University College Cork: University College Cork (UCC) is a prestigious public research university located in Cork, Ireland. Established in 1845, UCC is known for its academic excellence, innovative research, and vibrant campus life. It offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs across various fields, including arts, sciences, business, engineering, medicine, and law. UCC is committed to providing a supportive learning environment, fostering critical thinking, and preparing students for successful careers and global citizenship.

Show less

Geographers examine the cultures, economies, societies, physical landscapes, and environments of the Earth using a unique combination of the humanities, social and natural sciences. We view the Earth, its inhabitants, and the processes that form and transform the world we live in using a spatial perspective. This particularly geographical way of looking at the world allows for an inter-disciplinary exploration of processes operating in specific places. As a student of geography, you will learn to view the world using this geographical lens. Geographers examine geographical processes in a variety of thematic areas within geography including landscape, heritage, migration, culture, food, tourism, environment, economy, cities, climate, geomorphology, and development. Show less

Year 1 Modules:

GG1013 Environmental Geography (5 credits)
GG1014 The Geographies of Global Social and Environmental Challenges (5 credits)
GG1015 Applied Geography (5 credits)
Modules provide a critical overview of geography. Lectures, tutorials, practicals and other related activities are designed to encourage the development of skills over and above those specifically related to specialist training in geography.

Students take 15 credits from Geography and an additional 45 credits from three other First Arts subjects (with the exception of Italian).

Years 2 and 3 Modules

Courses become more specialised and you will have an opportunity to delve deeper into specific sub-branches of geography.

In Years 2 and 3, you can opt to take geography as a major (40 credits), joint (30 credits) or minor (20 credits) subject.

You will have opportunities to further develop your specific interests by taking optional courses in Years 2 and 3. A key aim of the final year programme is to expand your understanding of geography as a discipline with analysis and explanation of how different kinds of physical materials, peoples, institutions and ideas interact, impinge and co-exist with one another in regional combinations of varying complexity over the earth's surface.

In Years 2 and 3, all students must take at least one module of both physical and human geography.

Course Practicalities
Year 1

Geography lectures take place Monday to Friday. In Year 1, lectures take place three days per week, with additional tutorials, practicals, fieldwork and essays.

Year 2

One required module focuses on research skills and data analysis (with associated individual and joint project work). A second obligatory module takes the form of a residential field week.

Year 3

A core module on the philosophy of geography is required and you may select a research dissertation (10 credits) module where you develop your own research interests (under staff supervision). Opportunities are also available to develop advanced software training via our Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing classes.

Field trips

In addition to classroom lectures, geography students are required to spend time on field trips. In Year 2, students must attend a week-long field trip in Ireland or Western Europe. Costs for each destination vary but on average range from €200 to €400. In Year 3, some modules include a field component.

Assessment

Written exams will take place before Christmas and in May. Not all modules will have formal examinations. Many modules use other types of assessment including practicals, essays, multiple-choice exams, fieldwork, photographic assignments and other work as prescribed by the department.

Who teaches this course

Our Geography Department faculty and can be viewed here.

Show less

You will need to book the accommodation after you have been accepted.

You can choose to live on campus or off campus in private accommodation.

How to book:

• Make a booking online after you have been accepted (in this case please let us know your choice when you apply).
• Register when you arrive - its not possible to reserve a room before arriving. You can arrive a few days before and book it

Show less