Close

Geography (with Foundation Year)

BA (Hons) or BSc (Hons)

UCAS code: F84F

Start dates: September 2025 / September 2026

Full time: 4 years

Part time: up to 11 years

Location: Headington

School(s): School of Law and Social Sciences

Overview Course details Careers Entry requirements How to apply Tuition fees
next or previous

Find a course

Expand

Overview

Will you focus on environmental issues? Geopolitics? Do you dream of making a difference in the charity sector, or using your analytical skills to help businesses thrive sustainably? As one of the most versatile degrees you can study, geography opens many doors.

Our Geography with a Foundation Year starts with learning essential skills to prepare you for degree-level study. Passing this foundation year leads to our Geography BA/BSc. With our field trips, specialist labs, and strong alumni network, we’ll help you build the skills and network you’ll need to succeed in your dream career.

In physical geography, topics include desertification, marine pollution, climate policy and biodiversity loss. In human geography, you could look at international governance, the political geography of borders, the future of cities, disaster management, or environmental hazards.

These topics are all deeply interlinked. You'll explore the connections between people and the planet, learn to understand complex global problems and make a difference in the world.

Order a Prospectus Ask a question Attend an open day or webinar

Why Oxford Brookes University?

  • Perfect preparation

    Build essential study skills with an integrated foundation year. Gain academic confidence, improve critical thinking, and strengthen subject knowledge for your degree journey.

  • Practical, career-focused course

    Instead of exams, you’ll complete assignments such as lab experiments and reports, or create presentations, reflecting what you may be tasked with in your career.

  • Small, friendly classes

    Most year groups have around 25-60 students. Tutors quickly get to know students and are there whenever you need support.

  • Widely applicable skills

    You’ll learn skills like data analysis and how to use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) that are valuable across a wide range of job roles.

  • Get hands-on experience

    With frequent field-based exercises included in your course fees (including overseas), and access to our labs, you’ll have lots of practical work to immerse yourself in.

  • Learn a language

    Our university-wide language programme is available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

  • Study abroad

    You may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while you are at Oxford Brookes. Although we will help as much as we can with your plans, ultimately you are responsible for organising and funding this study abroad.

  • Accreditation(s)

    This programme has been accredited by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). Accredited degree programmes contain a solid academic foundation in geographical knowledge and skills, and prepare graduates to address the needs of the world beyond higher education.

    • Royal Geographical Society

Course details

Course structure

In your foundation year, you will study a Foundation in Humanities, building confidence and essential academic skills.

In the first year of your degree, you’ll develop a wide range of skills like river surveying, geomorphological mapping, and social research skills like interview and survey design. You’ll explore both human and physical geography.

Your second year includes a UK-based, multi-day field trip, with costs included in your fees.

In your third year you can narrow your focus and choose areas that interest you via optional modules. Topics vary across human and physical geography. Year 3 includes an international field trip, with costs included in your fees.

After your third year, you have the opportunity to get international experience in your degree via a year abroad, or you can progress to the final year of the course.

In your final year, you can specialise further in human or physical geography. Or keep studying a range of topics such as desertification and atmospheric science, or how human culture relates to nature.

Geography students during a practical lesson

Learning and teaching

You’ll learn in many different ways as you study. This will make the most of your skills - wherever your strengths lie and whatever your learning style.

You’ll experience teaching methods like:

  • seminars and lectures
  • field investigations
  • lab experiments and analysis
  • simulations
  • research conferences
  • debates
  • interactive field trails
  • group work
  • visiting speakers.

Assessment

Your learning will be assessed by coursework. And you’ll carry out your coursework both individually, and in small groups. You’ll run project investigations, write reports and essays, create digital stories, compile portfolios and compose learning journals. You’ll also have the chance to use dedicated data analysis software, like Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

Your coursework will be directly relevant to the changing world around you. You might write a report assessing carbon concentrations in our atmosphere. Or you might make a short film on sustainable development and climate action.

Field Trips

On this course, you’ll carry out field work both in the UK and overseas.

