Skip to main content

University of Reading Cookie Policy

We use cookies on reading.ac.uk to improve your experience. Find out more about our cookie policy. By continuing to use our site you accept these terms, and are happy for us to use cookies to improve your browsing experience.

Continue using the University of Reading website

  • Schools and departments
  • Henley Business School
  • University of Reading Malaysia
  • Applicants
  • Student
  • Staff
  • Alumni
Show/Hide navigation
University of Reading University of Reading
Mobile search categories
  • Study and life
  • Research
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • View courses
  • Home
  • Study and life
    • Study
    • Student life
    • Accommodation
    • Open Days and visiting
    • International students
  • Research
    • Themes
    • Impact
    • Innovation and partnerships
    • Research environment
    • Get involved
  • About us
    • Our global community
    • Business
    • Local community
    • Visit us
    • Strategy
    • Governance
  • Contact us
  • Applicants
  • Student
  • Staff
  • Alumni
  • Schools and departments
  • Henley Business School
  • University of Reading Malaysia
  • View courses
mask
CHOOSE A SUBJECT
2023/24
2024/25
Undergraduates
Postgraduates
Undergraduates
Postgraduates

Subjects A-B

  • Agriculture
  • Archaeology
  • Building and Surveying

Subjects C-E

  • Construction Management
  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Economics

Subjects H-M

  • International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • International Relations
  • Marketing
  • Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

  • Politics and International Relations
  • Surveying and Construction

Subjects A-C

  • Chemistry

Subjects D-G

  • English Language and Applied Linguistics

Subjects H-P

  • Healthcare
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Pharmacy

Subjects A-B

  • Accounting
  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biochemistry
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Bioveterinary Sciences
  • Building and Surveying
  • Business and Management

Subjects C-E

  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Classical Studies
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management
  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Creative Writing
  • Criminology
  • Drama
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environment

Subjects F-G

  • Film & Television
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Foundation programmes
  • French
  • Geography
  • German
  • Graphic Communication and Design

Subjects H-M

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • International Development
  • International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • International Relations
  • Italian
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Sciences
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate Studies
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Spanish
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Surveying and Construction
  • Teaching
  • Theatre & Performance

Subjects U-Z

  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Zoology

Subjects A-C

  • Accounting
  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Business (Post-Experience)
  • Business and Management (Pre-Experience)
  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Ancient History
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management and Engineering
  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Creative Enterprise
  • Creative Writing

Subjects D-G

  • Data Science
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Energy and Environmental Engineering
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Film, Theatre and Television
  • Finance
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Geography and Environmental Science
  • Graphic Design

Subjects H-P

  • Information Management and Digital Business
  • Healthcare
  • History
  • Information Technology
  • International Development and Applied Economics
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Project Management
  • Psychology
  • Public Policy

Subjects Q-Z

  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Social Policy
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Strategic Studies
  • Teacher training
  • Theatre
  • Typography and Graphic Communication
  • War and Peace Studies
  • Zoology

BSc Geography (Human) with Professional Experience

  • UCAS code
    L723
  • A level offer
    BBB
  • Year of entry
    2024/25
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  4 Years Other: including a placement year
  • Year of entry
    2024/25
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  4 Years Other: including a placement year

Explore the relationship between human societies and the environments they inhabit with our BSc Geography (Human) with Professional Experience degree.

On this four-year course, you'll study the dynamics and differences in cultures, political systems, economies and landscapes, and discover the links between them.

Examine issues that are critical to our shared global future, including:

  • climate change
  • globalisation and international labour markets
  • social deprivation
  • water pollution.

You'll have the flexibility to decide where to focus your attention as your degree progresses, so you can adapt the degree to suit your interests as they evolve.

Your studies will equip you with essential subject-specific knowledge and transferable skills, including:

  • qualitative and quantitative surveying techniques
  • design and implementation of fieldwork and research projects
  • team-working, communication and leadership
  • GIS (Geographic Information System) and remote sensing
  • computer modelling
  • cartography
  • spatial analysis.

BSc Geography (Human) placement year

A key component of this degree is a year-long professional placement, which occurs between your second and final year. Placements can help enhance your employability and build your network.

