BA Geography (Placement Year)
About this course
BA Hons in Geography (Placement Year), a geography degree focused on spatial analysis, environmental challenges, and human-environment interactions. Core topics include Data Analysis, Research Methods, Fieldwork, Environmental Analysis, Critical & Analytical Thinking, and Human Behaviour. This four-year course includes a dedicated third-year industry placement role, allowing students to gain graduate-level work experience before returning for their final year. The first year establishes foundations through compulsory modules such as Foundation Skills for LEC, Global Human Geography, Introducing Research in Geography, Reading the Landscape, and Society and Place, alongside optional choices like Atmosphere, Weather and Climate and Biodiversity and Global Change. The second year advances core knowledge through Geographical Data Science and Political and Economic Geography, while offering optional modules including Atmospheric Science, Cultural and Social Geography, Ecology and Conservation, Environmental Geography, and Glaciology. The third year is spent on a professional placement. The final year centres on an independent research project via the Dissertation core module, alongside advanced optional topics such as Challenging Cities in the 21st Century, Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, Eco-Innovation for Sustainable Development, Food and Agriculture in the 21st Century, and Political Ecology.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: BBB. We recommend that this includes Geography, or alternatively you should have one of the following subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Classics, Economics, English Literature, Environmental Studies, Geology, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Psychology, Religious Studies, and Sociology. IB: 30 points overall with 15 points from the best 3 HL subjects including Geography or alternative cognate subject at HL grade 6
See the highest paying Geography & Environmental Science degrees in the UK →
What students say
Based on about 42 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 89%
- Learning opportunities: 84%
- Assessment and feedback: 71%
- Academic support: 98%
- Organisation and management: 88%
- Learning resources: 92%
- Student voice: 77%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 100%
What graduates do next
Based on about 40 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Working: 65%
- Working and studying: 14%
- Further study: 9%
- Unemployed: 6%
Most common jobs
- Teaching Professionals: 15%
- Engineering professionals: 15%
- Conservation and environment professionals: 15%
- Architects, Chartered Architectural Technologists, Planning Officers, Surveyors and Construction Professionals: 10%
- Business, Research and Administrative Professionals: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 85%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 75%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 50%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 210 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 34%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 12%
- East Midlands: 5%
- West Midlands: 8%
- East of England: 5%
- London: 14%
- South East: 9%
- South West: 8%
- Wales: 3%
- Northern Ireland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 85 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 99%
- Baccalaureate: 1%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Gold overall, Silver for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Foundation Skills for LEC
- Global Human Geography
- Introducing Research in Geography
- Reading the Landscape
- Society and Place
- Atmosphere, Weather and Climate
- Biodiversity and Global Change
- Policy Lab
- Political Theory for a Troubled World
- Geographical Data Science
- Political and Economic Geography
- Atmospheric Science
- Cultural and Social Geography
- Ecology and Conservation
- Environmental Geography
- Geography, Development and the Majority World
- Glaciology
- Living with the Landscape
- Sustainable Hebrides: Field Course
- Placement
- Dissertation
- Challenging Cities in the 21st Century
- Creative Geographies: Place, Space and the Geographies of Imagination
- Cryosphere in a Changing Climate
- Eco-Innovation for Sustainable Development
- Food and Agriculture in the 21st Century
- Geographies of Transformation in the Global South
- Governing Socio-Ecological Systems in Tropical Asia Field Course
- Interdisciplinary Conservation Science
- Managing the Energy Transition
- Political Ecology
- Spatial Data Analysis
- Teaching, Outreach and Public Engagement
- The Politics of Urban Futures: Field Course
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Geography (Placement Year) at Lancaster University earn?
The median salary is £29,000 after 15 months, £26,000 after 3 years, £32,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £27,000 and £40,000.
What do graduates of BA Geography (Placement Year) at Lancaster University do next?
88% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Geography (Placement Year) at Lancaster University?
89% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Geography (Placement Year) at Lancaster University?
The typical offer is BBB at A level, or 30 points in the IB. The average entrant had 136 UCAS points.
Does BA Geography (Placement Year) at Lancaster University include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has a compulsory placement year.
How many students continue on BA Geography (Placement Year) at Lancaster University?
100% of students continued into their second year, and 0% left higher education.