Fieldwork in Geography, Environmental Science and Marine Science

The field course focuses on Antwerp as a city of flows. The course gets to grips with this major port city as a key node in flows of globalization, goods, cargo, chemicals, international cultures, urban exploration, and diamonds.

From visits to the cargo port, Antwerp’s diamond trading district, and its historical docks (from where millions of migrants sailed to North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries), to walks under Antwerp city centre following its covered canal network, the trip engages with the multiple networks and flows that have made it into one of Europe’s key cargo, trading and cultural hubs. Led by staff specialising in urban geography, migration, and industrial chemical flows, the trip will also enable you to test research methodologies including ethnography.

Field course themes:

• Globalisation
• Economic geography: flows of commodities
• Cargo and port geographies
• Migration and multiculturalism
• Urban exploration and urban decay

Costs associated:

*The reimbursement cap is tailored for each trip to cover the full flight and transfer cost if you book the recommended flights in a timely fashion, therefore if you follow our guidance, you will not be out of pocket after reimbursement.

Field course costs are approximate and funding provided is subject to change. Please note that this cost is based on 2018/19 prices.

Berlin has been central to many of the key political and urban issues of the last 100 years; at the heart of the turmoil during the rise of fascism; as the symbolic centre of the Cold War; and as a city now that exemplifies many of the key urban issues of the 21st century. Through a series of activities in various sites, both well-known (e.g. the Reichstag, the Berlin Wall, the Jewish museum) and lesser-known (e.g. the Stolpersteine memorials, the neighbourhood of Neukolln), and working in small groups with guidance and advice from academic staff, this trip equips you with the intellectual resources to undertake your own explorations and analysis of this fascinating city.

Field course themes:

• Political, Urban and Cultural Geography
• Cold War Histories and Legacies
• Places and Spaces of Memorialisation
• Geographies of Re-unification
• Culture, Economy, and the City

Example itinerary:

Please note this is an example itinerary and has been taken from a past field course. Field course itineraries are subject to change.

Costs associated:

*The reimbursement cap is tailored for each trip to cover the full flight and transfer cost if you book the recommended flights in a timely fashion, therefore if you follow our guidance, you will not be out of pocket after reimbursement.

Field course costs are approximate and funding provided is subject to change. Please note that this cost is based on 2018/19 prices.

This field trip is for students interested in interdisciplinarity: in how concepts and methods from BA and BSc Geography can be integrated to better address contemporary societal challenges. You will visit the iconic world heritage sites of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius as well as Naples and the famous Amalfi coast, annotating field notebooks and developing skills in field observation, visual methods and risk analysis among other techniques.

You then conduct and present your own research based on ideas you develop prior to the trip. Past students used this opportunity to further hone interdisciplinary research skills to examine perceptions, behaviours, governance, policy practices and environmental change, connecting with a range of research participants including tourists, residents, hoteliers, tour operators, fishers and local businesses.

Field course themes:

• Heritage and Tourism
• Sustainability and human wellbeing
• Climate change and adaptation
• Disaster planning, risk and resilience
• Urban re-development and the neoliberal city

Example itinerary:

Please note this is an example itinerary and has been taken from a past field course. Field course itineraries are subject to change.

Costs associated:

*The reimbursement cap is tailored for each trip to cover the full flight and transfer cost if you book the recommended flights in a timely fashion, therefore if you follow our guidance, you will not be out of pocket after reimbursement.

Field course costs are approximate and funding provided is subject to change. Please note that this cost is based on 2018/19 prices.

The Seville field course explores the city that lays claim to being the birthplace of Flamenco and Tapas, the city’s place in legacies of colonialism and the work underway to transition to a more sustainable and ‘smart’ city. Through working in a group to prepare an independent research project you will develop your project design, analysis and presentation skills in an exciting and dynamic urban setting. The trip encourages you to be curious, critical and questioning about the social, economic and cultural processes operating in an urban landscape.

Students work in groups to undertake projects on themes including:

• Smart and sustainable cities in an age of climate change
• Imperial legacy and colonialism in the urban landscape
• Everyday mobility in the city
• Geographies of creativity and performance
• Tourism and ‘consuming places’

Example itinerary:

Please note this is an example itinerary and has been taken from a past field course. Field course itineraries are subject to change.

Costs associated:

*The reimbursement cap is tailored for each trip to cover the full flight and transfer cost if you book the recommended flights in a timely fashion, therefore if you follow our guidance, you will not be out of pocket after reimbursement.

Field course costs are approximate and funding provided is subject to change. Please note that this cost is based on 2018/19 prices.