Other opportunities include summer placements and the chance to work with partner organisations on research projects, with some of our recent students working with organisations such as:

  • Thames Water
  • Environment Agency
  • Reading Borough Council
  • Earth Trust
  • Reading Buses
  • West Berkshire Wildlife Group.

Visit the Geography and Environmental Sciences placements page for more information.

Your learning environment

At the University of Reading, you'll learn from internationally recognised academics in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science. 99% of students in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science said our that teaching staff were good or very good at explaining things (National Student Survey, 2023). Our experts are researching issues of global importance, including:

  • sustainability
  • globalisation and development
  • hydrology, landscapes and ecology
  • paleoecology
  • glaciology.

Our research expertise feeds directly into the topics you will study throughout your degree, giving you access to the latest developments in human geography. Current projects include neighbourhood regeneration, resilience and sustainability, food and consumerism in the media, and responses to epidemics in third world countries.

  • Professor Hilary Geoghegan is leading the National Environment Research Council's £1.3m 'Community for Engaging Environments' project, which offers students the opportunity to get involved in professional research.

We'll support you to make a difference as you apply your lessons to what you're passionate about. Recent students have successfully campaigned for the University’s students’ union to stop using plastic straws, and participated in a community action group to improve public transport for local socially deprived areas.

  • Read about Jack Abrey, a recent graduate who travelled to Madagascar with WaterAid and the Scouts to help improve access to clean water and safe toilets across the country.

You'll have opportunities to work on research projects within the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science and other departments across the University.

You can also join GeogSoc, a student-run society for geography and environmental science undergraduates. As one of the University’s largest student societies, GeogSoc is a great way to meet people, build your network, and participate in events like club nights, quizzes, and the annual summer and winter formals.

Field classes

One of the most popular components of our BSc Geography (Human) with Professional Experience are its field classes.

All of our compulsory field classes are heavily subsidised by the Department, and the cost of the first-year Southern England class and second-year Scotland class are included in your fees.

We currently offer field classes to:

Year one
  • Southern England - study a range of social, cultural, economic and environmental issues.
Year two
  • Stirling, Scotland - expand your knowledge of geomorphology, environmental change and nature restoration.
Year three
  • Berlin, Germany - explore neighbourhood spaces and social history.
  • Iceland - study volcanic processes and glaciology, energy resources, and the history of the landscape.
  • Nanjing, China - improve your understanding of approaches used to address a range of environmental issues.
  • Southern England and Wales - explore the inter-relationships between a range of social, economic and environmental problems.

Study Abroad

As part of your degree, you can apply to study for a year abroad at one of our partner universities in Australia, Canada, the USA, or across Europe. For example, recent destinations have included Melbourne, Australia and Ottawa, Canada.

In the autumn of your final year, you’ll also have the chance to study abroad for a semester – either in the Netherlands (Groningen), Denmark (Aarhus), or Norway (Bergen or Svalbard). All classes are conducted in English and bursaries are available to help with travel and accommodation costs.

Visit our Study Abroad website for more information.

Overview

Explore the relationship between human societies and the environments they inhabit with our BSc Geography (Human) with Professional Experience degree.

On this four-year course, you'll study the dynamics and differences in cultures, political systems, economies and landscapes, and discover the links between them.

Examine issues that are critical to our shared global future, including:

  • climate change
  • globalisation and international labour markets
  • social deprivation
  • water pollution.

You'll have the flexibility to decide where to focus your attention as your degree progresses, so you can adapt the degree to suit your interests as they evolve.

Your studies will equip you with essential subject-specific knowledge and transferable skills, including:

  • qualitative and quantitative surveying techniques
  • design and implementation of fieldwork and research projects
  • team-working, communication and leadership
  • GIS (Geographic Information System) and remote sensing
  • computer modelling
  • cartography
  • spatial analysis.

BSc Geography (Human) placement year

A key component of this degree is a year-long professional placement, which occurs between your second and final year. Placements can help enhance your employability and build your network.

Other opportunities include summer placements and the chance to work with partner organisations on research projects, with some of our recent students working with organisations such as:

  • Thames Water
  • Environment Agency
  • Reading Borough Council
  • Earth Trust
  • Reading Buses
  • West Berkshire Wildlife Group.

Visit the Geography and Environmental Sciences placements page for more information.