In your first year, if you’re a single honours student, you’ll go on a three-day field trip in the UK, where you’ll examine key geographic issues, on-site. You might analyse river quality or river flow. You might explore changing mountain environments - like areas once covered by glaciers. You might examine national identities and sense of place. Or you might learn about urban regeneration and the politics of changing landscapes.

In your second year, you’ll carry out field work overseas. You’ll work with a small project team to research a specific issue. You might examine issues like:

  • coastal erosion
  • water management
  • management of UNESCO World Heritage sites
  • cultural tourism.

You’ll be guided all the way through by one of your tutors - and you’ll emerge with confident research, project-management and team working skills.

You’ll really get to know your coursemates and your tutors well during your fieldwork. You’ll be part of a close-knit course community, and you’ll build supportive relationships with your tutors. You’ll start to feel more comfortable sharing your perspectives, and you’ll become more confident collaborating with your coursemates on projects and coursework.

The costs of travel and accommodation on all compulsory field trips are covered by the University.

Study modules

Teaching for this course takes place face-to-face. In your foundation year, you can expect around 10 hours of contact time per week. In addition to this, you should also anticipate a workload of 1,200 hours per year. When you begin your degree programme, you can expect around 10 hours of contact time per week. In addition to this, you should also anticipate a workload of 1,200 hours per year. Teaching usually takes place Monday to Friday, between 9.00am and 6.00pm.

Contact hours involve activities such as lectures, seminars, practicals, assessments, and academic advising sessions. These hours differ by year of study and typically increase significantly during placements or other types of work-based learning.

Foundation Year

Compulsory modules

  • Being Human: Love, Sex and Death

    Love, sex and death - how do these make us human? In this module, you’ll gain core analytical skills, key to studying Humanities at university, as you explore human bodies and emotions through time. 

    You’ll understand the ideas, practices and experiences that we have around bodies and feelings. You’ll also explore how bodies and emotions are shaped by: 

    • politics
    • religion
    • science
    • medicine
    • literary and artistic fashion.

    You’ll analyse texts, images and artefacts to understand the core role of human emotions and bodies in our world. 

  • Cultural Moments

    How do genres - styles or categories of literature - grow from major events in history and culture? In this module, you’ll explore how drama and literary studies relate to genre. You’ll get to grips with genres as categories that have evolved historically to become key influences on culture, taste and fashion. You’ll investigate real life cases of key movements across a range of disciplines. You’ll also consider how art responds to life and life to art. 

  • Language, Vision and Representation

    In this module, you’ll learn about basic theories of meaning-making. You’ll begin to undertake a critical analysis of systems of representation - which could be spoken or written language, and virtual or physical texts. You’ll come to understand how meaning is made, but also challenged, through acts of interpretation which often we’re not conscious of making. You’ll also be encouraged to reflect on your own role in producing ‘meanings’. 

  • Research Project

    This module gives you the chance to do independent research on a topic that fascinates you. You’ll gain the key skills you need to succeed as a university student, as you create, manage and complete your own research project. You’ll have one-to-one guidance  from an expert academic supervisor in your chosen subject area who will support you to shape your research from your initial ideas through to your completed project. 

  • The Reflective Learner

    In this module, you’ll gain the core skills and strategies you need to succeed as a university student. You’ll build up knowledge of each of the subjects within your foundation year and learn how to turn critical reading into clear and successful undergraduate assignments. You’ll also learn effective study strategies, including: 

    • learning from lecture content 
    • taking part in seminars 
    • working and studying in groups.

  • Nation and Identity

    What is a nation? Do nations develop through shared language or the history of a people? Are they about laws and governance, or habits and customs? In this module, you’ll get to grips with core themes from subjects, including: 

    • Sociology
    • Politics and International Relations
    • History
    • Philosophy
    • English Literature.

    You’ll develop a strong understanding of the concepts of a nation (including elements such as borders and national identity) and its challenges.

Optional modules

  • Customs, Icons and Symbols

    Explore the study and understanding of Culture and Society by looking at relevant Customs, Icons and Symbols with a particular emphasis on communicative practice of reading and written language in contexts.

  • Development Studies

    This is your opportunity to explore some of the key issues (e.g.urbanisation, poverty and social exclusion, environmental concerns and gender issues) within the field of Development Studies. You’ll also look at the factors causing poverty in countries defined as less developed. 

