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FHEQ level

This course is set at Level 6 in the national Framework for Higher Education Qualifications.

Course Aims

A. To develop in Geography students:
1. The ability to describe and analyse, both spatially and environmentally, the characteristics of places and the interactions between them.
2. A firm understanding of how relationships and processes result in the observed characteristics of places.
3. A developed awareness of the myriad diversity of the earth's surface as a context for human habitation, economic production and social life.
4. And to provide the training and experience (e.g. field work, lab-based study, GIS etc.) needed to achieve the above.

B. For IR students:
1. To provide a first degree level understanding of the nature and importance of international relations in the contemporary world.
2. To enable students to develop a critical understanding of the major theoretical approaches in the field of International Relations.
3. To develop students' abilities to critically analyse international events, ideas, institutions and practices both in the past and in the present.
4. To provide students with opportunities to develop their intellectual, personal and interpersonal skills so as to enable them to participate meaningfully in their societies.

C. In both majors:
1. Opportunities to develop their intellectual, personal and interpersonal skills so as to enable them to participate meaningfully in their societies, and the enabling of an engagement in life-long learning, study and enquiry and an appreciation of the value of education for society and the environment.
2. Provision of a curriculum supported by scholarship, staff development and a research culture that promotes breadth and depth of intellectual enquiry and debate.
3. To provide students with a supportive and receptive learning environment.
4. The necessary preparation for employment in a wide range of contexts or for further study and a career where political and geographical skills and understandings will be applied.

Course learning outcomes

1. Understand a) the nature of the relationships and processes (contemporary, historical, biophysical) that shape the human characteristics of places (e.g. demographic, economic, social, cultural, political...), and b) how places become differentiated from one another as reflected, for example, in patterns of wealth inequality at the international and sub-national scales.

2. Demonstrate the ability to apply this knowledge and understanding to contemporary problems such as those of third world underdevelopment, inter- and intra-national ethnic conflict, and urban social exclusion, and to the evaluation of policies designed to solve these problems.

3. Be able to explain the characteristics of specific places through reference to a body of locational and ecological concepts and theories using either a) locational analysis which focuses on the explanation of the spatial patterns of the phenomena being studied, or b) ecological analysis which focuses on the explanation of the in situ relationships between phenomena located at the same place.

4. Possess sufficient experience of the inter-relatedness of phenomena in geographical space to be able to visualise those phenomena as elements of either socio-spatial or socio-environmental systems.

5. Achieve a critical and self-reflexive understanding of human geography that a) incorporates an awareness of the situatedness of knowledge and the provisional status of accepted theory; b) recognises the significance of representations of people and places for an understanding of social and spatial behaviour; and yet c) develops the bases upon which competing ideas and theories about the nature

6. Interpret qualitative and quantitative geographical and environmental data, demonstrating numeracy, basic statistical skills, IT skills (e.g. spreadsheets, databases; word processing, email and www), and an ability to abstract and synthesise material from different sources.

7. Demonstrate a good knowledge of how maps are produced and used (cartographic skills).

8. Integrate the skills of the cartographer with those of the computer scientist, specifically to relate spatially-referenced data with place-attribute data through GIS (geographical information systems), remote sensing and related methods.

9. Demonstrate field investigation skills in both environmental and human geography (e.g. historical and contemporary human landscape evolution, land-use and built-form mapping and questionnaire surveys).

10. An understanding of the core concepts and questions that define the discipline of IR.

11. An awareness of the major practical, political and moral challenges facing contemporary global society.

12. A familiarity with the key theoretical traditions of IR as an academic discipline.

13. A basic knowledge of the history of modern international relations;

14. An understanding of the significance of the world economy for the nature of the international system.

15. Flexibility in utilising a variety of intellectual approaches as required by the multifaceted character of the subject.

16. An in-depth knowledge and understanding of a specialist area within the discipline.

17. Ability to communicate effectively with others and to present material both orally and in writing.

18. Ability to deploy a range of communication and information technology skills.

19. Ability to apply a range of skills in the retrieval and use of primary and secondary sources.

20. Ability to work together with others as well as independently, including to manage time effectively.

21. Ability to present concise and cogently structured arguments, both orally and in writing.

22. Ability to carry out critical analysis on complex issues related to the discipline.

Full-time course composition

Course convenors

Michael Collyer
Professor of Geography

About your joint honours course

ßÏßÏÊÓƵ has always promoted interdisciplinary study by encouraging students to combine different subjects and different approaches to learning. Joint-honours courses are an ideal option if you want to study more than one subject in depth. A key idea behind joint-honours is to experience the range of ways that different academic disciplines use to teach, learn and research. Those differences are stimulating and challenging, but they can also be confusing, so you will find some useful information below to help you get the most out of your course.

• To find information about the individual modules that make up your course, go to the school that teaches the module. Each module is assessed by the school that teaches it, so on their website you will find (under “student information”) information about the assessment criteria being used, the referencing style you need to use for your work, contact times for your tutors, information about the student reps scheme and lots of other useful information.
• To find general information about joint honours, use the Frequently Asked Questions list
• For information about the rules and regulations that govern all ßÏßÏÊÓƵ students, start with the general student handbook
• For help in improving your study skills, using the library and with careers, try the Skills Hub.

And if you have any other questions, contact the convenors for your course; they are here to help you.

Useful links

• Frequently asked questions
• General student handbook
• Skills Hub