BSc (Hons) Physical Geography and Geology

Summary 2012/13

• Join a department where Geography is ranked second in the UK for overall student satisfaction (National Student Survey, 2011);
• Discover your planet;
• Investigate fascinating natural phenomena such as volcanoes and earthquakes;
• Experience exciting fieldwork opportunities at home and abroad.

Have you ever wanted to know what your planet is like? How did it form? What is it made of? Why do we get volcanoes and earthquakes in some places and not others? Why does our climate change? How were the hills and valleys around us formed? This course provides you with the knowledge and skills to answer these questions.

2012 Entry Requirements

240 UCAS tariff points, normally to include Geography, Geology or Environmental Science, or a related subject, plus GCSE Mathematics at grade C or equivalent.

Details

Who is this course for?

If you want to understand how your planet works, then this could be just the programme for you.

What will I gain from this programme?

You will gain knowledge and skills to help you understand the planet and also prepare you for a range of careers The Department of Natural, Geographical and Applied Sciences at Edge Hill University provides a wide range of learning opportunities in a positive, friendly and supportive environment.

What will I study?

Year 1 provides a foundation in physical geography and geological science, as well as developing a range of subject-specific skills, fieldwork skills and key skills.

In Year 2 you undertake core studies primarily aimed at developing key and subject-specific skills and developing your subject knowledge. You will look at topics such as the theoretical and practical study of Earth history and the history of life as well as the geological forms and processes associated with igneous and volcanic geology. You can also choose from a range of option modules, ranging from the Earth's weather and climate systems to the patterns of distribution of living organisms over the Earth's surface. There is also an opportunity to undertake work-based learning to enhance your career prospects.

Year 3 involves completing an independent research project (dissertation) or a geological mapping project, together with a number of core and optional modules. You will look at real world environmental problems faced by Geo-environmental specialists, look at the nature and causes of climate variability and develop an understanding of the nature of environmental change. You will also study our Geo-careers module which gives you an opportunity to develop your career planning and management skills. The aim of this is to give you a big advantage when applying for jobs.

How will I study?

Teaching is through a combination of laboratory and workshop practical activities, lectures and seminars, directed independent study, dissertation supervision, tutorials and fieldwork. We place an emphasis on strengthening the employability potential of our graduates through the acquisition of a range of subject-specific, key and career management skills, as well as the development of knowledge and understanding.

Fieldwork, in the UK and abroad, is one of the most beneficial and enjoyable aspects of this degree. Current fieldwork locations include Cumbria, Mull, Mallorca and the Western Isles. You will also visit local sites. You may also take the opportunity to participate in additional optional fieldwork visits to locations such as Norway, Tenerife, Hawaii, Morocco, Cuba, India and Turkey.

Placement

You will have the option to undertake a Work Based Learning module during Year 2. This will provide a professional setting in which you can apply, and simultaneously extend and refine, the knowledge and skills you have acquired during your degree. It may play a key role in enhancing your career prospects.

Who will be teaching me?

We have experienced and knowledgeable staff who take pride in the quality of their teaching. All staff are research active which means that they keep up to date with current developments in their areas of interest and pass this knowledge onto their students. We are not a large department so you won't get lost in the crowd.

How will I be assessed?

Methods of assessment allow you to display your knowledge and understanding and to develop and demonstrate your competence in subject-specific and key skills. All modules are assessed by either a mixture of coursework and examination or coursework only. Exams never count for more than 40% of the marks for any module. A number of modules are assessed by coursework only. Coursework includes practical portfolios, essays and project reports, field notebooks, individual and group oral presentations and poster presentations.

What are my career prospects?

On completion of this degree you will have a range of specialist and key skills that will make you attractive to employers in many fields. Such graduates find their way into a variety of interesting careers including industry, environmental management, planning, environmental monitoring and consultancy, the extractive and waste industries, countryside rangers and environmental education. The programme also provides a good foundation for postgraduate academic or professional study.

