Physical Geography

Advantages: Lots of courses to choose from
Disadvantages: 'Beans' system of course allocation - might not get courses you want

...The bizarre thing about doing a Geography degree at Edinburgh University is that you have to choose between human & physical Geography and yet it is exactly the same course. Human Geography requires ABB A-Levels to get in and you must do four years, but you graduate with an MA. Physical Geography requires BCC to get in and if you got better A-Levels than that you can skip 1st year, however you only get a BSc. And I repeat, its exactly the same course - you can do any courses or half courses in second year or honours whichever degree you are registered for, and you can apply to change faculty if you want to. I found this irritating myself, as I got ABB in my A-Levels but had to do 1st year (which was a repeat of A-Level geography) whereas my friend who got in through clearing got direct entry into 2nd year Geography with A... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Varied, flexible and (hopefully) something to suit everyone
Disadvantages: High workload, poor staff support and lots of pressure!

...If, like me and many others I expect, you're thinking of doing a geography degree simply because you liked it at school or found A Level fairly OK, then be warned because it's not like it was at school! When I tell most people I study geography, images of learning how earthquakes rumble, memorising capital cities and colouring in flags come to mind. But in fact, studying geography at Durham is more like a mixture of a whole range of other subjects, like a hybrid discipline in itself. As you know, there are two broad strands to geography - human and physical. The two are so different they can barely be justified to share a department building, but anyway. Personally, I'm more of a 'human geographer' and so the modules I have taken relate more to society, culture, sociology, gender studies, urban theory etc. than anything to do with rivers... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fantastic City, Good Facilities, 8 Hours Per Week
Disadvantages: Expensive City, Fair Amount of Work

...at Manchester * At Manchester you either opt for a Geography BA or BSC degree; a BA simply stands for Bachelor of Arts which means you will study the more human sides of Geography (as well as having done more art subjects at A Level – English, History, etc.) whereas Bachelor of Science means you will opt for more physical approaches as well as having studied more scientific subjects at A Level (Maths, Chemistry, etc.) The Geography department at Manchester has it’s own building – a whole 4 floors! It’s the Mansfield Cooper building and is situated behind the union and adjacent to the John Rylands library so a very handy location for studying!! The building consists of numerous staff offices, 4 large lecture theatres, a computer lab, 2 science labs and a personalised Geography library too! In your first year you’ll have approximately 7-8 hours... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful