Geography
Top 200 in the World
for Geography
QS World Rankings 2020The world is in crisis. Be part of the solutions. Study Geography at Queen’s.
The world is in crisis. Climate change, the Covid-19 global pandemic, ecological collapse, environmental degradation, global terrorism, and mass migration are among the many contemporary crises fundamentally reshaping the world we live in. Geography plays a crucial role in understanding the causes, complexities and controversies surrounding these modern global problems. Geography is also central in forging solutions, from shaping discourse on geopolitics to mapping future flood risk.
Taught by a range of world-leading experts, Geography at Queen’s offers a highly interdisciplinary examination of the world in crisis, within the broader context of three thematic pathways around “Culture, Space and Power”, “Population and Society”, and “Geosciences”. As such, course content reaches across the full breadth of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, addressing the three dimensions of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental.
Our degree programme is accredited by the Royal Geographical Society, and its flexible structure allows you to specialise in particular aspects of Geography that interest you most. Practical skills training and employability are core tenets of Geography at Queen’s, with fieldtrips, tutorials, workshops and practical classes vital in providing hands-on experience in applying subject knowledge in the real world. This will help unlock the doors to a wide variety of careers and pathways for future study that are central to 21st century society.
Study Geography at QUB
James Rodgers talks about his experience of studying Geography at the School of Natural and Built Environment. The videos below highlight two of the urgent questions for Geographers today that students will tackle in our degree programmes.
VIDEO: How should we manage our borders?
VIDEO: How should we manage Climate Change?
RESEARCH
Geography at Queen’s, founded in 1928, has shaped key research agendas across the discipline spanning the physical and human worlds. In human geography we have led debates on the role of space and place in the global geographies of knowledge, politics and power, and made major contributions to understanding the cultural legacies of war, the intellectual history of climate reductionism, and the changing geographies of ethnic diversity, inequalities, and migration. In physical geography our work is contributing to research on climate and environmental change across multiple timescales, climate adaptation and mitigation (carbon capture and storage, and nature-based solutions) peatland dynamics, and soil erosion. Our innovative work in geoforensics is having wide application in crime scene investigations. In Geographical Information Science (GISci), novel interdisciplinary research using big data approaches is helping us to address issues relating to health and the environment and to develop new tools for tracking migration. Interdisciplinarity, and a commitment to the co-production of knowledge with non-academic partners, are hallmarks of our work, giving geographical research at Queen's a central role in contemporary debates about social, cultural and environmental futures.
KEY RESEARCH PROJECTS
Population Geography
Changing Socio-Spatial Inequalities: Population change and the lived experience of inequality in urban South Africa
This project provides an innovative analysis of how people's lived experiences of socio-economic inequality are shaped by the complex dynamics of urban change in South Africa and how such experiences in turn shape the country's urban social fabric.
FIND OUT MORE
Research Expertise of Geography Staff:
- Biogeography
- Climate Science
- Cryospheric Science
- Cultural Geography
- Development Geography
- Environmental Change
- Geoforensics
- Geopolitics
- GI Science
- Health and Place
- Historical Geography
- History of Geography
- Political Geography
- Population Geography
- Postcolonial Geography
- Social Geography
STUDY
UNDERGRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE PATHWAYS
Taught by a range of world-leading experts, Geography at Queen’s offers a highly interdisciplinary examination of the world in crisis, within the broader context of three thematic pathways around “Culture, Space and Power”, “Population and Society”, and “Geosciences”. As such, course content reaches across the full breadth of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, addressing the three dimensions of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental. Our degree programme is accredited by the Royal Geographical Society, and its flexible structure allows you to specialise in particular aspects of Geography that interest you most. We offer the following programmes:
RESEARCH CENTRES
Centre for Data Digitisation
(CDDA)
Centre for Data Digitisation (CCDA)
One of the leading Digital Humanities units within the UK and Ireland, the centre aims to develop digital humanities in a holistic way, producing resources that use the latest technologies and working with innovative methodologies to interrogate digital resources and 'big data'.
Centre for GIS and Geomatics
(CGISG)
Centre for GIS and Geomatics (CGISG)
The centre supports research across the Geography discipline and more widely, promoting research, teaching and outreach in the fields of spatial science, geomatics/geodetics, geostatistical analysis, geo-programming and digital mapping, and hosts a diverse array of spatial data resources via web-based mapping portals.
Centre for Canadian Studies
(CCS)
Centre for Canadian Studies (CCS)
The CCS aims to promote a better understanding of Canadian society, culture and environment within both the University and wider community. Working across disciplines, it connects research in Canada to international research and policy agendas.
OUR STAFF
| STAFF NAME | RESEARCH INTERESTS | |
| Dr Merav Amir | Cultural and Political Geography | m.amir@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Jeremy Auerbach | Geographical Information Science; Urban Studies; Environmental Health | j.auerbach@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Maarten Blaauw | Palaeoecology; radiocarbon dating | maarten.blaauw@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Gemma Catney | Population and Social Geography | g.catney@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Oliver Dunnett | Cultural, Historical and Political Geography | o.dunnett@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Paul Ell | Historical Geography | paul.ell@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Diarmid Finnegan | Historical Geography | d.finnegan@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Satish Kumar | Historical and Cultural Geography | s.kumar@qub.ac.uk |
| Prof Keith Lilley | Historical Geography | k.lilley@qub.ac.uk |
| Prof David Livingstone | History of Geography | d.livingstone@qub.ac.uk |
| Prof Chris Lloyd | Geographical Information Science; Population Geography; Historical Geography | c.lloyd@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Niall Majury | Economic Geography | n.majury@qub.ac.uk |
| Prof Jennifer McKinley | Environmental Change; Geostatistics | j.mckinley@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Donal Mullan | Climate Science | d.mullan@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Andrew Newton | Carbon capture and glacial geomorphology | a.newton@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Gill Plunkett | Reconstructing past environments; past climate change; human-environment relationships; volcanic impacts; tephrochronology; palynology; peatlands | g.plunkett@qub.ac.uk |
| Prof Helen Roe | Environmental Change | h.roe@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Alastair Ruffell | Environmental Change; Geoforensics | a.ruffell@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Ian Shuttleworth | Social and Population Geography | i.shuttleworth@qub.ac.uk |
| Dr Tristan Sturm | Political Geography | t.sturm@qub.ac.uk |
| Prof Graeme Swindles | Environmental Change; Earth System Science; Peatland Ecosystems | g.swindles@qub.ac.uk |