A Great Study Environment

The Department of Natural, Geographical and Applied Sciences (NGAS) at Edge Hill University provides a wide range of learning opportunities in a positive, friendly and supportive environment. Teaching facilities include lecture rooms and laboratories for physical geography, geology, information technology, remote sensing and geographical information systems, all of which have an extensive range of equipment and technical support.

Based in 160 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, the Ormskirk Campus is a unique and inspirational place to study. Industry standard resources and cutting edge technology combine to make an interactive and highly advanced teaching and learning environment. Everything you could want is on one site with 25 acres of sport and leisure facilities, more than 1,000 rooms in halls of residence and fantastic modern spaces in which you can study and socialise.

The University library gives you access to thousands of books, journals, online resources and extensive PC and media provision. You'll get all the support you need to succeed, reflected in Edge Hill University being ranked in the top two in England for students' personal development, and the top three in the country for assessment and feedback, in the 2011 National Student Survey. The University is also featured in the top four in England for graduate employment.

How do I apply?

Apply online through UCAS at www.ucas.ac.uk.

See our How to Apply pages for more information on the application process and our Admissions criteria.

Fees and Finance

For academic year 2012/13, Edge Hill University will charge £9,000 for full-time BA, BSc and LLB degrees. Eligible students will not have to pay upfront for their tuition. The cost of tuition will be paid by a loan which you will only start to repay once you have finished the course and are earning over £21,000.

Eligible full-time students can also apply for a maintenance grant, subject to household income, and a non-means-tested loan to help with living costs.

Edge Hill University offers a range of scholarships for prospective full-time students. These include £2,000 Entrance Scholarships rewarding determination, commitment and achievement in creative arts, performing arts, sport and volunteering. Eligible entrants with outstanding grades are recognised through the £1,000 High Achievers Scholarship.

The University will also be offering awards, worth £3,000 in cash benefits and fee/accommodation waivers for academic year 2012/13, to eligible prospective full-time students through the National Scholarship Programme.

For more information on scholarships, including eligibility criteria for each award, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/scholarships.

To find out more about fees, grants and loans for academic year 2012/13, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/undergradfees2012.

Please note, the above information is for UK and eligible EU students only. International students should check the fees and finance information at www.edgehill.ac.uk/internationalfees2012.

Not got the entry requirements?

Students returning to education may present their previous experience in work (paid or unpaid) to support their application.

Students with relevant study through either a professional body or appropriate academic course can apply to join the programme at an advanced stage.

If you do not have a Mathematics GCSE, or lack the required grade, you can sit an Edge Hill equivalency test to gain the equivalent qualification.

For personalised advice based on your circumstances, please contact us or come to an event.

Where can I find out more?

If you would like to receive a copy of our prospectus or be kept updated about forthcoming events, contact the Course Information, Advice and Guidance Team by emailing study@edgehill.ac.uk or calling 01695 657000.

If you want to attend one of our open events held throughout the year, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/opendays to book your place.

You will also find Edge Hill University staff at many national careers fairs and UCAS events.

Still want more?

If you have any questions you would like to ask the programme leader about this course, please contact:

• Dr Nigel Richardson, Department of Natural, Geographical and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Edge Hill University, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QP
• Tel: 01695 584421
• Email: richardn@edgehill.ac.uk

Overseas students should visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/international or email international@edgehill.ac.uk for further information.

Modules

Year 1

Introducing Physical Geographies provides an introduction to approaches, concepts, knowledge and skills in physical geography at a level appropriate to an introductory module in higher education.

Practising Physical Geographies will investigate a range of field and laboratory methods and equipment for the recording of physical geographical phenomena.

Geographical Skills develops a number of geographical skills including map skills, aerial photography, satellite image interpretation, research skills, statistical analysis, and fieldwork skills. The module involves a residential field course.

Geo.com focuses on the handling, analysis and communication of spatial and graphical data and geo-information by providing an introduction to the principles, uses and practical skills of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), digital cartography and graphical software packages.

Rocks, Minerals and Fossils provides a suitable knowledge base allowing you to appreciate the origin, composition, dynamics and history of the Earth as a planet. The will show plate tectonics as a unifying concept in the geological sciences, illustrating the composition and formation of major mineral and rock groups and identifying and classifying the main marine invertebrate fossil groups.

