Program Overview

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.