    Exploring the fundamentals of how sociology, human geography and economics interact in the process of development. You’ll study key topics that will teach you to draw on your own knowledge and experience where possible to evaluate the policies in pursuit of development, and to address the problems faced by least developed countries. You’ll build your skills in identifying and reflecting on some of the key social, economic and environmental issues that challenge sustainable development.

  • Political Philosophy

    How is political opinion, authority and democracy shaped and influenced? In this module, you’ll explore foundational issues in political philosophy through exploring the main political ideologies.

    You’ll start your journey with Liberalism as the default position in the West since the English, American and French Revolutions. Your focus then shifts to the ideologies that arose in response to Liberalism, including:

    • Conservatism
    • Communism
    • Fascism
    • Communitarianism
    • Anarchism
    • and Feminism. 

    You’ll also consider questions linked to the theory of knowledge, such as can any ideology be rationally justified?

  • French Beginners 2

    As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of French, you’ll develop strong skills in French speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in French, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between France and other countries. 

  • Spanish Beginners 2

    As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of Spanish, you’ll develop strong skills in Spanish speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in Spanish, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between Spain and other countries. 

  • Origins of the Climate Crisis: A Global History of the Environment

    You will engage with the ways in which the environment and the climate have changed over the past six centuries, looking at:

    • sustainability
    • climate change
    • and conservation.

    These are pressing issues with a rich and compelling history. You will investigate environmental changes and how they were contested and experienced at communal, national and international levels. You'll think about the political, economic, social and cultural contexts of resource management, energy use, and food production, including a focus on future policy solutions.

  • Global Issues

    What is ‘global politics’? What do we mean by ‘international relations’? And how do our personal values affect our understanding of politics and historical events? In this module you’ll explore the global challenges we face, and how they are understood by different groups. You’ll examine issues like power structures and global conflict. And you’ll come to understand how these issues impact societies and the environment we live in.

  • Creating Criminology 2

    On this module, you'll build your sense of a criminology community through collaborating and planning a criminology newsletter. This will help you take ownership of your criminology studies. 

    You'll get to use alumni as interviewees for your Criminology newsletter. You'll also engage with discussions for your future after university, and where you can make a positive impact.

  • Young Children's Outdoor Learning

    In this module, you’ll explore how young children learn through play. You’ll also discover how adults plan exploration and play for children in outdoors environments. You’ll get to grips with two key areas: 

    • maintaining good provisions and interactions in an early years outdoors area
    • teaching and learning through the Forest School approach. 

    You’ll look at how children and adults interact in a variety of situations. You’ll also gain core knowledge of health and safety training, as you study issues such as: 

    • children as risk-takers
    • off-site travel
    • maintaining a safe environment.

    You’ll develop core analytical skills as you explore how research and the government affect children’s outdoor learning. 

  • Modern British Art

    In this module, you’ll dive into art and artists through the century - from the Camden Town Group, to Modernists like Barbara Hepworth and Pop Artists like Peter Blake. You’ll examine paintings, sculptures and films as you discuss how British artists tried to create modern forms of expression. You’ll also investigate the ways they promoted their work, like:

    • exhibitions
    • manifestos
    • books
    • little magazines.

    You’ll enjoy on-site visits, where you’ll examine works of art firsthand. You’ll also attend exciting lectures and seminars where you’ll explore your ideas and enrich your understanding of modern British art.

Year 1

Compulsory modules

  • Introduction to Human Geography

    What can geography tell us about what it means to be human and how we relate to the natural world? How can we understand the complexity of human identity and culture? In this module, you’ll gain an understanding of human geography, as you investigate key themes of space and place, environment and society. You’ll gain core analytical skills for your degree, as you consider how society and culture shape our landscapes, and how spatial differences and inequalities are generated. You’ll consider how approaches in human geography can shed light on pressing political issues today.

  • Introduction to Geographical Skills and Techniques

    In this module, you’ll be introduced to the techniques most widely used in human and physical geographical research, including:

    • mapping
    • surveying
    • observational recording
    • focus groups, interviews and questionnaires.

    The module introduces practical geographical techniques and broader academic techniques such as literature work, citations and referencing.  Although the module is largely theoretical, in preparation for the year 2 module ‘Advanced Research Skills for Geographers’, you’ll also undertake local field-based exercises, designed to demonstrate the techniques in action. You’ll be involved in tasks such as:

    • making detailed, empirical geographical observations using widely employed geographical equipment
    • locating and exploring geographical databases and archives
    • using basic digital mapping programmes to investigate the physical and human environment.

  • Investigating Geography

    In this module, you’ll gain core skills you need to succeed in your Geography degree. You will undertake the first steps as a researcher in geography, and report on a range of geographical topics. You’ll learn how to address pressing global challenges through key geographical techniques, as well as scientific, economic and political investigation.

  • Introduction to Physical Geography

    In this module you’ll examine key themes and topics in physical geography, using climate change as an overarching context. You’ll gain a geographical grounding in climate change science and examine core areas that relate to climate change in physical geography, including environmental processes, systems and management linked to climate change. You’ll explore recent and future developments in physical geography.

  • Geographical Perspectives

    What makes a geographer? What does a practising professional geographer do? This module will help you answer these questions, as you discover more about geography as a discipline, a set of spatial practices and a profession. You’ll explore concepts associated with geographical keywords (such as space, place and landscape), and cover topics from geographical histories to contemporary issues. You’ll look at how human and physical geography features in the news and current debates. You’ll learn more about research and writing about geography for a range of audiences.
     

  • Sustainability and Development

    How can we build sustainable environments in which we can live, work and relax? In this module, you’ll learn about sustainability and the three overlapping issues of sustainable development - environmental, social and economic. You’ll examine how infrastructure and resource-use affect the sustainability of England’s built and natural environment.

    You’ll gain knowledge of the land-use planning system in England, and how it can help to deliver a more sustainable environment. You'll explore sustainable development through a broad focus, to consider bio-physical components (land, water, biodiversity, buildings), social issues (such as quality of life and equity) and economic issues (such as how to understand the value the environment brings to a sustainable economy).

Year 2

Compulsory modules

  • Advanced Research skills for Geographers

    Field work is at the heart of our geography course and this module helps you develop the practical and research skills you’ll need. During this module you will develop essential knowledge and skills in research methods and data analysis. With guidance, you’ll undertake a substantive piece of research, which you’ll conduct during the residential field trip. The research capabilities you build will be invaluable, both for your dissertation and your career after Oxford Brookes.

  • Global Change

    Why are some countries rich and others poor? What does development mean exactly - economic growth, social justice, or environmental sustainability? Does development help countries, or stop them growing? How do grassroots movements emerge, and how do they resist global inequality? In this module, you’ll look at geographical approaches to international development (the idea that different countries have differing levels of ‘development’ internationally). You’ll understand issues, including:

    • histories of international development and globalisation
    • political geography and colonialism
    • theories of development
    • international development institutions, such as the United Nations
    • poverty and inequality
    • social development and social justice
    • participatory and community-based approaches
    • sustainable development
    • climate change adaptation
    • vulnerability to natural disasters.

  • Environmental Hazard Management

    In this module you will develop an understanding of the way that environmental processes can become potential hazards. You will study how hazards sometimes become disasters and the measures used to manage disasters and mitigate risk. You will explore contemporary approaches to environmental hazard / disaster management including: the efficacy of Aid; the role of the military in disaster relief; whether forecasting really saves lives; and the role of the mass media and new technology in disaster management. You will get to investigate real case studies and present your work individually and as part of a team.

Optional modules

  • Biogeography

    How can a knowledge of the world’s species help solve climate change and conservation issues? In this module, you’ll get to know biogeography (the study of species and ecosystems through time and space). You’ll explore the scientific background of ecosystem research, focusing on freshwater and terrestrial (land) environments. You’ll investigate the distribution of species and ecosystems in response to past, current and future environmental changes. Your learning will be informed by the latest global research, and your assignments based upon the most recent scientific publications. 