Learning

Your learning environment

At the University of Reading, you'll learn from internationally recognised academics in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science. 99% of students in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science said our that teaching staff were good or very good at explaining things (National Student Survey, 2023). Our experts are researching issues of global importance, including:

  • sustainability
  • globalisation and development
  • hydrology, landscapes and ecology
  • paleoecology
  • glaciology.

Our research expertise feeds directly into the topics you will study throughout your degree, giving you access to the latest developments in human geography. Current projects include neighbourhood regeneration, resilience and sustainability, food and consumerism in the media, and responses to epidemics in third world countries.

  • Professor Hilary Geoghegan is leading the National Environment Research Council's £1.3m 'Community for Engaging Environments' project, which offers students the opportunity to get involved in professional research.

We'll support you to make a difference as you apply your lessons to what you're passionate about. Recent students have successfully campaigned for the University’s students’ union to stop using plastic straws, and participated in a community action group to improve public transport for local socially deprived areas.

  • Read about Jack Abrey, a recent graduate who travelled to Madagascar with WaterAid and the Scouts to help improve access to clean water and safe toilets across the country.

You'll have opportunities to work on research projects within the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science and other departments across the University.

You can also join GeogSoc, a student-run society for geography and environmental science undergraduates. As one of the University’s largest student societies, GeogSoc is a great way to meet people, build your network, and participate in events like club nights, quizzes, and the annual summer and winter formals.

Field classes

One of the most popular components of our BSc Geography (Human) with Professional Experience are its field classes.

All of our compulsory field classes are heavily subsidised by the Department, and the cost of the first-year Southern England class and second-year Scotland class are included in your fees.

We currently offer field classes to:

Year one
  • Southern England - study a range of social, cultural, economic and environmental issues.
Year two
  • Stirling, Scotland - expand your knowledge of geomorphology, environmental change and nature restoration.
Year three
  • Berlin, Germany - explore neighbourhood spaces and social history.
  • Iceland - study volcanic processes and glaciology, energy resources, and the history of the landscape.
  • Nanjing, China - improve your understanding of approaches used to address a range of environmental issues.
  • Southern England and Wales - explore the inter-relationships between a range of social, economic and environmental problems.

Study Abroad

As part of your degree, you can apply to study for a year abroad at one of our partner universities in Australia, Canada, the USA, or across Europe. For example, recent destinations have included Melbourne, Australia and Ottawa, Canada.

In the autumn of your final year, you’ll also have the chance to study abroad for a semester – either in the Netherlands (Groningen), Denmark (Aarhus), or Norway (Bergen or Svalbard). All classes are conducted in English and bursaries are available to help with travel and accommodation costs.

Visit our Study Abroad website for more information.

Entry requirements A Level BBB

Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS and we'll guarantee you a place even if you don't quite meet your offer. For details, see our firm choice scheme.

 Our typical offers are expressed in terms of A level, BTEC and International Baccalaureate requirements. However, we also accept many other qualifications.

Typical offer

BBB

International Baccalaureate

30 points overall

BTEC Extended Diploma

DDM 

Extended Project Qualification

In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) provides to students for University study, we can now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5, with no component below 5.5

For information on other English language qualifications, please visit our international student pages.

Alternative entry requirements for International and EU students

For country specific entry requirements look at entry requirements by country.

International Foundation Programme

If you are an international or EU student and do not meet the requirements for direct entry to your chosen degree you can join the University of Reading’s International Foundation Programme. Successful completion of this 1 year programme guarantees you a place on your chosen undergraduate degree. English language requirements start as low as IELTS 4.5 depending on progression degree and start date.

  • Learn more about our International Foundation programme

Pre-sessional English language programme

If you need to improve your English language score you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.

  • Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

Structure

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3
  • Year 4

Compulsory modules: 

Skills in Geography and Environmental Science

Discover the expected academic standards and integrity at the undergraduate level, while being introduced to the Geography and Environmental Science discipline. Through real-world examples and data, learn essential skills for research. 

Global Challenges

Explore interrelated global issues confronting the planet and humanity today. Delve into the human geography, physical geography, and environmental science perspectives surrounding key challenges. Develop the ability to critically analyse and discuss these challenges using academic literature. 

