The BSc in Geography is a four-year course run by the School of Geography and Sustainable Development. The School also offers an MA in Geography, which may be more suitable for students who wish to take geography alongside Arts subjects. The geography element within both the BSc and MA degree programmes is exactly the same.
In the first two years, the students will develop an integrated, coherent vision of the world exploring the complex interrelationships between people and the planet, and the implications of humans becoming a force of nature. They will also gain a conceptual and applied (methods-orientated) grounding in physical, environmental and human geography.
Alongside geography in the first year of their studies, they will be required to study an additional two subjects. In the second year they will usually carry on at least one of these subjects, sometimes two. At Honours level, students may choose to specialise in speicifc aspects of geography or to engage with the full breadth of the discipline. Specialist subject areas may include:
- climate and weather systems
- development, politics and inequality
- glaciers and glaciation
- migration and transnationalism
- natural resource management.
Final year students must also complete a dissertation on a topic chosen in consultation with teaching staff in the School.
Throughout the course there are opportunities to undertake fieldwork both locally and overseas. Recent locations have included Norway, Iceland and Ireland. There are additional costs involved in taking part, although the School does subsidise them.
The University of St Andrews operates on a flexible modular degree system by which degrees are obtained through the accumulation of credits.
