Course content

Keele is a great place to study Physical Geography. We have a beautiful campus, excellent facilities and a really friendly atmosphere. In Physical Geography at Keele you will study the global environment, environmental change and fascinating landscapes, developing skills that will be valuable in a range of different careers. The course combines fieldwork, practical classes, tutorials and lectures that will give you confidence both in hands-on skills and in your theoretical understanding of the world around us. The first year provides a foundation for a diverse range of specialist options available in subsequent years. We focus particularly on research skills: you will learn to collect, analyse and interpret different types of data, and to carry out your own research using specialist software and equipment. Field courses are a real highlight of the programme, and recent destinations have included Iceland and Almeria. We have excellent facilities, and even provide drones for student use in the GIS classes!

The Single Honours programme is accredited by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).

For more information, please see our Geography Undergraduate brochure.

Combinations

Physical Geography is also available as a Combined Honours degree. It can be studied in the following combinations:

Physical Geography and Astrophysics
Physical Geography and Biology
Physical Geography and Environmental Science
Physical Geography and Geology
Physical Geography and Mathematics
Physical Geography and Physics

Other Related Courses You May Be Interested In:

• Geography Single Honours
• Human Geography Single Honours
• Human Geography Combined Honours

 

Course structure

Our degree courses are organised into modules. Each module is usually a self-contained unit of study and each is usually assessed separately with the award of credits on the basis of 1 credit = 10 hours of student effort. An outline of the structure of the programme is provided in the tables below.

There are three types of module delivered as part of this programme. They are:

• Compulsory modules: a module that you are required to study on this course;
• Optional modules: these allow you some limited choice of what to study from a list of modules;
• Elective modules: a free choice of modules that count towards the overall credit requirement but not the number of subject-related credits.

The Physical Geography Single Honours programme is modular in structure. The programme provides a broad-based first year followed by more specialised second year and third-year studies.

We assume no prior expertise in Physical Geography, and begin with introductory modules that provide a platform from which students can develop their knowledge, understanding and skills.  

First year is an introductory year in which students acquire essential academic skills and a foundation of knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles of the subject. Second year develops a critical understanding of more advanced topics and conceptual issues in the subject, and helps students to establish skills in independent research. Third year allows students to explore specialised topics of their choice at the level of the most recent scientific research, and to develop a range of advanced skills.

A summary of the credit requirements per year is as follows, with a minimum of 90 subject credits (compulsory plus optional) required for each year.

Year	Compulsory	Optional		Electives
		Min	Max	Min	Max
1	75	15	45	0	30
2	90	0	30	0	30
3	0	90	120	0	30

Year 1 (Level 4)

Compulsory modules	Credits	Optional modules	Credits
Fundamentals of Physical Geography	15	Greening Business: Employability and Sustainability	15
Geographical Skills	15	Global Warming or a New Ice Age?	15
People and Environment	15	Introductory Geology for Environmental Sciences	15
The Practice of Physical Geography	15	Human Geographies	15
Geography and Geographers	15	Practising Human Geography	15
		Entrepreneurship Level 4	15

Year 2 (Level 5)

Compulsory modules	Credits	Optional modules	Credits
Practical Physical Geography	15	Human Impact on the Environment	15
Dynamic Geographies	30	Geoscience and Society	15
Regional Landsystems	15	Work Placement Module	15
Geographical Research Training	15	Practical Human Geography	15
Concepts and Debates in Geography	15	Space and Society	15
		Entrepreneurship Level 5	15
		Physical Geography Study Abroad 1	15
		Physical Geography Study Abroad 2	15

Year 3 (Level 6)

In the third year, you must obtain a minimum of 90 credits from option modules (options must include either 15 or 30 credit Dissertation Independent Study Project (ISP) module). You may choose all 120 credits from option modules including one dissertation ISP.

Compulsory modules	Credits	Optional modules	Credits
None		Double Dissertation ISP	30
		OR
		Single Dissertation ISP	15
		PLUS
		Glaciers and Glacial Geomorphology	15
		Global Environmental Change	15
		Water Resources	15
		Inspirational Landscapes	15
		Applied GIS	15
		Coastal Environments	15
		Trees in their Environment	15
		Natural Hazards	15
		Contemporary Topics in Environmental Science	15
		Environment and Sustainability Case Study	15

For further information on the content of modules currently offered, including the list of elective modules, please visit: www.keele.ac.uk/recordsandexams/az

The module details given above are indicative and will give you a good idea of the range of subjects that we teach. We regularly review our teaching to ensure that the modules we offer are up-to-date; therefore, the modules available to study are liable to change.

