Programme Specifications

Geography at Aberystwyth explores the nature and impact of cultural, social, economic, political and physical processes from the global to the local scale. The BSc Geography degree scheme places an emphasis on all aspects of Geography, providing understanding and explanation of: (1) the processes structuring the human and natural worlds; (2) how and why those worlds have changed in the past, are changing now and will continue to change in the future; (3) the interactions between the human and natural worlds. Through their selection of modules, students are able to combine elements of Physical and Human Geography or to develop pathways which focus in more depth on either Physical Geography or Human Geography.

The aims of the BSc Geography degree scheme programme are:

• To develop a broad and deep understanding of geography, its content, methods and philosophy
• To provide a structured programme of delivery that is academically rigorous and meets current and future benchmarking requirements
• To encourage selected specialist knowledge and understanding through Level 3 optional modules in those areas where the Institute has expertise
• To produce graduates with a wide range of analytical, critical and technical abilities within geography
• To develop powers of critical, analytic thinking and logical argument
• To develop competence in a range of subject-specific and transferable skills including literacy, numeracy, computer literacy, graphicacy, problem setting and problem solving, report writing, laboratory and fieldwork skills
• To encourage independent study and thought, enquiring minds, and a commitment to personal scholarship of the highest standard

On completion of the BSc Geography degree scheme programme students should: 

• Be able to evaluate critically geographical ideas, concepts and approaches across the whole of the subject and within particular branches of Geography
• Be able to carry out independent research, applying a range of cartographic, computational, literary and technical skills
• Have developed a range of geographical skills and be able to apply them to a variety of geographical issues
• Be able to recognize that their learning experience has been positively reinforced by exposure to research
• Be able to evaluate their own performance in a range of learning contexts and under different modes of assessment
• Be able to work independently, in a team and with a social awareness of the contribution made by scholarship and applied research in their discipline to environmental management and policy
• Have the necessary skills and awareness to seek employment in a variety of professional careers or to begin postgraduate research and study.

On completion of the degree scheme, students will be able to:

• A1   Describe the relationships between human activity and the physical environment, including the impact of human activity on landscape form and environmental quality

• A2   Describe and account for spatial variations in human phenomena and the makeup of the Earth's physical environments at a variety of spatial and temporal scales

• A3   Account for the various ways in which spaces, places, landscapes and environments are constituted and continually remade through a variety of social, economic, political and cultural processes, in a range of contexts from the local to the global

• A4   Describe the physical and chemical processes that are responsible for forming the Earth's physical environments

• A5   Identify the relationships between process and form in the human and physical world

• A6   Critically evaluate the contribution that geographical study makes to an informed concern about the Earth and its people, in academic, practical and policy terms

• A7   Evaluate the development of Geography as a distinctive discipline, and discuss the relationships between Geography and other disciplines in the physical and natural sciences, the arts and the social sciences

• A8  Synthesise contributions from Human and Physical Geography to address issues of environmental management

• A9   Identify the range and nature of data sources available to the geographer and employ and evaluate a substantial range of observational, recording and analytic strategies used in geographical field enquiry and data analysis

• A10   Describe the different forms of representation of the human and physical environment – including text, maps, mathematical equations, chemical equations, visual images, and models (including hardware, numerical and conceptual models)

• A11   Critically evaluate the range of philosophical and methodological approaches employed by geographers in their analysis and interpretation of the Earth's human and physical environments

• A12  Demonstrate understanding of how particular geographical ‘ways of seeing’ are produced, theorised and interpreted, including the representation of places through academic, policy and lay discourses.

Teaching and Learning

At Level 1, student development towards learning outcomes A1–A8 is promoted via the core BSc Geography module programme, delivered through lectures and supported by field-classes, independent study and student reading. Issues relating to learning outcomes A1-A8 are also addressed through core lecture-based modules and supported by directed student exercises and reading. Student development towards learning outcomes A9-A12 is promoted in a practical sense through a combination of practical/laboratory classes and field classes and their related exercise-based assignments.

At Levels 2 and 3, the teaching programme consists of four elements. (i) Core Knowledge and Understanding Modules in Level 2 develop student capacities relating to outcomes A1-A6 through lectures supported by independent study and reading by students. (ii) CoreSkills Modules at Level 2 promote learning outcomes A7-A12 through a combination of lectures, practical classes and field classes, variously supported by fieldwork exercises, group or individual exercise-based assignments and independent reading as appropriate. Field classes also address issues related to A1 and A12, while independent research undertaken by students towards their Dissertation may also contribute towards the development of knowledge relating to some or all of outcomes A1-A12. (iii) Optional modules taken at Level 2 and Level 3 and delivered through lectures and seminars supported by independent study and reading, contribute to student development towards some or all of outcomes A1-A12. (iv) Small group teaching in both Level 2 and Level 3 cover themes relating to outcomes A1-A12.

Assessment

At Level 1, student capacities relating to learning outcomes A1–A12 are assessed through unseen examination essays, unseen short-answer examinations, exercise-based coursework assignments and project work. Student capacities relating to outcomes A9-A12 are assessed through practical, laboratory and field exercises.

At Levels 2 and 3, student capacities relating to learning outcomes A1 to A12 may be variously assessed as appropriate through coursework assignments, the Dissertation project, fieldwork assignments, oral presentations, coursework essays, project essays, seminar presentations, and seen, unseen and free-time examination essays.

10.2.1    Intellectual skills

On completion of the degree scheme, students will be able to:

• B1  Abstract and synthesise information

• B2  Critically judge and evaluate evidence

• B3  Critically interpret data and text

• B4  Make justified decisions

• B5  Assess the merits of contrasting theories, explanations and policies

• B6  Develop a reasoned argument

• B7  Find ways to solve problems

• B8  Write in an appropriate academic style in reporting, reviewing and discussing geographical themes

• B9 Appropriately and critically synthesise academic literature and correctly cite and reference sources

• B10  Take responsibility for their own learning and review and reflect upon that learning. 

