Physical Geography

UCAS code: F840

Here's what Swansea University says about its Physical Geography course.

Our BSc Physical Geography degree gives you a broad, research informed understanding of the Earth’s physical systems, bringing together themes from physical geography, environmental science and geology. You will explore topics such as climate change, natural hazards, pollution, coastal management, wildfires and geophysics, developing a strong foundation in the science behind environmental change.

Throughout your degree, you will gain essential skills in writing, data analysis, statistics and critical thinking, alongside hands on laboratory and field based training. The programme offers the flexibility to tailor your module choices to your interests, allowing you to specialise in areas of physical and environmental geography that align with your academic strengths and future career ambitions.

This degree is designed to help you understand and address global environmental challenges while building the practical and analytical skills needed to succeed in a range of geography related careers.

Teaching is delivered by research active staff who bring their expertise and enthusiasm into the classroom. Your learning will take place through a blend of lectures, practical lab and IT sessions, tutorials and hands on fieldwork. Assessments reflect the varied skills needed in modern geographical careers, including stakeholder analyses, presentations, podcasts, lab reports, field notebooks and more traditional academic work.

If applicants do not meet the requirements to enter our three-year degree programmes, then our four-year BSc Geography with a Foundation Year is offered. Our foundation programme gives you a chance to develop the skills essential to completing their degree. Upon successful completion of the Foundation Year, you can progress to any Geography programmes, including BSc Physical Geography.

In Year 1 you'll study several compulsory modules covering topics such as global environmental change, Earth in action and Earth's changing face. You will then choose from optional modules covering geographical skills and methods, writing skills and personal development planning and practical field projects, and topics such as sustainability, people place and nation, colonial and postcolonial geographies, mobilities and migration and geology. In Year 2, you'll choose from a range of optional modules covering data analysis, approaches to physical geography and environmental research methods, and topics such as geographic information systems, glacial environments and processes, the Earth from Space, quaternary environmental change, global vegetation patterns and dynamics, urban modelling, Earth history and geological record of past environments. You'll also have an opportunity to take part in an overseas field trip. In Year 3, you'll undertake your dissertation and choose from a range of optional modules covering topics such as glaciology, humid tropical environments and landscapes, meteorology and atmospheric science, plate tectonics and global geophysics, environmental modelling and the climate of the last 1,000 years. You'll also have the opportunity to undertake an interdisciplinary field trip to the Indian Himalayas (Sikkim).

On the BSc Physical 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 Year Three.