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BSc (Hons)
Undergraduate degree - single or combined honours
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed under 'Typical offers' in the main column below. For combined courses, please check both subjects. If your qualification is not listed, please email admissions@bathspa.ac.uk with your specific details.
On this Geography degree, you’ll explore the links between people, place and environment, developing the knowledge and skills you’ll need to understand and address challenges at local and global scales.
You’ll study a range of modules in human and physical geography, with opportunities to specialise in the areas you’re most interested in. You’ll explore environmental and social issues including climate change, environmental hazards, geomorphology, global development, migration, urban development, disaster risk reduction, river management, environmental justice, geotechnologies and cultural identities and representation.
You’ll be part of our supportive Geography community, benefiting from small class sizes, specialist staff expertise and up-to-date technologies, and you’ll be taught by our team of expert lecturers who are actively engaged in international networks and world-leading research. You’ll graduate equipped with skills highly sought by employers, including research, communication, data management and analysis, problem solving, teamwork, mapping and spatial data processing.
Find out more about Geography at Bath Spa on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
"...The extensive use of ArcGIS on the course greatly increased my employability, as all the major companies use this software - I use it daily in my job. My links to the Environment Agency were picked up in interviews as being of great benefit and provided a talking point."
Jennifer Drew, BSc (Hons) Geography
Our Geography degree is designed to teach you a broad range of topics, covering perspectives from both human and physical geography. You’ll learn from expert lecturers who are active researchers engaging with pressing global challenges including natural hazards, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in a range of locations in the UK, Europe and Asia.
Your core studies will cover principles in human and physical geography and you’ll apply these to examine contemporary global and local challenges in a range of contexts.
In your second and third years, you’ll have a choice of optional modules enabling you to specialise and develop your own interests. You’ll have the chance to experience international field trips and a work placement, through which you’ll develop practical transferable skills that are applicable to a variety of careers.
Year one
Your first year helps you to transition to university-level Geography by establishing foundational skills and knowledge. You’ll develop these basic skills and knowledge through modules covering topics in both human and physical geography, as well as through a residential field trip module.
Year two
In your second year, you’ll develop more specialist knowledge and skills. Core modules develop your understanding of the discipline of geography, including research methods in both science and social science.
Optional modules enable you to begin to specialise in topics such as climate change, environmental hazards, urban development, migration or geotechnologies. You’ll also start to plan for your career, with an opportunity to undertake a work placement module.
The optional field trip to the Indian Himalayas offers a unique opportunity to explore geographical themes in a highly dynamic real-world context. On this trip, you’ll examine environmental hazards (such as soil erosion, flooding, landslides and air pollution), community disaster resilience, urban development, wellbeing and social inequalities, and the legacy of colonialism. Please note that some of our field trips may incur an additional expense on top of your course fees.
You can choose to undertake a Professional Placement Year between your second and final years.
Year three
You’ll complete a final year independent research project, allowing you to demonstrate the academic and transferable skills you’ve acquired on the course.
You’ll have a choice of optional modules that give you the opportunity to specialise in topics such as disaster risk reduction, identities and inequalities, river management and environmental justice.
An optional field trip to Barcelona allows you to specialise in either human geography or physical geography and environmental management by studying topics such as urban development, wildfires and cascading hazards, social inequalities, urban sustainability policies, coastal erosion, nationalism and independence movements, heat waves, Olympic legacies or urban flood risks.
You’ll be assessed through a variety of methods including essays, project reports, presentations, posters, video clips, field assessments, reflective items and time-constrained tests and exams. These will give you a rich and diverse skill set, designed to be of real benefit in pursuit of your career goals.
You’ll be taught in lectures, workshops and seminars, with small groups that enable discussion and collaborative learning. You’ll learn in the classroom, lab and outdoors, with fieldwork on campus and at locations across the UK and overseas.
To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.
This course offers or includes the following modules. The modules you take will depend on your pathway or course combination (if applicable) as well as any optional or open modules chosen. Please check the programme document for more information.
