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BSc Geography

Academic Year 2018/19

A programme specification is required for any programme on which a student may be registered. All programmes of the University are subject to the University's Quality Assurance processes. All degrees are awarded by Queen's University Belfast.

Programme Title

BSc Geography

Final Award
(exit route if applicable for Postgraduate Taught Programmes)

Bachelor of Science

Programme Code

GEO-BSC-S

UCAS Code

F800

HECoS Code

100410

ATAS Clearance Required

No

Mode of Study

Full Time

Type of Programme

Single Honours

Length of Programme

3 Academic Year(s)

Total Credits for Programme

360

Exit Awards available

INSTITUTE INFORMATION

Teaching Institution

Queen's University Belfast

School/Department

Natural and Built Environment

Framework for Higher Education Qualification Level 
www.qaa.ac.uk

Level 6

QAA Benchmark Group
www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements

Geography (2014)

Accreditations (PSRB)

Royal Geographical Society (RGS)

Date of most recent Accreditation Visit 06-12-16

REGULATION INFORMATION

Does the Programme have any approved exemptions from the University General Regulations
(Please see General Regulations)

None

Programme Specific Regulations

N/A

Students with protected characteristics

N/A

Are students subject to Fitness to Practise Regulations

(Please see General Regulations)

No

EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF PROGRAMME

The overall aim of the programme is to offer a high quality, supportive teaching and learning environment that gives students the opportunities to develop intellectual and practical skills through an understanding of physical and human environments and through analysing and interpreting geographical data and knowledge. The programme aims to prepare students to move beyond their degree, be that to employment or further study. It encourages them to contribute to the wider community by applying their geographical knowledge and understanding.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learning Outcomes: Cognitive Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Assess contrasting ideas, explanations and policies

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework assessment

Communicate geographical material by written, oral and visual means

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, coursework, supervised research, experiential learning

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework assessment

Critically interpret and evaluate data and texts

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Workshops, supervised research, experiential learning

Methods of Assessment

Coursework assessment, dissertation

Abstract and synthesize information

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Coursework

Methods of Assessment

Coursework assessment

Develop a reasoned argument

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework assessment

Undertake independent study and engage in reflective learning

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Coursework, supervised research, experiential learning

Methods of Assessment

Coursework assessment including dissertations

Perform assigned tasks within a group setting

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Fieldwork, workshops

Methods of Assessment

Coursework and fieldwork assessments

Learning Outcomes: Knowledge & Understanding

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Appreciate the theory and practice of geographical enquiry

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework assessment

Understand and interpret contemporary geography

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework assessment

Interpret environments and environmental change

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, fieldwork, experiential learning

Methods of Assessment

Exams, assessed fieldwork

Understand and utilise GIS

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, coursework, experiential learning

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework assessment

Understand landforms, physical processes, landscape representation and interpretation within physical geography

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, fieldwork, experiential learning

Methods of Assessment

Exams, assessed fieldwork, coursework assessment

Understand major issues and debates in human geography

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework assessment

Understand socially constructed ways of representing and interpreting the world

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework and fieldwork assessment

Appreciate the significance of temporal change

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework assessment

Carry out routine investigations

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Workshops, fieldwork

Methods of Assessment

Coursework and fieldwork assessment

Learning Outcomes: Subject Specific

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Geographical methodologies and data collection (through fieldwork, instrumentation, maps, digital data and imagery, textual and archival sources and written records, social surveys, observation, GIS)

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, workshops, fieldwork

Methods of Assessment

Exams, assessed fieldwork, coursework assessment

Representation of geographical data (maps, GIS, remote sensing, statistics)

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Workshops, supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Coursework assessment, dissertation

Field techniques for data collection

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Fieldwork

Methods of Assessment

Assessed fieldwork

Laboratory skills for data collection and analysis

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Workshops, supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Coursework assessment, dissertation

Ethics and values; integrity and inequalities

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Supervised research

Environments being affected by physical processes and human activity

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Exams, assessed fieldwork, coursework assessment

Spatial awareness including the significance of scale

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework assessment

Communication skills: oral, numerate, literate, graphical and visual

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Coursework, fieldwork, experiential learning

Methods of Assessment

Exams, assessed fieldwork, coursework assessment

Problem solving

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Workshops, coursework, supervised research, experiential learning

Methods of Assessment

Exams, assessed fieldwork, coursework assessment

Research design

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Dissertation

Learning Outcomes: Transferable Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Decision making and decision taking

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Supervised research, fieldwork, experiential learning

Methods of Assessment

Dissertation, assessed fieldwork

Team work and group interaction

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Fieldwork, workshops, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Assessed presentations

Independent thought and self-reflection

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Essays, fieldwork, supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Dissertation, field notebooks

Time management

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Groupwork, fieldwork, experiential learning

Methods of Assessment

Exams, assessed fieldwork

Planning, designing, executing independent research & study

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Dissertation

Field techniques

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Fieldwork

Methods of Assessment

Assessed fieldwork

Recognizing moral and ethical issues

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Exams, dissertation

Presenting and communicating data (graphicacy, numeracy, oral, written work)

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Essays, coursework, tutorials, fieldwork

Methods of Assessment

Exams, fieldwork, dissertation

Collecting geographical information

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Fieldwork, workshops

Methods of Assessment

Coursework and fieldwork assessment

Quantitative and qualitative approaches to analysis

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, coursework

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework assessment

MODULE INFORMATION

Stages and Modules

Module Title

Module Code

Level/ stage

Credits

Availability

Duration

Pre-requisite

Assessment
S1 S2 Core Option Coursework % Practical % Examination %
Dynamic Earth GGY1007 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 50% 0% 50%
Processes and Principles of Physical Geography GGY1009 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 70% 0% 30%
Human Geographies of the Modern World GGY1011 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Spaces of Development GGY1012 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 50% 0% 50%
Sustaining the Biosphere GGY2030 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 55% 25% 20%
Landscapes and Geographical Information (GIS) GGY2002 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Research Design and Professional Development GGY2055 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Contemporary Approaches to Geographical Enquiry GGY2056 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Geographies of Economic Restructuring and Social Change GGY2044 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
International Fieldwork GGY2057 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Climate and Earth Surface Processes GGY2052 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 70% 0% 30%
Maps and Mapping - From the Stone Age to the Digital Age GGY2053 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Cultural and Political Geography GGY2054 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Volcanoes: environmental and societal impacts ARP3080 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 30% 70% 0%
Geography Dissertation GGY3081 3 40 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Geography At Work GGY3065 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 85% 15% 0%
Arid Environments GGY3062 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Geographical Independent Research Essay GGY3083 3 20 YES YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Advanced Geographical Information Systems GGY3060 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Climate Change: Science, Scenarios and Impacts GGY3073 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 30% 50% 20%
Environmental Geopolitics GGY3084 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 60% 40% 0%
Geographies of Outer Space GGY3075 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 75% 25% 0%
Geographies of Ethnicity GGY3088 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%

Notes

Level 1: Two other modules (40 units) must be taken, outside the 4 core geography modules Levels 2 and 3: One other module (20 units) can be taken instead of a geography optional module GGY3083: This module is not a standard option but is provided in the Geography (BSc) programme: (i) to accommodate students on Erasmus placements at L3 and (ii) to provide an alternative to the double-weighted Dissertation (GGY3081) as advised by supervisor.