Geographical Sciences Study Guide 2025/26
What you can study
At Bristol, you can study with world-leading experts in the fields of human and physical geography. Our teaching emphasises a multidisciplinary approach to the natural environment, and equips students with key theories and methodologies for the study of cultural, economic and social geography.
You will find units on:
- climate change, sustainability and conservation
- glaciology, hydrology, oceans and waterways
- qualitative and quantitative methodologies
- diverse regions, including: Asia, Africa, rural and urban
- inequality, politics, and philosophy
Pre-requisites
At UK universities, students specialise from their first year and rarely take units outside their degree subject. This means that:
- Year 1 units are suitable for all students.
- Year 2 units require some university study in the discipline.
- Year 3 units require a strong background in the discipline.
Subject pathway students
If you have been nominated to Bristol on the Study Abroad (Geographical Sciences pathway), you must take the majority of your credits from this guide.
Year 1
Pre-requisites: suitable for all students
Teaching Block 1
- Geography: Past, Present and Future - GEOG10007 (Human Geography)
- World in Crisis? - GEOG16001 (Human and Physical Geography)
Teaching Block 2
- Introduction to Quantitative Geography - GEOG10008
- Sustainable Development - UNIV10001 (Human and Physical Geography)
Teaching Block 4 (full year)
- Key Concepts in Human Geography - GEOG10010 (Human Geography)
- Key Concepts in Physical Geography - GEOG10009 (Physical Geography)
Year 2
Pre-requisites: some university study in the discipline.
Please note that some units focus on human or physical geography and will only be suitable for students studying that relevant field at their home university.
Teaching Block 1
- Floods and Flows in River Basins - GEOG20027 (Physical Geography)
- Future Climates - GEOG20030 (Physical Geography)
- Geographies of Nature - GEOG20029 (Human Geography)
- Urban Geography - a Focus on Africa - GEOG20033 (Human Geography)
Teaching Block 2
- Fundamentals of Modern Glaciology - GEOG20004 (Physical Geography)
- Geographies of Work and Employment - GEOG20034 (Human Geography)
- Oceans in a Changing World - GEOG20021 (Physical Geography)
- Philosophy, Social Theory and Geography - GEOG25110 (Human Geography)
- Study and Field Skills for Geographers - GEOG20035 (Human and Physical Geography). This unit involves a field trip. There are co-requisites: students must take either GEOG20036 or GEOG20037 with this unit.
Teaching Block 4 (full year)
- Lab and Field Research Methods for Physical Geography - GEOG20036 (Physical Geography)
- Qualitative Research Methods for Human Geography - GEOG20037 (Human Geography)
Year 3
Pre-requisites: strong background of study in the discipline.
Please note that some units focus on human or physical geography and will only be suitable for students studying that relevant field at their home university.
Teaching Block 1
- Data Science for Geographers - GEOG30045
- Drylands in a Changing World - GEOG30039 (Physical Geography)
- Evolutionary Biogeography - GEOG30037 (Physical Geography)
- Geophilosophy - GEOG30047 (Human Geography)
- Ice and Ocean in the Global Carbon Cycle - GEOG30014 (Physical Geography)
- Rural Asia - GEOG30031 (Human Geography)
- Urban Inequality - GEOG30044 (Human Geography)
Teaching Block 2
- Climate Forensics: Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere - GEOG30033 (Physical Geography)
- Energy Geographies - GEOG30038 (Human Geography)
- Environmental Risks and Disaster Risk Reduction - GEOG30041 (Physical Geography)
- From Past to Future: Ecology and Rewilding - GEOG30048 (Physical Geography)
- Life, Sex and Death in an Age of Capitalism - GEOG30035 (Human Geography)
- Migration and Development - GEOG30018 (Human Geography)
- Sea Level Rise in a Warming Climate - GEOG30046 (Physical Geography)
Application queries
Contact the Centre for Study Abroad inbound team if you have any queries about the application process for the study abroad programmes:
Phone: +44 117 39 40207
Email: cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk