Swansea University
UCAS Code: L987 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
To include Geography or a related subject (eg. Sociology or World Development, Geology or Environmental Science; or an additional Science subject)
Access to HE (Science or Humanities): Pass with Distinction (27-24 Distinctions to include 3 in Geography or an appropriate subject, plus 15 Merits)
We recognise the EPQ as an excellent indicator of success. If you are predicted a grade B or above in the EPQ, you will receive an offer with a one grade reduction, to include your EPQ with a grade B.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
To include 5 in Higher Level Geography
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Plus A-Level Grade B in Geography or a related subject
Scottish Higher
To include Grade B in Geography (or related subject)
Swansea University accepts the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales as fully equivalent to x1 A-Level.
Requirements are as for A-Levels where you can substitute the same non-specific grade for the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Level core Grade
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
From understanding how landscapes are shaped, to how populations move and interact, to the impact climate change has on us, the study of geography has never been more relevant.
If you're particularly focused on enhancing your employability and have a keen interest in human geography, this scheme is an excellent choice that will equip you with highly desirable practical, numerical and computational skills for a wide range of careers. These include regional planning, environmental management, local authority work, financial planning, computing or business and retail management.
Our strong relationships with industry enable us to provide great work experience opportunities to enhance your employability. We give you help in finding work placements and support during your year in industry.
Just a short drive from the UK's first designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Gower Peninsula, you will have easy access to Bannau Brycheiniog, rural west Wales and the urban and industrial landscapes of South Wales. You'll also have an opportunity to carry out fieldwork overseas in Berlin, New York or Vancouver.
Through this degree, you will explore topical issues including the processes that shape the global economy, mobility and migration, creative geographies and political geography. You'll also get the chance to develop some valuable transferable work skills in your penultimate year of study through an industrial placement.
You will be taught in our £4.2m state-of-the-art Science laboratories, in a vibrant and friendly department. You'll have access to our high-performance computer lab for processing and interpreting satellite Earth observation and GIS data, a stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer, a climatic test chamber, mineral magnetic characterisation equipment and an automatic organic carbon analyser.
You can change between our BA and BSc schemes up until the end of Year 2.
"I loved my degree. I was always fascinated in the wonders of the World and what made it tick. Geography helps you look at the World with an analytical eye. It forces you to weigh up evidence and come to conclusions and question the origin of things. Journalism is exactly the same."
- Melanie Bromley, BA (Hons) Geography, West Coast bureau chief of American Celebrity Magazine US Weekly
**We guarantee that you will be made a conditional offer for a course at Swansea University. Subject requirements will apply. Please come along to our next Open Day or get in touch for further information.** Book an Open Day here: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/our-open-days/
Modules
In Year 1 you'll study several compulsory modules covering topics such as global environmental change, people place and nation, global shifts, colonial and postcolonial geographies, mobilities and migration and urban geography. You will then choose from optional modules covering geographical skills and methods, writing skills and personal development planning, and topics such as sustainability, Earth's changing face and geology.
In Year 2, you'll choose from a range of optional modules covering data analysis, approaches to human geography and conducting social research, and topics such as geographic information systems, creative geographies, boundaries and connections, political geographies and urban modelling. You'll also have an opportunity to take part in an overseas field trip.
In Year 3, you'll spend a minimum of 40 weeks in an industrial placement in a UK company. Occasionally, opportunities may arise outside of the UK. You'll receive support from our placements team during your 2nd year to help you prepare for and secure a relevant industrial placement.
In Year 4, you'll undertake your dissertation and choose from a range of optional modules covering topics such as migration, security and humanism, contemporary rural Britain, geographies of national identity, capital and labour in the 21st century, World cities and environmental modelling. You'll also have the opportunity to undertake an interdisciplinary field trip to the Indian Himalayas (Sikkim).
Assessment methods
On the BA Human Geography course you will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, practical classes and field classes. You will be assessed through a variety of methods, including examinations, coursework, practical work, fieldwork and continuous assessment from tutorials. You will also complete a dissertation in your final year.
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Human geography
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Human geography
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Human geography
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£25k
£29k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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