Geological Techniques provides an introduction to a range of field and laboratory geological techniques covering the range of knowledge and skills that a geologist in training will need to successfully study and practice geology at more advanced levels.

Year 2

Research Methods in Geography. Using investigative research processes, this module will enhance and develop essential geographical research methods and provide a broad base for future choices in terms of physical, human or environmental study.

Fieldwork in Geography. Within a foreign field setting, this module further enhances the field and research skills developed during the programme up to this point.

Geomorphology provides you with an introduction to the processes which are responsible for the existence and continual modification of the landforms and materials which constitute the Earth’s surface.

Biogeography examines the spatial and temporal patterns of distribution of living organisms over the Earth’s surface, highlighting fundamental processes and causal factors which determine these patterns, and examining the varying contributions to them made by human and physical phenomena.

Weather, Climate and Soils provides you with a detailed understanding of the climate system and the soil system. It covers a range of atmospheric processes through to the development of weather systems, with a specific focus on mid-latitude weather. The varying nature and properties of soils, and the soil processes which give rise to soil formation and development are then considered.

Volcanology and Igneous Petrology covers the systematic description and quantitative interpretation of volcanic and plutonic rocks and their forms within a plate tectonic framework. The course will involve the examination of selected igneous suites in hand specimen and thin section and consideration of their petrogenesis.

Sedimentology will investigate the methods for the description and classification of sediments and sedimentary rocks both in hand specimens and by using basic microscope petrography. It will then study the main types of sedimentary structures and the main processes operating in modern sedimentary environments. The final element will be the use of sedimentary facies associations in the recognition of ancient sedimentary environments.

Geological Techniques II will develop in you a range of practical and field skills needed in the geological sciences. It will introduce you to field working in the wider European context where geological formations and materials differ from those found in the British Isles.

Work-based Learning provides a professional setting in which you can apply and simultaneously extend and refine the knowledge and skills acquired during your degree. It may play a key role in enhancing your career prospects.

Year 3

Dissertation. Through the dissertation experience you develop and apply a range of research and transferable skills in the planning, execution, and reporting of an individual research project.

Geo-careers is designed to assist you in making the necessary transition from academia to the world of employment or postgraduate study. The module provides opportunities to develop career planning and management skills and, therefore, should enhance your employability and career prospects.

Climatic Change considers the nature and causes of climate variability and the methods used to reconstruct the record of past climates. It includes a detailed consideration of the evidence for a human-induced impact on climate at the present day and for the prediction of climate into the future and its potential impacts.

Coastal Zone Environments and Management examines recent and current changes affecting coastlines. Coastal zone environments are approached as repositories of recent environmental change and as dynamic systems responding to human activities.

Snow and Ice Environments considers both modern glacial environments, their processes, materials, landforms and fluctuations, and past glacial environments and the sedimentological and morphological evidence upon which they are based.

Postglacial Environments aims to develop an understanding of the nature of environmental change in terms of causes, and spatial and temporal responses. It considers the techniques and methodologies used in the reconstruction of environmental change and examines the focus of palaeo-environmental research in terms of significant findings and futures goals.

Recent Environmental Change. The application of a range of techniques to sediments or peat allow the detailed reconstruction of a sequence of changes in the recent past and can be used in the direct interpretation and evaluation of contemporary environmental problems, and the present is seen as an expression of processes and trends which can be dated, interpreted and often quantified from the historical evidence contained in the various deposits.

Geohazards focuses on the relationships between the physical causes of selected geohazards such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides and flooding, the potential hazards produced and the responses to these risks.

Geoenvironmental Engineering. This module accords with the nature of applied geology where geological principles are applied in a real world commercial environment. The course examines a range of natural mineral resources found in the UK and how they are extracted and processed. In addition it considers the nature of ground investigations and groundwater controls.

Managing the Geoenvironment focuses on real world environmental problems faced by environmental specialists relating to the reduction or management of construction waste, waste disposal facilities, cleanup of contaminated sites, UK geohazards, superficial and man made ground and the conservation of geodiversity.