Human Geography and Environment

Human geography and environment is a discipline that examines the relationship between people and the physical and social worlds they inhabit, asking how societies use, transform and are shaped by their environments, and how environmental change, from climate disruption to urban growth, affects communities in different ways depending on where they are and who they are. It combines the analytical tools of human geography, including critical social theory, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and political economy, with an engagement with environmental science and sustainability that makes the subject directly relevant to the most pressing challenges of our time.

At the University of York, this four-year full-time degree includes a placement year, giving you the opportunity to gain professional experience in an environment-related or policy context before you graduate, and a year abroad, enabling you to study at a partner institution and encounter environmental and social conditions beyond the UK. You will develop skills in fieldwork, geographic information systems, spatial data analysis, qualitative research and the ability to communicate complex social and environmental findings to different audiences. The programme is designed to build the knowledge and capabilities needed to understand and contribute to addressing significant social and environmental issues.

Typical entry is around 136 UCAS tariff points.

Graduates from human geography and environment programmes go on to work in environmental consultancy, urban and spatial planning, international development, sustainability and corporate responsibility, environmental policy, community development, research and public sector management. The combination of social and environmental analytical skills is increasingly valued by organisations that need people who can understand both the human dimensions of environmental challenges and the environmental dimensions of social problems. Many graduates also continue to postgraduate study in geography, environmental management, planning, development studies or climate policy.