Geography may be taken as the major subject for the Bachelor of Arts (BA) or for the Bachelor of Science (BSc). In addition, many students enrol for undergraduate papers in Geography while pursing other studies, including Law, Commerce, Humanities, Ecology, Geology, Surveying, Physical Education, Tourism, and Education.
The undergraduate programme provides a firm grounding in the social, economic and physical aspects of the environment. The study of Geography falls into three main areas:
Human Geography in which students focus on issues of urban and economic change, uneven development, social themes like ethnicity, childhood and gender, geopolitical conflict and the human use of natural resources.
Physical Geography in which students focus on physical geography, including earth surface processes and their expression in the landscape, the Earth's weather systems and climates, factors which lead to geographic variations in the distribution and growth of living things, and environmental controls on the availability and quality of water.
Environmental Management in which students gain a theoretical and practical understanding of environmental processes such as climatology, geomorphology, biogeography, hydrology and soil science. This area incorporates sustainable development, integrated resource management and environmental planning and policy.
Both BA and BSc Geography students can mix papers from across the discipline to build an applied environmental management programme within the Geography degree. It is also possible to take Environmental Management as a Bachelor of Applied Science (BAppSc) degree.
Teaching style
Geography papers are taught in a range of ways. Students attend lectures, tutorials and labs, and gain hands-on experience through fieldwork and practical courses in research methods.
Further study
The School of Geography offers an honours programme. Postgraduate studies include the Master of Planning, Master of International Development and Planning, Master of Arts, Master of Science, postgraduate diplomas, and a strong PhD programme.
Background required
There are no subjects you have to have done in order to study Geography – you don't even need to have studied it at school.
