BA (Hons) GEOGRAPHY AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH A PLACEMENT YEAR

Have you ever wondered why societies are so unequal? How processes of colonialism, globalisation, urbanisation, and (de)industrialisation have transformed people’s lives? Or considered how uneven development emerges at the global, regional, national, and local scales, and what we can do about it? What are the causes and consequences of social polarisation and inequalities between groups? How do people challenge, resist, and transform spatial difference and social injustice? And how can we understand the complex interactions between people, communities, and their wider environments in order to create a better future for everyone?  

Learn to tackle these big questions – and many more – in our BA Geography with International Development with a Placement Year.

About

This innovative course combines a strong interdisciplinary foundation with a specialist geographical lens in the study of global development. You’ll take core human and social geography modules that seek to understand critical contemporary issues from a geographical perspective – including poverty, inequality, race, health, migration, and urbanisation – focusing specifically on the relationship between people and place, and transformative social justice. You will obtain key practical skills training, including Geographical Information Systems (GIS), qualitative and quantitative methods, alongside in-depth field experience. In fact, fieldwork and field courses are a vital part of this degree with local field trips embedded within core modules, where we partner with and learn from community-based organisations. We have several opportunities for residential trips both in the UK and overseas throughout the programme.   

In addition to this geographical focus, you’ll gain a broad grounding in the key issues, agendas and practices of development, fusing insights from geography with those from across the social sciences, including anthropology, economics, environmental sciences, media, and politics. You can develop your understanding of particular regions in the world, through area modules relating to sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, or Latin America, and you can pursue your emerging interests through this unique blend of geography and development. 

In your third year, you’ll have the opportunity to gain hands on experience through a Placement Year. 

The result is an extremely flexible degree programme that you can tailor to suit your particular interests, and that allows you to combine an interdisciplinary foundation with your focused specialism.   

By studying with us, you’ll join our close-knit academic community, made up of experts from across multiple disciplines, all housed within the School of International Development. As such, you will not only learn from our world-renowned geographers within the school, but you can benefit from a truly vibrant, interdisciplinary environment.  

We are amongst the best in the world for researching, teaching, and practicing development. Come and study with us and help us to create a fairer world. 

Placement Year and Study Abroad

In your third year, you’ll spend 9-12 months in a full-time development placement, before returning to your studies in the final year. You are expected to source your placement yourself, but support is available from the School staff and the Careers Service. Please note we cannot guarantee any student a work placement as this decision rests with potential employers. If you have not successfully secured a work placement by the end of your second year, you will be transferred onto one of the School’s three-year programmes. 

After the Course

You’ll graduate with knowledge and skills valued by a vast range of organisations related to geography and global development and many of our graduates go on to work in related roles in policy and advocacy. These include government agencies the United Nations, private sector companies, consultancy firms, and the many hundreds of large and small non-government organisations that focus on social and environmental issues and humanitarian work. Furthermore, geographers are renowned for being ‘systems-thinkers’, focusing on people and our relationships with the environment. Trained geographers contribute to advocating for liveable climates, influencing social policy, and managing resources. 

Alternatively, you could use the academic and transferable skills gained from our degrees for careers in business, the voluntary and public sector, education, and academia. Geography provides an ideal set of skills and understandings for approaching a myriad of career choices.

Career destinations

A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.

Career destinations related to your degree include: 

• Government/planning 

• Business 

• Charitable sector 

• Environmental management 

• Teaching 

• Postgraduate studies