  • Cities: Geographies of the Urban Experience

    In Cities: Geographies of the Urban Experience, you will be introduced to urban geography. Throughout the module, you will explore a range of ways in which cities shape, and are shaped by people. From the modern architectural movement, to protest and public space, you will learn about the central role that cities play in politics and everyday life. Central to the module is understanding the ways in which inequality is built into urban life, and what we can do to challenge it.

  • Conservation and Heritage Management

    In this module, you’ll explore heritage landscapes, and their identity as places of cultural or community value. You’ll study some of the world’s most magnificent heritage as you consider how heritage landscapes have evolved over time. You’ll look at their conservation and management, and the physical and human impact upon them. You’ll get to grips with the core concepts and themes of environmental conservation, heritage management and sustainable development. You’ll understand the rules and regulations, as well as the roles of advisors, in how we protect sites. You’ll also build up knowledge of different ecosystems, their origins and how human interactions impact their development. 

  • Geographies of Migration

    Study and explore one of the most fundamental processes of human-environment relations - migration. You will focus on contemporary examples of migration across a range of contexts. You will develop a critical understanding of the ways in which migration shapes the:

    • social
    • political
    • cultural
    • economic
    • and environmental geographies.

    You will also look at the ways in which migration patterns and experiences are shaped by the geographical.

  • Earth Systems

    In this module, you’ll gain an understanding of The Earth as a global system. You’ll consider it in terms of spheres: the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere, each interacting in different scales of time and space. You’ll gain core information needed to succeed in physical geography, as you understand how these spheres underpin the character and behaviour of the global system that we observe. You’ll explore each of these spheres in detail, gaining a whole picture of the global system. To do this you will engage with a range of disciplines, including:

    • geology
    • hydrology
    • micro- and macro-ecology
    • atmospheric chemistry
    • physics
    • computer modelling.

  • Geographical Information Systems

    This module gives you a grounding in the concepts, components and functions of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). You’ll develop knowledge and understanding of spatial data, including methods for data capture and spatial analysis within a GIS environment. You’ll acquire extensive practical experience using the industry standard GIS software, developing skills in creating and editing digital maps and incorporating third party sources of spatial data. You’ll be able to use this data for spatial analysis, modelling and decision support, and gain valuable skills for your future career.

  • Independent Study: Work and Community Related Learning

    In this module, you’ll have the chance to do some work experience closely linked to your Geography course. You might be an intern with a company, or working as a volunteer in the local community, or you might have a role in the university, for example as a student ambassador. Your tutors will advise you, but you’ll be in charge of the direction you take and the learning opportunity involved. 

    With careful thinking about what you want to achieve and how the work you do will support your learning, you’ll gain a better understanding of the world of work. You may also develop a stronger sense of the career you’d like after Brookes. Whatever the focus of your independent study, you’ll notice the benefits, whether it’s the satisfaction gained from volunteering, the new knowledge you’ve gained or the skills you’ve improved.

  • Political Geography: Place and Power

    What are the connections between place and power? This module introduces you to political geography and geopolitics. You’ll look at both historical and ongoing debates to enable you to understand the spatial and material relations of political power, including territory, borders, mobility, security, nations, nationalism, sovereignty and environmental politics. You’ll interrogate and challenge common assumptions about geopolitics and explore geographical ideas in the light of current events, emphasising the relevance and real-world application of political geographical thought.

  • Quaternary Environmental Change

    Sea levels are rising; glaciers are melting; Arctic sea ice is thinning and weather events are becoming more extreme. We are in the grip of global warming. But how do these changes compare with the environmental changes that have occurred in the past? What does the past teach us about how natural and human factors may interact to change our climate and environment in the future? 

    In this module you’ll examine changes to the physical environment throughout the Quaternary: the last 2.6 million years of geological history and time during which humans have evolved and spread across the earth. You’ll examine the causes of climatic and environmental change over different timescales and the complex interactions between human impacts and natural processes, gaining perspective on current environmental and climatic concerns.

Optional Placement Year

Optional modules

  • Year Abroad

    This module offers the opportunity to study abroad, experience a new culture, and apply your skills in different contexts to enhance your employability. It will help you develop self-management, cross-cultural communication, and interpersonal skills.

