Physical Geography BSc (Hons)

Academic skills when studying away from your home country can differ due to cultural and language differences in teaching and assessment practices. This module is designed to support your transition in the use and practice of technical language and subject specific skills around assessments and teaching provision in your chosen subject. The overall aim of this module is to develop your abilities to read and study effectively for academic purposes; to develop your skills in analysing and using source material in seminars and academic writing and to develop your use and application of language and communications skills to a higher level.

The topics you will cover on the module include:

• Understanding assignment briefs and exam questions.
• Developing academic writing skills, including citation, paraphrasing, and summarising.
• Practising ‘critical reading’ and ‘critical writing’
• Planning and structuring academic assignments (e.g. essays, reports and presentations).
• Avoiding academic misconduct and gaining credit by using academic sources and referencing effectively.
• Listening skills for lectures.
• Speaking in seminar presentations.
• Presenting your ideas
• Giving discipline-related academic presentations, experiencing peer observation, and receiving formative feedback.
• Speed reading techniques.
• Developing self-reflection skills.

This module is designed to support you in independently pursuing an original piece of research on a geographical or environmental topic of your own choice grounded in final year specialist option modules. Dependent upon your programme of study, you will draw upon and develop your research skills in answering research questions/hypothesis on a dissertation topic within the social, humanities, natural and environmental disciplines. You will develop expertise in:

• identifying a suitable topic and in reviewing critically the relevant academic literature;
• formulating research questions/hypotheses and appropriate methods of inquiry;
• collecting your own data and/or using existing data sets and/or engaging in an analysis of the research literature;
• the ability to analyse and interpret your results using appropriate quantitative, statistical and/or qualitative techniques,
• relating the findings to existing and up-to-date literature;
• oral, visual and written presentation of your research project;
• objectively appraising the ethical considerations of conducting research; and
• managing and implementing a large independent project.

In this module, you will delve into the design and implementation of geospatial projects using evidence-based practices, building on the practical knowledge and techniques acquired in your second year (Level 5).

You will enhance your technical skills by learning advanced geospatial techniques, including geospatial statistics, coding and automation, and the use of novel data sources. Additionally, you will explore advanced concepts in method design and learn how to design and budget for a proposed project.

To apply these skills, you will work on discipline-specific problems in areas such as environmental planning, land cover change, resource management, and risk assessment.

In this module you will explore the policies and practice of conservation, using examples from around the world. You will find out how the conservation value of a site is assessed in the UK (and in other countries), how climate change is affecting the distribution of species and habitats and the challenges of managing a site for conservation and other conflicting uses. The module combines professional practice focused on careers and challenging contemporary ideas.

Reviews of professionals working in the field of conservation (Ecological Skills: shaping the profession for the 21st Century, IEEM 2011 and CIEEM 2017) identified the need for graduates who can undertake standard ecological surveys of sites and make recommendations for habitat and species management. This module is designed to help you develop these practical and employment related skills.

The teaching will focus on building your practice-based expertise, the confidence to make judgements and how to implement standard methods (UK and international equivalents) that are essential skills for a career in the fields of conservation and environmental management. Topics are based on the research rich expertise of the teaching staff with workshops based on techniques and strategies you need to know to work in the conservation profession. At the heart of the module is the global biodiversity crisis, concepts of biodiversity (genetic biodiversity, species biodiversity, community biodiversity, habitat diversity), and how the conservation profession approach challenges in nature conservation and management. You will explore major causes of biodiversity loss with examples from the UK and beyond. Workshops build expertise and confidence in professional skills and coursework assignments are based on authentic challenges faced by professionals working in nature conservation and management. The overall aim is to equip you with the expertise, skills and confidence to work in nature conservation.

Engaging with environmental issues and sustainable development beyond the academy has always been at the heart of Environmental Sciences at Northumbria . Environmental issues such as climate change mitigation and adaptation; reduction of pollution and plastics, reversing biodiversity losses; improving soil quality and managing urban growth present major sustainability challenges for the 21st Century. Environmental engagement can occur at multiple levels in society: business and corporate; government; public; education. On this module you will work towards completing a small piece of Application, Outreach or Decision making, the topic of which will be dependent staff expertise and partner engagement.
The aim of the module is to explore, understand, practice and evaluate means of environmental engagement. From building both the business and environmental cases for corporate engagement in the environmental agenda to communication with the public and embedding the environmental understanding into education. The module will examine concepts of risk and risk management, the application of environmental management and assessment tools. Bringing science into policy, the role of stakeholder engagement and communication in environmental change. How you can successfully engage with the public and how to bring complex issues to school children. The module will help you to develop the skills required to support the implementation of environmental programmes and change the environmental agenda at all levels of society.


