Institute of Geography & Earth Sciences

Our Single Honours Degrees

Introduction

The Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences is one of the largest and most dynamic departments of its kind in Britain. Aberystwyth was the first department to offer students single honours degrees in Human Geography and Physical Geography, and one of the first to offer  Environmental Earth Science. The Institute has been trusted for over 100 years with providing a high quality of learning in an established Geography and Earth Science community, where graduates go on to shape the future of the earth.

We are passionate about what we do. We aim to deliver an exciting, engaging and relevant education. We want you to be interesting as a person, interested in the Earth, its people, its history and your future.

Students in the Institute can expect high quality teaching as they engage with staff whose research has been highly rated. With over 30 lecturing staff, we can teach a huge range of specialist modules across a vast spectrum of subjects. These range from concerns over climate change, the environmental impact of volcanic eruptions, current trends in geohazards, mass extinctions, forensic science, urban sustainability, regional development and the future of the nation state. This is far from an exhaustive list - visit the Institute's web pages to see how you can tailor a course to match your own personal interests.

Mirroring the global nature of our discipline, lecturing staff at Aberystwyth have studied and researched throughout the world, bringing the latest exciting research findings back to Aberystwyth. Our students have the opportunity to travel across the continents, from New York to New Zealand, and we also make the most of the opportunity to study in one of the most beautiful environments in the UK.

Our students benefit from the excitement of learning about the physical and human world not only in lectures, but through some of the most innovative teaching in the UK. Our computer provision is second to none, with superb web-based support commonplace. All our degrees reflect the fact that our discipline engages with the real world, and we provide graduates with the technological and practical skills needed to succeed in their future careers. Six months after graduation, 90% of our students are in employment or further study.

Teaching and Learning 

Students' learning is not restricted to the lecture theatre. All students receive close small group supervision throughout their degree through the tutorial system, which reinforces the closeness of the Geography and Earth Science community in Aberystwyth. We teach you how to use the laboratory and computing facilities from the first year onwards. Fieldwork takes place in the stunning landscapes of mid-Wales, and we offer international fieldwork to most students in their second year. The practical nature of our work also means that we not only use exams for assessment, but you will also receive marks for work such as producing a website, making a presentation, undertaking an experiment or researching your own individual project.

Resources

Our teaching takes place in well-equipped, up-to-date lecture theatres. We also possess a unique range of analytical instrumentation including equipment for sedimentological and geochemical analysis. You will also have access to a Mass Spectrometer, GIS and remote sensing equipment, digital data, transcribers and data recording technology. The Institute also houses the E.G. Bowen Map Library with over 80,000 maps and 4,000
atlases.

You will not only have access to the Hugh Owen Library, with its 800,000 books and 3,500 journals, but also the nearby National Library of Wales, a copyright library which is entitled to receive a copy of every book published in Britain.

Computer technology also plays an increasingly important role in our degrees, and from our own computer room to your own Hall of Residence, the University's wireless network covers the campus and most of the town. You will have access to specialist software for mapping, statistical and qualitative analysis, and modelling software.

Opportunities to Travel and Study Abroad

As well as making full use of the beautiful landscapes of mid-Wales, most of our students have the opportunity to travel abroad during their international field trip in the second year. In recent years we have undertaken fieldwork in New Zealand, New York, Spain, France and Ireland. The international fieldtrip is an important highlight of the degree, providing you with an excellent and exciting opportunity to experience the material you have learnt through reading and lectures. (Additional fees are charged for some field visits).

We want you to explore the planet and do exciting things and as a student in the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences you will be eligible to apply for the Gareth Thomas and Elwyn Davies Travel Awards, set up by former lecturers to enable you to travel to “the farthest ends of the world” - every year up to 12 students do! Like all Aberystwyth students you can also apply for one of the University's Gregynog Travel Scholarships.

The North American Exchange Programme gives you the chance to swap Aberystwyth for a similar degree programme in the US during your second year. Exchange students appreciate the experience of learning about the world from the different perspective offered by a North American University, and can choose from degrees offered by Washington State, Kansas, Montana, Penn State and Pittsburgh.

The University Centre in Svalbard in the Norwegian high Arctic also gives our students an experience of studying in one of the world's more extreme climates and seeing climate change in the Arctic at first hand.

The Year in Employment Scheme (YES) means that you can gain work experience by taking a paid year in employment between the second and third year of your degree. Many placements are highly suited to Geography, Environmental Earth Science and Environmental Science, and our students have been placed in programmes abroad as well as in the UK.

Studying through the Medium of Welsh

The Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences has a unique role in teaching our subject areas through the medium of Welsh. One of our BA degree schemes is principally taught in the Welsh language, and several of our Joint Honours and Major/Minor schemes are also taught through Welsh. Students on our other degree schemes can also opt to take modules and tutorials through the medium of Welsh. The result is that many students are able to expand their professional skills in a language that is increasingly important to employment in Wales.