    You’ll receive support to secure a place at a partner institution abroad, where you can choose modules related to your degree or explore new areas that complement your studies.

    Studying at an international university will help you enhance your interpersonal skills through cross-cultural communication with students and tutors, allowing you to build lasting relationships. You'll also improve your study skills by focusing on your chosen areas of interest, gaining valuable international experience that will strengthen your CV.

    This year abroad module lasts for one academic year and is taken after the conclusion of your second year of study, once you’ve completed all your level 5 studies. Your year abroad is not credit-bearing.
     

Final Year

Compulsory modules

  • Geography Dissertation

    This module gives you the chance to do an independent investigation on a topic that fascinates you. Whether you’re creating a field-based, computer-based, laboratory-based or library-based topic, you’ll gain core skills for your future career and shape your project around your passions. 

Optional modules

  • Sustainable Futures

    On this module, you will look at current and future global challenges that face geographers.

    You will draw on academic research expertise. You will look at physical, human and environmental geographical issues related to a sustainable future.

    You will explore what geographers can contribute using your geographical skills:

    • the geographical imagination
    • ethical subject-hood
    • integrative thinking
    • spatial thinking
    • and a structured exploration of place.

  • Arid Zone Environments

    What is the nature and extent of arid environments and how do they interact with the global climate system? In this module you’ll gain knowledge of:

    • long-term and short-term variations in climate
    • the nature and extent of drylands
    • the rates and types of processes operating in these environments.

    You’ll also look at human impacts on drylands, including desertification, salinization (increasing salt content in soils) and deforestation, and consider the impact that future climate change may have on arid systems.

  • Climate Change: The Physical Basis

    You will develop a broad understanding of climate science. By examining evidence from a range of observation, process, modelled and paleoclimate data.

    You will explore how the chemical and physical changes. Which is often driven by human activity and has global and regional impacts. You'll also look at how this leads to informing the climate policy-making process.

  • Cultural Geographies of Nature

    What is nature? Where is nature? From gardens and museums to animals and genes, in this module, you’ll examine the social and cultural significance of nature in Britain and North America. You’ll use social and cultural theories to investigate a range of historical and contemporary case studies, exploring diverse topics, issues and locations. You’ll gain important analytical skills for your degree and future career as you interpret a range of media, sources and local field study to gain a critical understanding of the connections between nature, society and space.

  • Dawn of Civilization

    How did the modern world come to be? The answer to this question lies in an understanding of the relationships between climate, landscape and society in Southwest Asia between 20,000 and 5,000 years ago. At the beginning of this period, during the height of the ice age, human communities existed as nomadic hunter gatherers. But by the end of this time, during the warmer Holocene period, many inhabitants of the region were living in the world’s first cities, engaging in agriculture, long distance trade and warfare. 

    In this module, you’ll examine the archaeological and palaeoclimatic evidence for these complex transformations. You’ll look at how, when and where they took place, focusing on the role of climate change and landscape on social, technological and economic processes. You’ll develop key skills in evaluating evidence, theories, methods and analytical techniques.

  • Future Cities

    What will cities look like in fifty years? What did thinkers from the mid-nineteenth century to today propose about how to reconstruct and manage urban life? From global warming to ageing populations, you'll examine the trends that are shaping the cities of the future, and gain key analytical skills as you consider how cities might best adapt to these challenges. As with the Year 2 Cities module, we’ll focus on urban society as much as on city form, regarding people and place as inseparable.

  • Independent Study in Geography

    This module gives you the chance to carry out independent research on a topic that fascinates you. You’ll have the help of an expert tutor, as you decide on a topic based on a unique and interesting subject. You’ll gain core research and project management skills for your future career, as you create, manage and complete your own project. 

  • Oceans and the Marine Environment

    In this module you’ll explore the physical nature of oceans, from their chemical composition and circulation to the influence of oceans on the global climate system. By understanding the way in which oceans behave, we can comprehend how all of the components of the Earth’s systems fit together. You’ll explore topics ranging from the physics and biology of oceans to records of past ocean change, from marine pollution to ocean policy and governance of our marine environment.

