Programme Specification for the 2024/5 academic year
BA (Hons) Politics and Geography with Study Abroad
1. Programme Details
| Programme name | BA (Hons) Politics and Geography with Study Abroad | Programme code | UFA4HPSGOACA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study mode(s) | Academic year | 2024/5 | |
| Campus(es) | Cornwall Campus |
NQF Level of the Final Award | 6 (Honours) |
2. Description of the Programme
This distinctive interdisciplinary programme in Politics and Geography is an exciting opportunity for you to engage with some of the greatest intersectional challenges of our times – challenges linked to the past, situated in the present, and shaping the future.
Over this three-year programme you will receive a thorough education, from internationally-recognised scholars, in the core disciplines of Politics and Geography. Further, drawing on the particular interdisciplinary strengths of the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus, this programme will offer you the unique opportunity to question how politics and geography interact to shape the world together. You will come to understand how formal, geographically diverse practices of government and policy arise from and are challenged by the diverse practices that define spaces and shape places.
Our programme is oriented around the central problem of change and uncertainty in contemporary political, spatial, and ecological systems and processes. We are deeply committed to providing you with geographic and historical context, practical application and place-based research, which we offer through both academic and field-based modules. This training will be particularly beneficial for any students looking for 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, or international conflict and security studies.
The programme builds on Penryn’s interdisciplinary strengths in three key themes, which are connected to the complex transitions underway in Cornwall and around the world:
- Politics of Sustainability – including political ecology, energy and society, green politics, social movements, resource use, environmental justice
- Settlement, Space, and Politics – including regional development and regionalisation, rural transitions, urban geography and global urban transitions, place-based politics, migrations, regional identity and identity conflicts
- Governance and Scale – including policy analysis and development, foreign policy, civil service, protest politics/social movements, local politics/participation and governance practices in specific area studies
BA (Hons) Politics and Geography combines the analysis of politics at different territorial scales with the study of the way environments are organised and managed through cultural, economic and political processes. This programme allows you to explore various political systems across the globe and the connections between them, introducing you to the spatial analyses of politics and to political analyses of the productions of space, place, and landscape. Our academics bring the latest political and geographical research to your degree, ensuring you develop the theoretical, practical, and field-based research techniques necessary to work at the intersection of these two disciplines.
In your third year you will undertake study abroad,
This programme is only available at University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus, renowned for its setting in the Cornish landscape and for its specialised environment of supportive learning, accessible staff, and world-leading interdisciplinary research and teaching. You can pursue a rigorous, intellectually challenging, and career-oriented programme that unites the world-class resources of the University of Exeter with the particular strengths in critical interdisciplinary research and teaching for which Penryn Campus is renowned, situated in the environmentally beautiful and politically complex setting of west Cornwall.
3. Educational Aims of the Programme
4. Programme Structure
5. Programme Modules
The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme.
Stage 1
Compulsory Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GEO1401B | Approaches to Geographical Knowledge | 15 | No |
| GEO1413 | The Geography of Cornwall | 15 | No |
| POC1033 | Political Communication | 30 | No |
Optional Modules
60 credits of compulsory modules, 60 credits of optional modules (of which 15 credits must be selected from stage 1 Politics optional modules and 15 credits from stage 1 Geography optional modules).
Penryn Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences modules https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=hass-cornwall
Geography modules https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=cges
Stage 2
Compulsory Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| POC2124 | Political Analysis | 15 | No |
| POC2108 | Political Geographies: Local to Global | 15 | No |
Optional Modules
90 credits of optional modules of which at least 30 credits must be selected from stage 2 Politics optional modules and 30 credits from stage 2 Geography optional modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Politics-Geography Penryn Stage 2 Options 24.25 | |||
| POC2103 | Introduction to Postcolonialism | 15 | No |
| POC2108 | Political Geographies: Local to Global | 15 | No |
| POC2114 | Green Politics in Theory and Practice | 15 | No |
| POC2120 | Power and Democracy | 15 | No |
| POC2131 | Political Economy | 15 | No |
| POC2130 | Political Behaviour across Generations and the Life Course | 15 | No |
| POC2098 | Comparative Politics | 15 | No |
| POC2005 | American Politics | 15 | No |
| POC2123 | Politics of the Middle East | 15 | No |
| POC2088 | Understanding Israel and Palestine: One Land, Two People | 15 | No |
| POC2018 | National and Community Identity | 15 | No |
| POC2041 | The Political Psychology of Elites | 15 | No |
| POC2150 | The Making of Democratic Politicians: Comparative Political Recruitment | 15 | No |
| POC2047 | Work Placement | 15 | No |
| GEO2442 | The Politics of Climate Change and Energy | 15 | No |
| GEO2445 | Rural Social Issues | 15 | No |
| GEO2454 | Waste and Society | 15 | No |
| GEO2457 | Physical Ocean Processes | 15 | No |
| GEO2440 | Geographical Information Science and Systems | 15 | No |
| GEO2441 | Remote Sensing for Environmental Management | 15 | No |
| GEO2456 | Social and Cultural Geographies | 15 | No |
| GEO2451 | Ice Sheets: Glaciology, Climate and the Oceans | 15 | No |
| GEO2450 | Biogeography | 15 | No |
| GEO2458 | People and Nature | 15 | No |
| GEO2444 | Landscape Evolution | 15 | No |
Stage 3
120 credit compulsory placement module
Compulsory Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSI3999 | Year Abroad | 120 | Yes |
Stage 4
Compulsory Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| POC3040 | Dissertation | 30 | Yes |
Optional Modules
90 credits of optional modules of which at least 30 credits must be selected from final stage Politics optional modules and 30 credits from final stage Geography optional modules.
