Course summary

With a unique blend of social sciences and geography, gain first-hand experience of the ways in which people interact with their environment and how they form communities, cultures, and economies. You will study a diverse range of modules that are developed and taught by our world-class academics who are leading experts in human, environmental and political geography, development studies and Anthropology, political economy and science and technology studies. Our location, between the rural settings of the north and the bustling cities of Liverpool and Manchester, enables us to explore some of the UK’s most unique areas of geographic interest. You will gain a wealth of hands-on experience with field trips to places such as Manchester city centre, the Cumbrian coast and Lake District, as well as international locations such as Croatia. While studying at the Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC), you will have access to state of the art computer systems and software. You will work in comfortable class sizes, giving you the opportunity to get to know your lecturers personally and benefit from their expert knowledge and helpful one-to-one advice. First year modules equip you with a well-rounded introduction to some of the key themes of human geography, as well as helping you to develop skills used by geographers to analyse problems within the discipline. In addition to the Geography modules, you will be given the opportunity to take two other subjects alongside your first year studies. You may use this opportunity to explore some of the many subjects offered within the LEC, study further social sciences such as Sociology or Politics, or gain transferable skills in Economics or Marketing, for example. In the second year, you will undertake a series of core modules that focus on human geography skills and concepts and research project skills. Optional choices include our Communicating Geography module in which you can help teach the subject in a local school, gaining valuable classroom experience. In the third year you will undertake a dissertation project, guided by your academic supervisor, which offers a chance to perform original geographical research on a topic of your choice. While completing the dissertation, you will use the key research, analytical and academic writing skills you have learnt throughout your degree. You may wish to take advantage of the unique opportunity to collaborate with a business to complete your dissertation research, allowing you to gain valuable work experience at the same time. In addition, you may select from a range of optional modules which cover topics such as food and agriculture, health, enterprise and global consumption, as well as field courses to Croatia and Switzerland.