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BSc Geography
About this course
Geography is a discipline that bridges the natural and social sciences, asking how landscapes, environments, and human societies interact across space and time. Physical geography investigates the processes that shape the Earth's surface: the dynamics of coasts, rivers, glaciers, and soils, the patterns of climate and vegetation, and the long-term environmental changes that have transformed landscapes over millions of years. Human geography examines how people organise themselves across space, how cities and regions develop, how migration and mobility work, and how inequalities and power relations are expressed geographically. Heriot-Watt's programme focuses particularly on physical geography and related topics, making it well suited to students with a strong interest in the natural dimensions of the discipline. At Heriot-Watt University, this four-year programme develops your understanding of physical geography and topics such as coasts, rivers, glacial geomorphology, and global Quaternary environmental change. You will study how landscapes are shaped by geological, climatic, and hydrological processes, how those processes interact with human activity, and how environmental change across geological time can be reconstructed from physical evidence. The programme develops your skills in fieldwork, laboratory analysis, GIS, data interpretation, and scientific writing, giving you the practical competence to work in environmental and geographical contexts. Heriot-Watt's location in Scotland gives you access to a wide range of geomorphological landscapes and environments relevant to the programme's physical geography focus. Graduates from geography degrees pursue careers in environmental consultancy, government environmental agencies, urban and regional planning, conservation, geotechnical and hydrology roles, GIS and spatial data analysis, education, and research. Many go on to postgraduate study in physical geography, environmental science, hydrology, or a related Earth or environmental science field.
Syllabus & Modules
Typical curriculumStudent Satisfaction
National Student Survey - 10 respondents (73% response rate)
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