Course summary

From understanding how landscapes are shaped, to how populations move and interact, to the impact climate change has on us, the study of geography has never been more relevant. Both our BA and BSc Geography degrees will equip you with highly desirable practical, numerical and computational skills for a wide range of careers. These include regional planning, environmental management, local authority work, financial planning, computing or business and retail management. Our strong relationships with industry enable us to provide great work experience opportunities to enhance your employability. Just a short drive from the UK's first designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Gower Peninsula, you will have easy access to the Brecon Beacons, rural west Wales and the urban and industrial landscapes of South Wales. You'll also have an opportunity to carry out fieldwork overseas in Austria, Berlin, Malaysian Borneo, Mallorca, New York or Vancouver. Through this degree, you will explore topical issues such as environmental and climatic change, migration and identity, glaciology and ice-sheet dynamics, global environmental modelling and Earth observation, and social theory and urban space. You will be taught in our £4.2m state-of-the-art Science laboratories, in a vibrant and friendly department. You'll have access to our high-performance computer lab for processing and interpreting satellite Earth observation and GIS data, a stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer, a climatic test chamber, mineral magnetic characterisation equipment and an automatic organic carbon analyser. You can change between the BA and BSc schemes up until the end of Year 2. This degree is also offered as a four-year course with a year abroad (L701) or a year in industry (F554). "I loved my degree. I was always fascinated in the wonders of the World and what made it tick. Geography helps you look at the World with an analytical eye. It forces you to weigh up evidence and come to conclusions and question the origin of things. Journalism is exactly the same."

• Melanie Bromley, BA (Hons) Geography, West Coast bureau chief of American Celebrity Magazine US Weekly