Our second-year residential field course to Slovenia tours the Julian Alps mountain range and focuses on the evolution of alpine landscapes. We will explore a range of environments, processes and landforms through the snow-capped peaks, mountain passes, gorges and river valleys of Triglav National Park. Students will gain first-hand experience of data collection using cutting-edge environmental survey technology, including GIS and drone-based remote sensing. Learning activities during the trip are delivered by academic staff with expertise in rivers, landslides and geomorphology. There will also be opportunities to explore the spectacularly scenic surroundings, with accommodation based near the world-famous Lake Bled and in the Soča Valley.

Field course themes:

• Alpine landscape evolution
• Fluvial geomorphology
• Landslides and alpine hazards
• Cutting-edge survey techniques
• Mountain geomorphology

Example itinerary:

Please note this is an example itinerary and has been taken from a past field course. Field course itineraries are subject to change.

Costs associated:

*The reimbursement cap is tailored for each trip to cover the full flight and transfer cost if you book the recommended flights in a timely fashion, therefore if you follow our guidance, you will not be out of pocket after reimbursement.

Field course costs are approximate and funding provided is subject to change. Please note that this cost is based on 2018/19 prices.

Lying at the edge of the Arctic Circle, Iceland presents a unique environment in which to study glacier geomorphology and climate change over the past 150 years. Its position at 60 degrees North on the Mid Atlantic Ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean has led to the development of a spectacular landscape which records contemporary and ongoing glacial, volcanic and fluvial processes. This field course focuses on these processes at field sites in the southeast of Iceland at the edge of the Vatnajökull Ice Cap. During the trip we will be based at a hotel located at the foot of Svinafellsjokull – a glacier in the world-famous Skaftafell National Park.

You will have the opportunity to conduct a research project working in small groups which will include:

• Glacial geomorphology
• Glacial hydrology including outburst floods (jökulhlaups)
• Remote sensing techniques
• Relative dating techniques
• Sedimentology

As well as some great physical geography such as Thingvellir, Gulfoss and Geysir, there may be a chance to see the northern lights, and relax in a geothermal pool.

While we seek to make all of our field courses accessible, if you would prefer not to travel internationally we offer two virtual field courses.

Human Geography Virtual Field Course 

This field course is aligned with the New York field course. The module contains alternative material and assessment as a replacement for the residential component. On this module, you will design and undertake a short individual research project based upon one or more aspects of New York City, using documentary and virtual resources, which can include film, audio, and other media. The theme and precise nature of your research project is up to you—in discussion with the Virtual - and New York - field course staff.

Field course themes may include:

• Vertical geographies
• The Harlem Renaissance, and the spatialisation of race and culture
• The parks and parkways of New York
• Mapping New York City
• New York on the silver screen

Physical Geography Virtual Field Course 

The physical geography virtual field course offers an opportunity for you to develop and apply your research skills in a virtual real-world environment. Cutting-edge data collection methods are presenting a new opportunity for realistic field experiences, which will allow you to develop field and research design techniques without needing to travel for the field trip experience.

Field course themes:

• Virtual environments
• Landscape evolution
• Research Design methods
• Various data collection methods
• Data visualisation

The week-long field trip to the Isles of Scilly is a free field course taken by all first year students studying for Geography and Environmental Science degrees at the end of the first year of study. It is also an option for students studying BSc Human Sciences and BA Politics and Geography. Students take the ferry from Penzance and camp at Garrison Farm on the edge of Hugh Town, St Mary’s.

The module is designed to provide you with background information about the islands, including physical geography, environmental change, economic, political, social and cultural history, as well as the contemporary challenges to be faced by those living on the islands today.

You will also practise a range of research skills so that students develop the skills needed to complete independent research activity later on. The Isles of Scilly are an ideal place to try out a range of methodologies used in geomorphological research, climate science and sustainable development.

Students always have a great time spending time in a beautiful location, and building a stronger community through working together in the field.

Example itinerary:

Please note this is an example itinerary and has been taken from a past field course. Field course itineraries are subject to change.

Set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that contains some of Britain's finest coastal scenery, the West Penwith Field Course module provides students studying either Geography or Environmental Science with the opportunity to explore key ideas in their disciplines.

Cornwall is a natural laboratory with an incredible diversity of cultural, ecological and physical landscapes that each have a fascinating and intertwined story to tell. This short-fat module provides training in fieldwork techniques that are fundamental to degrees in geography and environmental science.

Field course aims:

This module has two main aims: 

• to provide students with an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained through lecture-based modules to 'real-world' situations
• to give students preparatory training in fieldwork techniques.

You will be guided by academic staff throughout the field trip. Specifically, you receive instruction in science and social science techniques including, but not limited to: participant observation, sampling strategies and experimental design, which are essential for your future learning in the department.

Example itinerary:

This is a free field course for both Geography and Environmental Science students. Day one is the same for both sets of students, and on day two the class divides in the separate disciplines.