Geography

Physical geography is the scientific study of the Earth's surface and the processes that shape it, encompassing geomorphology, climatology, hydrology, biogeography, and soil science. It asks how landscapes form and change over time, how climate systems work and are changing under human influence, how rivers shape valleys and coasts are eroded and built up, and how ecosystems and soils respond to environmental change. It is a rigorous natural science that makes heavy use of field observation, quantitative analysis, and remote sensing data, and it is directly relevant to some of the most pressing environmental challenges of the present.

At the University of Reading, this three-year full-time programme is delivered within one of the UK's strongest geography departments, with particular research distinction in meteorology, climatology, and environmental change. Reading's Meteorology department is world-renowned and its proximity to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts gives physical geography students access to an environment that takes environmental science with the highest seriousness. The programme includes a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and a work placement, making it an unusually professionally and internationally enriched route into physical geography.

You will study the full range of physical geography processes and develop strong skills in quantitative and spatial data analysis, GIS, remote sensing, and fieldwork methods. The year abroad gives you experience of a different physical environment and academic tradition, and the sandwich and work placement provide professional exposure to environmental consultancy, conservation, government agencies, or research institutions.

Graduates of physical geography programmes move into careers in environmental consultancy, climate science, hydrology and water management, conservation and natural resource management, GIS and spatial data analysis, government environmental agencies, and academic research. The quantitative skills the degree develops are also valued in finance, insurance, and data science roles, particularly those with an environmental or catastrophe risk dimension.