BA Politics and Geography (Cornwall) - 2025 entry

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Tutorials
• Project and group work
• Independent study
• Field work
• Laboratory sessions
• Access to the latest geographical information systems (GIS), mapping statistics and coding software
• Interactive computer-based approaches to learning through our virtual learning environment
• Access detailed information about modules and learning outcomes and interact through activities such as the discussion forums, blogging and virtual field trips
• Virtual field trips integrate video and audio data, maps, datasets, documents and published research 

Learn from experts

We believe every student benefits from being part of a research-inspired culture. You will discuss the very latest ideas in seminars and tutorials and be taught by expert staff who are actively engaged in research on a wide range of specialisms, including climate change, remote sensing, landscape evolution, energy policy, environment and sustainability, social innovation and cultural landscapes. Teaching and research activities emphasise the value of holistic thinking – looking beyond traditional boundaries to the complex interactions between human societies and non-human environments.

How will I be assessed?

• Essays
• Individual and group presentations
• Projects
• Exams
• Dissertation in your final year

You must pass your first year modules in order to proceed but your performance at this level does not count towards your final degree classification.

Fieldwork

Conducting fieldwork gives you the opportunity to witness the evolution of political process and their impact on society first hand. Depending on the modules you choose this may include:

• Interviews with important stakeholders
• Focus group discussions with community members
• Analysis of politicised spaces
• Public Forums

Taking modules outside of your programme

Students on this course are now able to add ‘with proficiency in Law’ to their degree title, by gaining a strand of additional legal knowledge and skills that adds value to their degree.

The ‘With proficiency in Law’ modules being offered to non-law students provide a theoretical and technical basis for understanding the regulatory and legal frameworks that you might encounter within your main field of study. These modules lend themselves strongly to students wishing to develop their skillset to work across the environment and sustainability sector and in wider business.

If you accrue at least 60 credits in elective law modules you will have ‘with proficiency in Law’ added to your degree title.

Optional modules outside of this course

Each year, if you have optional modules available, you can take up to 30 credits in a subject outside of your course. This can increase your employability and widen your intellectual horizons.

Proficiency in a second subject

If you complete 60 credits of modules in one of the subjects below, you may have the words 'with proficiency in [e.g. Social Data Science]' added to your degree title when you graduate.

• A Foreign Language
• Law
• Social Data Science
• Entrepreneurship
• Leadership

Find out more about proficiency options

• Analytical, critical and independent thinking
• Independent research
• Problem solving
• Discussion and group work
• Collecting, assessing and presenting evidence
• Written and verbal communication
• Articulating ideas and constructing arguments
• Organising, planning and time management
• Data gathering
• Report production and presentation (written and oral)

Career paths

This programme will be particularly beneficial to students with an interest in pursuing careers or postgraduate training in areas such as: 

• Local/regional/urban planning
• Green politics and policy
• Sustainability
• International aid/development
• Climate transitions
• Heritage studies
• Border studies/migration policy
• International conflict and security studies 

Exeter Award and Exeter Leaders Award

Many of our students participate in The Exeter Award and The Exeter Leaders Award. These schemes encourage you to participate in employability related workshops, skills events, volunteering and employment which will contribute to your career decision-making skills and success in the employment market.

Developing your skills and career prospects

We provide a range of support to help you develop skills attractive to employers. You will be able to access a range of specific activities such as careers skills sessions and employer-led events, or seek bespoke advice and support from Employability Officers.

The Career Zone also organises a busy schedule of activities including careers fairs, skills workshops, and training events, and can advise on graduate opportunities and volunteering.

Employability sessions

A range of employability sessions are put on for the students which include: career talks with visiting alumni and employers from a range of backgrounds, career conversations and employability seminar series events with employers, a Careers in Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection Careers and Networking event and visits to the Met Office and UKHO.

Royal Geographical Society (RGS) Ambassador Scheme

You will have the opportunity to apply for the RGS Ambassador Scheme. The scheme recruits, trains and supports geographers currently at university and graduate geographers from the work place to act as ambassadors for geography in the classroom. Ambassadors act as positive role models for pupils and can illustrate, with enthusiasm, both the specific and transferable skills they have developed as a geographer. For more information you can visit the RGS Ambassador Scheme website.

Video features the song "Everything is a Jawn" by EVA (https://joshlis.bandcamp.com/) which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Edited for length.