  • Political geographies of borders: past, present and future

    This module closely examines the complex history, contested present and potential futures of one of the most important and consequential geographic devices in today’s world: borders. It traces the historical development of territorial and sovereign practices that have led to the concept of borders as we know them today, addresses debates about the continuing relevance of borders in today’s world, and looks ahead to the future of borders as they intersect with pressing concerns such as climate change, migration and identitarian movements.

  • Disasters, Development and Society

    Why are some people and places more vulnerable to disasters than others? What are the origins of this inequity, and what can we do about it?

    You'll explore the relationship between disasters, environment and society. And learn why disasters are not ‘natural’, but are rather produced by their development context. You'll learn why uneven development breeds uneven vulnerability to risk, and vice versa.

    You'll gain knowledge of development geography and political ecology. And examine why a physical hazard-focused approach to disaster risk management is problematic and the need for alternatives that address systemic root causes of risk.

    We will look at the workings of power and politics at all stages of disaster (before, during and after) at a range of scales. You'll assess current practice in disaster risk reduction throughout the module. Along with examining the role of climate change in shifting geographies of vulnerability.

    You'll examine these issues through a range of case studies.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Careers

As a geography graduate you will have a world of opportunities open to you, with a diverse skill set that can be applied to almost any sector.

From problem solving to presentation, this course helps you develop an array of transferable skills that many employers value highly.

Our graduates are working in a range of roles such as:

  • senior environment and sustainability consultant
  • senior GIS Officer for a local council
  • content operations assistant at a TV streaming company
  • secondary school head of geography
  • planning director at a housing partnership
  • freelance public relations consultant
  • programme director for a human trafficking and antislavery Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)
  • senior research manager at a university
  • AI automation logistics specialist
  • founder of a social media brand management company.

Whatever your career goals, a geography degree will develop you into an insightful, multi-skilled, capable professional. We look forward to being part of your journey.

Entry requirements

Wherever possible we make our conditional offers using the UCAS Tariff. The combination of A-level grades listed here would be just one way of achieving the UCAS Tariff points for this course.

Standard offer

UCAS Tariff Points: 48

A Level: DD

IB Points: 24

BTEC: PPP or MP

Further offer details

For joint honours, normally the offer will lie between the offers quoted for each subject.

Applications are also welcomed for consideration from applicants with European qualifications or international qualifications. For advice on eligibility please contact Admissions: admissions@brookes.ac.uk

International qualifications and equivalences

How to apply

Application process


Full time Home (UK) applicants
Apply through UCAS


Part time Home (UK) applicants
Apply direct to the University


International applicants
Apply direct to the University

Full time international applicants can also apply through UCAS

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) full time
£5,760 (Foundation); £9,535 (Degree)
Home (UK) part time
£720 per single module (Foundation); £1,190 per single module (Degree)
International full time
£16,750
Home (UK) full time
£5,760 (Foundation); £9,535 (Degree)*
Home (UK) part time
£720 per single module (Foundation); £1,190 per single module (Degree)*
International full time
£17,250

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Tuition fees

2025 / 26
Home (UK) full time
£5,760 (Foundation); £9,535 (Degree)
Home (UK) part time
£720 per single module (Foundation); £1,190 per single module (Degree)
International full time
£16,750
2026 / 27
Home (UK) full time
£5,760 (Foundation); £9,535 (Degree)*
Home (UK) part time
£720 per single module (Foundation); £1,190 per single module (Degree)*
International full time
£17,250

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

*Tuition fee level for 2025-26. Tuition fees for home undergraduate students in 2026-27 will be confirmed by the Government later in 2025 and will be updated on our website as soon as the information becomes available.

Please note, tuition fees for Home students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by government. Oxford Brookes University intends to maintain its fees for new and returning Home students at the maximum permitted level.

For further information please see our 2025-26 tuition fees FAQs.

Tuition fees for International students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students.

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support. 

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

Oxford Brookes Bursary for Continuing Students Undergraduate maintenance loans for part-time UK students Undergraduate maintenance loans for full-time UK students Undergraduate tuition fee loans for UK students Oxford Brookes Bursary for New Students

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

Information from Discover Uni

Full-time study

Part-time study

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.