Geography facilities and resources
As a Geography student at BSU, you'll have the opportunity to develop career-relevant skills and learn techniques that will be invaluable in the workplace. Engage in hands-on learning in our laboratories, undertake fieldwork in a variety of settings, and gain experience using specialist equipment.
Analytical laboratories
Our on-campus laboratories provide specialist facilities for a wide range of earth and environmental science applications, including the analysis of soil, water and microfossils.
Practical workshops that provide opportunities to learn laboratory analysis techniques are a key component of several modules including Environmental Change (Year 1) and Extreme Climates and Environments (Year 3).
IT facilities
Our on-campus IT facilities give students access to a range of career relevant technologies and software including Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Students have the opportunity to use these in modules such as Geospatial Skills for Professional Practice (Year 2).
In the module Understand Disasters: Socio-political and geospatial analysis (Year 3) students learn how to use Geographical Information Systems to analyse complex real-world challenges like disaster risk and vulnerability.
Natural laboratory
Our Newton Park campus is an excellent natural resource right on your doorstep that offers unique opportunities for you to develop your fieldwork skills and knowledge.
In the module Environment, People and Place (Year 1) students use our campus to develop their understandings of physical geography processes such as stream dynamics and channel adjustments, and human geography topics such as historical landscapes of power.
Students also undertake on campus fieldwork in Year 2 modules such as Geospatial Skills for Professional Practice and Research Methods and Design.
Building from the basic skills and knowledge acquired on campus, students have opportunities to further develop their fieldwork skills in Bath, Bristol and the surrounding region, as well as on our international fieldtrips to Italy (Year 2) and Spain (Year 3).
Other specialist equipment
Students can learn how to use equipment such as total stations, terrestrial laser scanner, UAVs (drones), and differential GPS.
On the Year 2 module Geospatial Skills for Professional Practice students learn how to use a variety of geospatial data capture and analysis technologies and reflect on how to apply these skills in a wide variety of careers.
We also have a suite of equipment for environmental monitoring, river modelling, the analysis of quaternary environments, and social science surveys. All of our equipment is backed up by industry standard software.
Dissertation research
In their final year all students undertake a dissertation research project on a topic of their choosing in either physical or human geography, under the supervision of one of our expert academic staff.
Students can arrange access to our specialist equipment and laboratory facilities to support their dissertation research.