Entry requirements

The entry grades outlined in this section indicate the likely offer or range of offers which would be made to candidates along with any subject specific requirements. This is for general information only. Keele University reserves the right to vary offer conditions depending upon a candidate’s application. Read more about our undergraduate entry requirements for United Kingdom, European Union and International students.

A Level requirements

• A Level requirement BBC

GCSE requirements

• English at C (or 4) OR equivalent qualification, please contact us for advice

BTEC

• BTEC requirements DMM

International Baccalaureate

• 30 points

Access to HE Diploma requirements

• Obtain Access to Higher Education Diploma with 112 UCAS Tariff points including 15 Level 3 credits at Distinction. 

Not got the grades?

If you don't think you'll meet the entry requirements specified, Foundation Year offers an alternative route to study for this degree.

PREPARATION PROGRAMMES FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

International students who do not meet the direct entry requirements for this course have the opportunity to study an International Foundation Year programme.

These courses are designed to prepare international students to enter into Keele University undergraduate degrees.

Fees and funding

Going to university can be a daunting as well as an exciting experience. It can be difficult to understand the true costs of being a student, as well as the financial support that is available to help you meet those costs.

We can help you to manage your funds, create a budget and ensure that you receive any funding for which you may be eligible. We also offer financial support such as the Keele University Hardship Fund and emergency loans.

For more information visit our money, advice and guidance section.

Career prospects

96% of Keele graduates were in a job or further study within six months of graduating (DLHE, 2017)

Physical Geography graduates are highly employable, and your degree from Keele will equip you well for future employment or advanced study. What you study here could take you straight into directly related careers such as environmental planning or consultancy, or you could apply them in industries such as energy, agriculture, meteorology or construction. Your expertise in environmental processes and spatial organisation will be useful in management, logistics, and planning. Your problem-solving skills and global, interdisciplinary approach will be of value in a huge range of careers. You will develop specialist skills, such as the ability to analyse spatial data using industry standard GIS software, that are in high demand from government, environmental agencies, insurance companies and property developers. Previous graduates now hold many senior positions in a wide range of academic, government and industrial posts.

Recent employers

• Base Energy Services Ltd
• British Army
• GB Geotechnics Limited
• RSK

Jobs that a graduate of this course could go on to do:

• Cartographer 
• Environmental Consultant 
• Geographical Information Systems Officer 
• Planning and Development Surveyor 
• Meteorologist 
• Waste Management Officer 
• Minerals Surveyor 
• Geography Teacher
• Market Researcher 
• Transport Planner 
• International Development Worker
• Systems Developer 

Regardless of which career you pursue after Keele, employers will want evidence of the range of skills and personal qualities you possess and which are required for the job. Your degree is clearly important in this respect but don’t forget the extra-curricular activities, positions of responsibility, jobs and voluntary work you may have been engaged in while studying at Keele. These activities allow you to demonstrate the skills and personal qualities required by employers and will be vital in your attempts to secure graduate employment.

It is estimated that 60% of jobs are open to graduates of any discipline. This demonstrates the flexibility of many graduate employers when setting out their academic requirements and that students are not necessarily restricted to careers related to their degree.

 

Find out more about our careers and employability services, including career planning, alumni mentoring, jobs, internships, starting your own business and much more.

Field trips

Field work is an important part of Geography, and it is an important part of the Geography degrees at Keele. We are lucky to have local field work opportunities on our doorstep with a fabulous rural campus of our own and a lot of interesting local geography. Our courses take advantage of this excellent geographical setting, as well as giving you the opportunity to expand your horizons globally with our international field courses.

During your first year you will do field work on campus and in the surrounding regions. The destinations will depend on your chosen course but may include trips to the Peak District, to the coast, to nearby towns and rural areas, or to visitor attractions such as the nearby Monkey Forest! These trips will help you to discover and explore some particular locations, and will help you to put into practice some of the skills that you learn in practical classes and to see some geographical theory in action.

During your second year you will go on a residential field course further afield. Typically we run courses to Spain, Iceland and Singapore, and you will choose a destination appropriate to your modules and degree pathway. The destinations vary from time to time, but students focusing on human geography topics within their degree have visited Barcelona or Singapore, while students with a more physical geography focus have travelled to Almeria or Iceland.

We offer our first year local field trips at no cost, and there is a no-cost option (typically Almeria or Barcelona) for the second year trips for all the degree routes. Other trips that students may choose (typically Iceland or Singapore) are partially subsidised by the University, with students make some contribution to the cost. For many students, the second year field courses are a real highlight of their course, combining great learning opportunities and fascinating destinations.

For many years, students from the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment have chosen to follow our integrated field course programme with a free field course pathway to develop and practise practical skills in an array of breath-taking locations throughout the world. Watch our fieldwork video for just some of the past highlights of our field courses. The fieldtrips featured are from across the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment and may not be available for all course routes.