You could study Geography alongside another subject as part of a combined course. We also offer specialist courses in:
Not sure which pathway is right for you? Read our blog post on choosing the right Geography degree.
As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.
Fieldwork is an integral part of our Geography programme as it provides you with the opportunities to learn hands-on geographical skills with real world applications.
Residential fieldwork is a required component of our first year programme, while there are further optional residential field trip opportunities in both the second and third year. Our current residential field trip destinations are the English Lake District (first year), Northern India (second year) and Barcelona (third year).
Within modules you'll also undertake fieldwork in the local area including on our beautiful Newton Park campus, as well as in locations such as the Mendip Hills, the Somerset Levels, the Royal Geographical Society in London and the Jurassic Coast of Dorset.
Please note that you will have to make a financial contribution towards residential field trips.
You’ll have the opportunity to undertake a work placement in your second year and a community engagement placement in your final year, as well as the option to undertake a professional placement year between your second and final year. Students have worked with local organisations such as Ripple Effect, local planning authorities, environmental organisations and the National Trust.
Guest speakers from industry and previous graduates contribute to the learning experience throughout the course. This insightful engagement with potential employers will help you make those all-important career decisions when you graduate.
There are prizes awarded each year in recognition of excellence in the core modules. This culminates with the Geography Project of the Year Award for the best dissertation.
You’ll graduate from this degree prepared for a diverse range of careers in sectors such as research, consultancy, urban planning, business, education, surveying, geographical information systems, government, or non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The course also provides you with the knowledge and skills needed to progress to postgraduate study in a wide range of fields. Our graduates have undertaken postgraduate study in fields such as disaster management, climate change adaptation, sustainability, environmental management, environmental humanities, urban planning, public health and law.
Whatever your aspirations, our aim is that the real-world experience you gain on this course will set you up to take on diverse challenges, and to thrive in doing so.
If you’re a full-time undergraduate student starting your first year at Bath Spa University, you can apply for the Certificate in Global Citizenship, which you’ll study alongside your degree.
You’ll gain global awareness and add an international dimension to your student experience, and funding is available. On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be awarded a Certificate in Global Citizenship. This is in addition to your degree; it doesn’t change your degree title or results.
This optional placement year provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.
By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.
Before your Professional Placement Year, you'll work to secure your placement, constructing a development plan with your module leader and your placement coordinator from our Careers and Employability team.
On your return to University for your final year, you'll submit your Placement Portfolio, detailing your development on your placement.
You’ll be taught using our specialist facilities on our Newton Park campus in Bath as well as at field sites around the South West region and overseas.
You’ll benefit from our excellent resources including laboratories, stock apparatus, field tools, and a suite of IT hardware/software, all supported by a highly-skilled team of technicians. Our key areas of capability are:
"One of the most important elements of the course was the development of transferable skills that I now use on a daily basis and I think employers look for when reviewing candidates."
Matt Davies, BSc (Hons) Geography
Please note: Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland are not generally eligible for the UK (Home) fee status. Please refer to the international student rate. Irish citizens and those granted Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme are eligible for UK (Home) fee status. There are also other circumstances where this may apply: See UKCISA for more information.
Year 1 | £9,250 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2026 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2026 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2027 |
Year 1 | £4,625 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2026 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2026 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2027 |
Year 1 | £15,050 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2026 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2026 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2027 |
During the placement year, the fee is reduced to 20% of the full time fee. Otherwise, fees are the same as for full time study. This applies to UK, EU and International students.
We’re looking for enthusiastic and motivated students who are interested in understanding the environmental, social, economic and cultural issues facing the world today. We accept a broad range of traditional qualifications and less conventional routes into education – we welcome students from a wide range of backgrounds.
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed below:
English Language Requirements for International and EU Applicants
IELTS 6.0 - for visa nationals, with a minimum score of IELTS 5.5 in each element.
Course enquiries
For further information about the programme or entry requirements, please email us at admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.
Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page.
Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply pages.
Course contact: Dr David Simm
Email: d.simm@bathspa.ac.uk
Website feedback to web@bathspa.ac.uk