Topics you will cover on the module include:

• Conceptual framework for translating environmental science into policy, outreach and decision making
• Sustainable Development Goals- differing interpretations, awareness and use
• Environmental communication – the role of stakeholder engagement and communication in improving environmental engagement.
• Practical tools for business engagement with the environmental agenda
• Making science-based policy decisions to improve the environment
• Environmental education – how, when and why?
• Public engagement – outreach as a tool to promote the environmental agenda
• Project management – approaches and issues.
• Group working – practical skills and professional approaches

This final year module represents a significant leap in fieldwork expertise, offering a rigorous exploration of the physical environment. Working in diverse environments, students will study complex physical interactions, collect, analyse and present environmental data, and develop advanced research skills. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking and problem-solving, as well as the holistic understanding of environmental systems. Through direct field experience, students gain a deep understanding of the complexity and interconnectedness of our natural world. You will engage in data analysis and report writing practices that elevate your employability prospects. Collaborative work will sharpen your problem-solving abilities, preparing you for complex real-world challenges. In addition, you will gain a sense of professional ethics, and learn how to uphold standards and regulations within your field. By synthesizing theoretical knowledge with practical application, you will cultivate a robust and comprehensive perspective on physical geography. This module is designed not only to instil academic excellence, but also to provide you with the tools and confidence to tackle pressing environmental challenges, building on your potential to make real-world impact. Through interactive workshops and intensive field exercises, you will experience the dynamic, challenging, and rewarding aspects of environmental fieldwork. By the end of the module, you will have honed your proficiency in physical geographical research and improved your data collection and interpretation abilities. The fusion of practical and theoretical knowledge will enhance your ability to approach problems with a fresh, nuanced perspective. Fieldwork will not only deepen your knowledge but also provide hands-on experience in the application of various scientific tools and techniques. This, in turn, will refine your analytical skills and capacity for critical evaluation. Your interactions with the environment will foster a deeper sense of stewardship and commitment to the protection of our planet. A greater familiarity with contemporary environmental issues will inevitably lead to a heightened ability to contribute to solutions and navigate the complex terrain of environmental issues. Ultimately, the skills and knowledge you gain from this module will not only benefit your academic journey but also translate into a valuable asset in your future career, including the fields of environmental science and consultancy. The comprehensive nature of this module not only challenges you academically but also nurtures essential life skills such as resilience, teamwork, and adaptability.

In this module you will learn about a variety of aspects of the Earth system and the impact anthropogenic climate change is having upon them. Following an overview of the carbon cycle and the role of humans in anthropogenic climate change, you will be introduced to the range of methods which may be employed to tackle the issues caused by this climate change. Topics covered by this module may include:
• How human emissions are driving climatic change.
• How the Earth system is responding to climatic change.
• How Net Zero and changes in lifestyles may act to reduce carbon emissions.
• Nature based solutions, and how approaches like afforestation may work to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
• What geoengineering is, and what the challenges and pitfalls are, scientifically, economically and ethically.
• How to use models to simulate the impact geoengineering may have on the Earth system.

In this module you will learn about a variety of approaches to model environmental systems. Following an overview of fundamental approaches to environmental modelling and a practical introduction to a number of specific models, you will apply one of the models to answer an environmental question as part of an individual study. In parallel with this, you will be introduced to a range of advanced techniques in computer programming which will allow data manipulation, analysis and presentation. As a result, this module will allow you to demonstrate:
- The use of numerical modelling as an important methodological tool in the physical environment.
- The role of modelling in gaining a better understanding of the interaction of processes driving change and in predicting the form and nature of the resulting response in a variety of environmental settings.
- The latest methodological design and application of modelling and the historical context of their development.
- The practice of model design: from conceptualisation of the model by understanding the main physical processes shaping the environment in question, through development of a computational algorithm to approximate environmental response to applied external forcings.
- Critical interpretation of model output.
- The importance of reproducibility in research.
- An appreciation of modelling as an emerging tool in understanding and predicting the impact of human activity upon physical and/or wider environmental processes.
- Computation and data manipulation skills using a wide range of computer packages (e.g. ArcGIS), including high-level technical computing languages (e.g. Matlab).

Through this module you will develop a holistic understanding of how national and anthropogenic environmental conditions can interact with human health and our communities by applying a critical understanding of approaches to pollution management and mitigation, and impacts on public health. This is achieved through guided study of a range of contemporary pollution and public health issues, driven by environmental conditions. This may include impacts from historic and current contamination of air, land and water coupled with contemporary issues such as plastics and nanomaterials released into the environment. You are expected to consider, analyse and interpret environmental and health surveillance datasets. This will be contextualised with an understanding of legal frameworks, including regulatory interventions in conjunction with Governmental policies. On completion of the module, your improved ability to link and apply theory, practice and application will enhance your employability prospects across the environmental and health job sectors.

In this module you will explore a range of topics, such as:

• The processes that operate in marine and coastal environments,
• Data sampling, collection and analysis in marine and coastal science,
• Use of data to address ‘real world’ problems.

As well as learning the theory, you will gain hands-on experience of data collection during fieldwork, and data analysis during a series of IT practical classes.