, your employability will be boosted by undertaking a paid placement, normally in your third year before completing the final year of your degree.   

Placements offer an excellent opportunity for you to gain work experience and valuable skills to boost your CV before you graduate.  

Throughout your degree you will be supported by the Programme Director and colleagues in the Careers Service, who are well equipped to support you in your placement search.   

Fieldtrips    

This course has normally included a field trip. Past locations include Crete, Spain, Amsterdam, Morocco, and the Czech Republic - and, of course, around the city of Manchester itself. 

Manchester University Geographical Society (MUGS)    

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

Pre-course fieldtrip    

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.

Important notice: factors affecting fieldwork and placements

The School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) recognises the value of fieldwork and placements. 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 role of SEED

• changes to the rules and guidance on travel and activities implemented and published by the UK and overseas governments;
• a risk assessment conducted by or on behalf of the University identifying unmanageable risk;
• changes that enhance the educational value and student experience of the activity;
• changes to the situation of a placement provider (for example, which cause them to be unable to accept students);
• the unavailability of appropriate insurance cover;
• the unavailability of appropriate travel and accommodation and any significant changes to their financial costs.
• where fieldwork and placements are a compulsory element of the Programme, they will be replaced with something academically similar;
• where a trip or placement is not a compulsory element of the Programme, it may not be replaced.

We will consult with affected students at the earliest possible opportunity and explore the options available to them.

The duty of students

Preparation, attendance and conduct

Attendance at preparatory classes is a compulsory pre-requisite of the fieldwork and placements to ensure safety and learning outcomes are met.

Students who do not attend the compulsory preparatory classes may be prevented from participating in the fieldwork or placement. It is the duty of students to discuss any attendance issues with the field course or placement convenor.

Students are representatives of the university during their fieldwork or placement. Behaviour deemed by the convenor to be unacceptable may result in students being sent home.

Where a student is unable to attend or complete the fieldwork or placement (e.g. due to mitigating circumstances), is prevented from attending due to absence from compulsory preparatory classes, or returned home due to poor conduct:

• a suitable alternative assessment will be offered (as appropriate) to ensure that the programme ILOs are met, and that the student is not academically disadvantaged;
• the University accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred by the student in relation to the fieldwork or placement.

Immigration, passport and visa requirements

It is the responsibility of the individual student to ensure they have:

• a valid passport to enter the destination country (including sufficient months prior to expiry);
• a valid visa (where required) and comply with its requirements.

The School cannot guarantee that visas required for fieldwork or a placement will be granted by the relevant authority. Please note that countries may change their immigration and visa regulations at short notice.

Where a student is unable to attend fieldwork or a placement because they do not have the required visa or passport:

• a suitable alternative assessment will be offered to ensure that the programme ILOs are met and that the student is not academically disadvantaged;
• the University accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred by the student in relation to the fieldwork or placement.

Without geography and James Evans' sustainability field course, I would never have learned about urban agriculture. What's more, the transferrable skills I gained, and the knowledge of cities, economics, and sustainability, are all things I need for both my jobs.

Read more about Gareth's experience in his student profile.

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.