How Geography at Manchester has allowed me to explore the world

by | May 6, 2021 | Geography and Global Development, Undergraduate | 0 comments

Kate Goodchild is a final year BA Geography with International Study student. Here, she discusses why she chose Manchester for her Geography degree and talks us through all the opportunities it has provided her with so far – from field courses in the Lake District and Iceland to her year studying abroad in Australia.

Why Geography at Manchester

I was interested in geography at both GCSE and A-Level, and I wanted to continue my interest at degree level. Geography allows you to keep your options open and take different career paths or further study options once you finish your degree. I chose to study at Manchester because the University has a good reputation and is part of the Russell Group.

The Geography course at Manchester allowed me to study both human and physical geography throughout my degree and many universities that I looked around didn’t have this option. I also liked having the opportunity to transfer from the 3 year BA Geography course to the 4 year BA Geography with International study programme after the first year.

Exploring the UK

In first year, I went on a geography field course to Keswick in the Lake District where I met other people that would be studying geography; this was a great opportunity to meet people before the course started! We worked in small groups to complete different geography related activities.

In second year, I took part in fieldwork around Manchester as part of the ‘Creative Geographies’ and ‘Everyday Geographies’ modules. I visited Hulme Community Garden Centre, HOME and The Lowry in Salford.

Travelling overseas

As part of the ‘Research Design and Overseas Field Courses’ module in second year I went on a physical geography field trip to Iceland. This was a really fun and memorable experience as I had not been to Iceland before. I made new friends within geography and we carried out fieldwork projects in groups whilst abroad.

I completed a study abroad year at the Australian National University in Canberra for the 2019/2020 academic year. Studying abroad was a really exciting opportunity. I was able to travel, experience a different teaching style, meet lots of new people and grow in self-confidence. Sadly, my time in Australia was cut short due to the pandemic!

My future plans

I am currently planning to take a PGCE course to train to teach secondary school geography. The University of Manchester has a good careers service and lots of opportunities to develop transferable skills.

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