Field Class

Undertake field research in a real-world setting, using contemporary methods and equipment for data gathering and and experience working as part of a team. The training you receive will be authentic and relevant to your ambitions and to the skills you’ll likely need for dissertation field research.  

Geographical Imaginaries

Understand how geographical knowledge and methods have changed over time and how these changes are crucial to understanding how and why we do geography today. Recognise how geographical knowledge will evolve in response to changing social, environmental and technological needs and opportunities. 

Approaching Human Geography

Examine 'everyday' matters from disciplinary and sub-disciplinary themes, which will enable you to cultivate a geographer's mindset, actively honing your skills and perspectives in Human Geography through guided instruction and hands-on learning. 

Optional modules:

Restless Planet

Learn about the fundamental processes in the Earth System, encompassing the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Discover the interactions between the spheres, particularly the Earth System's integrated nature and how alterations to key biogeochemical cycles, can have far-reaching impacts across the globe. 

Landscapes and Resources

Delve into the integrative notion of landscape, with a focus on its constituent biophysical elements, patterns, and natural processes. Consider the spatial arrangement and functions of renewable and living resources within landscapes, with consideration given to the resilience of these resources in selected landscapes, particularly in the face of global climate change. 

Towards Sustainability: Positive Action for a Better World 

These are the modules that we currently offer for 2024/2025 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods. 

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. 

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading. 

 

The following modules have been approved in principle for delivery in 2024/25. Please note that as part of our current curriculum improvement process, all modules require final University approval and may be subject to change.

Compulsory modules:

  • Skills Training and Project Design
  • Field Class 
  • Living Together: Social and Cultural Geographies 

Optional modules:

  • Environment and Development
  • Energy Resources
  • Geographical Information Systems
  • Analysing Social Data
  • Encountering Political Geographies
  • Changing the face of the Earth: Past, Present and Future Sustainability 

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Professional Placement Year

The following modules have been approved in principle for delivery in 2024/25. Please note that as part of our current curriculum improvement process, all modules require final University approval and may be subject to change.

Compulsory modules:

  • Dissertation

Optional modules:

  • Climate Change and the Geography of Responsibility
  • Consumption, Politics and Space
  • Water Resources
  • Deathscapes and Dark Tourism
  • Tropical Rainforests and Lost Civilisations
  • Spaces of Care and Wellbeing
  • Physical Geography Field Class
  • Human Geography Field Class
  • Geography and Environmental Science Field Class 

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Fees

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250

New international students: £22,350

*UK/Republic of Ireland fee changes

UK/Republic of Ireland undergraduate tuition fees are regulated by the UK government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.

EU student fees

With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government’s guidance for EU students.

Additional costs

Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Placement year fees

If you spend a full year on placement, you will only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee for that year. For more information, please see our fees and funding pages or contact placements@reading.ac.uk.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

Careers

Careers with BSc Geography (Human) with Professional Experience

Geography arms you with the ability to see the big picture. The intellectual, technical and team-working skills you develop during your degree are sought by employers – and 92% of graduates from Geography and Environmental Science are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation (Based on our analysis of HESA data © HESA 2023, Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020/21; includes all Geography and Environmental Science responders).

Your degree will provide the subject-specific and transferable skills required in a variety of careers, including wildlife conservation, renewable energy, urban and transport planning, and roles in the environmental and agricultural sectors. Your communication skills and desire to make a difference might lead you to work in the public sector, teaching, or for local or national government.

Recent BSc Geography (Human) graduates have gone on to work for organisations including:

  • Citibank
  • Good Energy
  • Innovate UK
  • Jacobs
  • Mitchells & Butlers
  • Thames Teachers.

Geography is very tailor-made. I now have a degree relevant to everything I’m interested in and that’s something I love about it. It’s very 'you'.

Heather Cadden
BSc Geography (Human) graduate

Contextual offers


We make contextual offers for all our courses.

Take the next step



How to apply for 2024 entry

Come to an Open Day

Get a prospectus

Ask us a question

Chat to our students

Related Subjects


  • Geography

Ready for more?

How to apply
Visit an Open Day
Get a prospectus
View courses
  • Charitable Status
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Terms of use
  • Sitemap

© University of Reading