All Combined Honours students register for POC3040 but will be supervised by staff in Politics or Geography depending on their research interests.
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Politics-Geography Penryn Final Stage Options 24.25 | |||
| POC3095 | Environmental Knowledge Controversies | 15 | No |
| POC3130 | Controversies in American Politics | 15 | No |
| POC3105 | Negotiating Postcoloniality: History and Politics of Independent India | 15 | No |
| POC3023 | Entangled Life: Radical Democracy in Theory | 15 | No |
| POC3141 | Displacement and Migration in the Middle East | 15 | No |
| POC3153 | Global Palestine and the Politics of Solidarity | 15 | No |
| POC3103 | The Resource Paradox: Blessing or Curse? | 15 | No |
| POC3151 | Parliamentary Studies | 15 | No |
| POC3152 | Representing the People | 15 | No |
| POC3128 | Post-Soviet Politics and Societies | 15 | No |
| POC3140 | Religion, Conflict and Reconciliation | 15 | No |
| POC3146 | Party Politics, Voters and Elections in Britain | 15 | No |
| POC3147 | Politics of Work | 15 | No |
| POC3142 | Social and Islamist Armed Movements | 15 | No |
| POC3094 | Global Policy Challenges | 15 | No |
| POC3133 | Chinese Politics and Society | 15 | No |
| POC3150 | The Making of Democratic Politicians: Comparative Political Recruitment | 15 | No |
| POC3120 | Political Thinkers of the Early Twentieth Century | 15 | No |
| GEO3437B | Climate Change and Society | 15 | No |
| GEO3448 | Quaternary Environmental Change | 15 | No |
| GEO3452 | Literature Review in Environment and Society | 15 | No |
| GEO3454 | Antarctica: Science from a Frozen Continent | 15 | No |
| GEO3457 | Geographies of Democracy | 15 | No |
| GEO3458 | Marine and Coastal Sustainability | 15 | No |
| GEO3461 | Arctic Frontiers: Can We Preserve the Arctic Environment? | 15 | No |
| GEO3466 | Biological Oceanography | 15 | No |
| GEO3467 | Human-Animal Interactions | 15 | No |
| GEO3469 | Catastropolis | 15 | No |
6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods
Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
7. Programme Regulations
Classification
Full details of assessment regulations for all taught programmes can be found in the TQA Manual, specifically in the Credit and Qualifications Framework, and the Assessment, Progression and Awarding: Taught Programmes Handbook. Additional information, including Generic Marking Criteria, can be found in the Learning and Teaching Support Handbook.
8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning
You will have an academic personal tutor for your entire programme of study who is available at advertised ‘office and feedback hours’. There are induction sessions to orientate you at the start of your programme. A personal tutoring system will operate with regular communication throughout the programme. Academic support will be also be provided by module leaders. You can also make an appointment to see individual teaching staff.
9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning
Please refer to the University Academic Policy and Standards guidelines regarding support for students and students' learning.
10. Admissions Criteria
Undergraduate applicants must satisfy the Undergraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.
Postgraduate applicants must satisfy the Postgraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.
Specific requirements required to enrol on this programme are available at the respective Undergraduate or Postgraduate Study Site webpages.
11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards
Each academic programme in the University is subject to an agreed College assessment and marking strategy, underpinned by institution-wide assessment procedures.
The security of assessment and academic standards is further supported through the appointment of External Examiners for each programme. External Examiners have access to draft papers, course work and examination scripts. They are required to attend the Board of Examiners and to provide an annual report. Annual External Examiner reports are monitored at both College and University level. Their responsibilities are described in the University's code of practice. See the University's TQA Manual for details.
14. Awarding Institution
University of Exeter
15. Lead College / Teaching Institution
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS)
16. Partner College / Institution
Partner College(s)
Not applicable to this programme
Partner Institution
Not applicable to this programme.
17. Programme Accredited / Validated by
0
18. Final Award
BA (Hons) Politics and Geography with Study Abroad
19. UCAS Code
Not applicable to this programme.
20. NQF Level of Final Award
6 (Honours)
21. Credit
| CATS credits | ECTS credits |
|---|
22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group
23. Dates
| Origin Date | 24/09/2019 |
Date of last revision | 21/03/2021 |
|---|
