Geography

BA Hons

  • UCAS code L700
  • Entry year 2026 or 2025
  • A level requirements ABB
  • Duration Full time 3 years
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We welcome applications from the United States of America

We've put together information and resources to guide your application journey as a student from the United States of America.

Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • 11

    11th for Geography and Environmental Science

    The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2025)

  • 13

    13th for Geography

    The Complete University Guide (2025)

  • 16

    16th for Geography

    The Guardian University Guide (2025)

Given the pace at which our planet is changing, there has never been a more important time to study geography. Learn to make sense of the complex interactions between humanity and our planetary environment and discover how you can make a positive difference.

Develop the skills and knowledge needed to help you advance professionally in a range of sectors, including but not limited to energy, food and agriculture, construction and housing, hazard mitigation, environmental consultancy, local and national government, urban planning and landscape architecture, geospatial analysis, and emergency planning. Explore the full range of human and environmental issues tackled by modern geographers, with an emphasis on human society and the impacts these systems have in the modern world.

What to expect

At the beginning of our three-year BA Hons Geography degree you will be introduced to human, physical, and environmental geography. You will develop the skills geographers use to analyse major issues and global concerns.

In Year 2, you will deepen your knowledge of human and physical geography, with the opportunity to tailor your interests around a range of human-centric optional modules. As you specialise, you will undertake practical work that aims to enhance your understanding of key topics while developing your analytic and research skills.

As you progress into Year 3, you will tailor your studies even further with a dissertation. Here, you will be guided by an academic advisor to deliver an independent research topic of your choice. This can be completed in collaboration with a regional organisation such as Lancaster City Council, where you will gain valuable work experience in a real-world environment. Alongside your research project, you will complete further optional modules, including national and international residential field trips. Topics you may choose include global consumption, urban infrastructure, geographies of health, natural hazards, glacial systems, or water resource management.

Getting out in the field

With our location near major urban centres, rivers, coasts, and the Lake District World Heritage Site, you will be able to explore beyond the campus and gain hands-on experience through field work. From studying waves along the Cumbrian coast and examining hydrological processes at White Scar caves, to visiting different cities and reflecting on their industrial past. You will also have the option to expand your perspective through trips abroad, such as to Switzerland, where you will see your learning brought to life.

Personal development

In addition to subject knowledge and field experience, you will gain essential communication and geographic information systems skills. You will become familiar with data generation through qualitative techniques, as well as data handling, environmental sampling, and analysis.

3 things our Geography students want you to know:

  • The Lancaster Environment Centre is one of the most popular spaces for Geography students on campus, where you will be surrounded by active researchers shaping current thinking, outstanding practical facilities, and even our own weather monitoring station. You will be assigned an academic tutor at the beginning of your degree, meaning there’s always someone nearby to give you support
  • The theme of sustainability is woven throughout the degree and life on campus. Many students are part of LUSU Green, a group run by the Students’ Union that is driving change across the campus and beyond to create a thriving natural environment, reduce carbon emissions, and train the sustainability leaders of the future
  • Our degree programme focuses on helping you prepare for your future career, with modules that prioritise the development of essential skills and opportunities to undertake enriching hands-on experience in real-world environments. You will graduate ready to enter a number of thriving industries in an increasingly environmentally conscious market

Course accreditation

Royal Geographical Society logo

This programme has been accredited by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). Accreditation recognises programmes that deliver the geographical knowledge, understanding, skills, approaches and professional attributes expected of high-quality geography graduates, as recorded in the QAA Subject Benchmark Statement for Geography.

Learn more about the Royal Geographical Society accreditation

Careers

Geography helps us to understand the world around us, from the study of cultures and people, to the processes going on beneath our feet that shape the landscapes we live in. A degree in geography will help you get to grips with the many challenges we face with a growing population and an increasingly precarious climate situation by providing you with the opportunity to tackle a wide variety of complex issues. With such a diverse curriculum of topics, our geography graduates go on to work in a diverse range of positions such as Planning Officers, Environmental Consultants, Landscape Architects, Geospatial Analyst, Hydrologist, Emergency Planning and many more. Geographers are also well placed to secure roles and opportunities in sectors that might not be obvious such as marketing and sales, teaching, travel and tourism, and commercial business. This is down to your transferable skills in communication, software competencies, project management and data analysis. Graduates from our courses are also well-paid, with the median salary of graduates from Lancaster Environment Centre being £26,500 15 months after graduation (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey 2024).