Teaching and Learning

Student development towards outcomes B1-B10 is primarily promoted through small group sessions (Levels 1-3), practical classes and field classes (Levels 1-3), and one-to-one tutoring for the Dissertation project (Level 3). Learning is supported through personal tutorials, practical and field exercises. The application of these skills in the context of specific areas of geographical enquiry is demonstrated through lectures for core and optional modules at Levels, 2 and 3.

For example, skills of abstracting and synthesising information, critically judging and evaluating evidence, critically interpreting data, making justified decision, assessing the merits of contrasting theories and explanations, developing a reasoned argument and finding ways of overcoming problems may all be developed as part of projects undertaken during the Level 2 field course.

Assessment

Assessment of student capacities in relation to outcomes B1-B10 are central to criteria employed in the evaluation of a range of assessment forms employed at all three levels of the degree scheme. These include coursework essays, practical exercises, fieldwork projects, project essays, seminar and oral presentation, the Dissertation independent research project and seen, unseen and free-time examination essays.

10.2.2    Professional practical skills / Discipline-specific skills

On completion of the degree scheme students will be able to demonstrate competence in the following professional geographical skills: 

• C1  Planning, designing and executing a piece of rigorous geographical research or enquiry, including the production of a final report

• C2  Undertaking effective fieldwork (with due regard for safety and risk assessment)

• C3  Presenting geographical data effectively through the use of appropriate media including maps, diagrams, statistics, models and academic prose

• C4  Employing a variety of methods for the collection, analysis and synthesis of information from the human and/or physical world, including field sampling, questiononaire surveys, interviews and quantitative techniques

• C5  Combining and interpreting different types of geographical evidence

• C6  Devising and employing a variety of technical and laboratory-based methods for the collection and analysis of environmental data

• C7  Analysing the geographical implications of current events, policy decisions and social, economic, political and cultural processes

• C8  Interrogating and interpreting the production and presentation of policy documents, print and broadcast media, landscape and textual material

• C9  Recognising the moral and ethical issues involved in geographical debates and enquiries

Teaching and Learning

The teaching of discipline-specific professional and practical skills is delivered in a number of contexts. Field classes at Levels 1 and 2 contribute to the development of skills C1-C9, with learning supported by the practical experience of group and individual field exercises and projects. Practical classes at Levels 1 and 2 contribute to the development of skills C3, C4, C5, C7-C9, supported by practical group and individual exercises. Small group sessions at Levels 1, 2 and 3 address issues relating to outcomes C5-C9 inclusive; whilst outcomes C7-C9 are also addressed at Level 1 through lectures on core modules and related exercise-based assignments. Finally, independent student research for the Dissertation, and associated one-to-one tutoring, may contribute to student development towards any or all of C1 to C7 inclusive.

Additionally, the application of these skills in the context of specific areas of geographical enquiry is demonstrated through lectures for core and optional modules at Levels 1, 2 and 3.

Assessment

The above skills are assessed through a variety of methods at all three levels of the degree scheme. Assignments reporting on fieldwork exercises and activities – which may include written reports, field notebooks and diaries, and oral presentations – assess student capacities against outcomes C1-C9 inclusive. Similarly, the Dissertation project may, depending on the topic, assess any or all of outcomes C1-C9 inclusive. Group and individual exercises related to practical classes assess skills C3-C5 and C9. Coursework essays, project essays and examination essays may all assess C3-C9 as appropriate to the context of the assessment.

On completion of the programme the student will be able to take responsibility for themselves and their work. The student will be able to demonstrate ability in the following key skills which are transferable to a non-academic context

• D1 Working independently

• D2 Working as part of a team

• D3 Respecting the views, beliefs, opinions and values of others

• D4 Listening to, and engaging with, other speakers

• D5 Effective verbal communication in a range of settings, including group discussions and debates and formal presentations

• D6 Effective written communication in a variety of forms

• D7 Use of information technologies to process, store, present and communicate information, including spreadsheets, databases, word processing, e-mail and the internet.

• D8 Identifying, retrieving, sorting and handling information from conventional and digital resources.

• D9 Time management and self-regulation of work regimes

• D10 Research issues and solve problems

• D11 Adapting to change

• D12 Reading comprehension and interpretation of a range of written material

• D13 Observational skills

• D14 Collating, processing, interpreting and presenting numerical data

• D15 Identifying appropriate career pathways and developing the capacity to compete effectively for employment opportunities.

Teaching and Learning

The programme aims to promote, develop and nurture students’ awareness of and competence in these key transferable skills, many of which students will already possess to a greater or lesser degree of competence. Some of these skills are integral to teaching and learning activities across the programme (D1, D4, and D7-D12). Others are developed through specific modules and learning activities, including fieldwork (D2, D10 and D13), practical/laboratory classes and exercises (D14), oral presentations (D5). Most significantly, skills-based modules have a progressive syllabus from Level 1 to Level 3 (culminating in the Dissertation) which specifically addresses a number of these skills, including D1-D12 and D15.

Assessment

Assessment of student capacities in relation to many of the above outcomes (D6-D10 and D12) is central to criteria employed in the evaluation of a range of assessment forms employed at all three levels of the degree scheme. These include coursework essays, practical exercises, fieldwork projects, project essays, the Dissertation independent research project and seen, unseen and free-time examination essays. In addition, a number of the above skills are explicitly assessed at various points during the programme through a range of methods, including the Dissertation project (D1), reports on fieldwork group project (D2), oral presentation on fieldwork project (D5), study skills assignments (D7, D8), fieldwork exercises (D13), and practical exercises (D14).