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Here are just some of the roles that our BA and MArts Geography students have progressed into upon graduating:

  • Climate Change Consultant - UNICEF
  • Planning Officer – Cheshire West and Chester Council
  • Graduate Planner – Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
  • LALS Project Coordinator – University of York
  • Education, Communication, and Outreach Officer - Veolia
  • MPhil in Holocene Climates – University of Cambridge
  • Campaign Marketing Manager – Pearson
  • Regulatory Consultant – Yordas Group
  • GIS Consultant – Stantec
  • Sustainability Executive - McArthurGlen Group
  • GIS and Flood Mapping Specialist (Assistant Analyst) - JBA Risk Management
  • Climate Change Projects Officer - Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council

Lancaster University is dedicated to ensuring you not only gain a highly reputable degree, you also graduate with the relevant life and work based skills. We are unique in that every student is eligible to participate in The Lancaster Award which offers you the opportunity to complete key activities such as work experience, employability/career development, campus community and social development. Visit our Employability section for full details.

Skills for your future

A degree in geography will provide you with both a specialist and transferable skill set sought after by employers across a wide range of sectors.

LEC Skills Development Placements

These voluntary placements are a great way of learning more about the sector you want to work in after you graduate, whilst also strengthening your CV and enhancing your employment prospects. With opportunities available from an array of local and national environmental organisations and with researchers here at Lancaster, we aim to help you put your skills into practice out in the field.

Learning on Location

From Kenya and Spain, to islands off of the coast of Scotland, our ecology degrees allow you to get hands-on experience working in the field, allowing you to gain the laboratory skills necessary to excel within the environmental sector, and beyond.

Teaching Career Success

In your second year, as part of our teaching we invite alumni and partners from different employers to meet LEC students, providing you with insight into the graduate labour market, as well as providing you with the tools to successfully transition into the world of work.

Placement year

Choosing a Placement pathway degree involves spending the third year of your four-year degree working full-time in a business. Many students find that a placement year helps them to decide which career path they would like to take. The experience will give you a strong advantage when looking for employment after your degree.

A future for Ben

During my undergraduate degree at Lancaster, I developed an interest in how we create and shape urban environments and how issues such as the climate crisis and inequality can be solved through these processes. This inspired me to pursue a career within the field of urban planning!

After I graduated, I secured a job at a planning consultancy in North Wales. During my time there, I was able to develop an in-depth understanding of the Welsh planning system and worked on a variety of projects ranging from household developments to major schemes for the commercial industry. What I found particularly interesting about this job was how politics and planning interact at a local level and how different stakeholders interact intending to achieve sustainable development.

I left private consultancy in December 2021 and I’ve been working in the public sector as a Planning Officer for Cheshire West and Chester Council ever since.

During my time with the Council, I’ve had the opportunity to take part in outreach events at local primary schools, running activities on town planning as part of their geography syllabus. This has allowed me to put into practice some of the teaching skills I acquired through modules within my degree, as well as convey my interest in the urban environment to others! Looking back on my time in LEC, I was able to grow as a person in a welcoming and supportive environment and gained the confidence to be able to realise my potential.

Ben Teague, BA Geography - Planning Officer, Cheshire West and Chester Council

Ben Teague

Entry requirements

These are the typical grades that you will need to study this course. This section will tell you whether you need qualifications in specific subjects, what our English language requirements are, and if there are any extra requirements such as attending an interview or submitting a portfolio.

Qualifications and typical requirements accordion

Help from our Admissions team

If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, complete our enquiry form and one of the team will get back to you.

We also have more details on our website about:

International foundation programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Contextual admissions

Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.

Course structure

Enhancing our curriculum

We continually review and enhance our curriculum to ensure we are delivering the best possible learning experience, and to make sure that the subject knowledge and transferable skills you develop will prepare you for your future.

We will publish more detailed information about the structure of this degree course for 2026-entry in June 2025, ahead of our summer undergraduate open days. This will include overviews of the core modules you will take and examples of optional modules which may be available to you.

Fees and funding

We set our fees on an annual basis and the 2026/27 entry fees have not yet been set.

As a guide, our fees in 2025/26 were:

Home International
£9,535 £29,820

Fees and funding information

Additional fees and funding information accordion

Scholarships and bursaries

Details of our scholarships and bursaries for students starting in 2026 are not yet available.

You can use our scholarships for 2025-entry applicants as guidance.

Important information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2026/2027 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. Find out more about our Charter and student policies.

Undergraduate open days 2025

Our summer and autumn open days will give you Lancaster University in a day. Visit campus and put yourself in the picture.

Undergraduate Open Days
two students sitting and reading on some outdoor steps

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