Geography and Environmental Studies: What Do You Really Study?
Space, climate and man — to understand how environments change and to plan more resilient cities and systems.
What Do You Study in Geography and Environmental Studies? Core Subjects, Year by Year
What do the degree courses cover?
Open a course to learn about its main topics and see what the work looks like in practice.
What do you learn in the course?Physical Geography?
You learn how processes in the atmosphere, water, soil and landscape shape the surface of the country and change over time.
Main topics
- Relief and geomorphology
- water and land
- Natural processes and risks
What does it look like in practice?
Drainage basin analysis to assess where heavy rain may create flooding.
What do you learn in the course?Human Geography?
Explore how population, economy, culture, immigration and power create different spaces and inequality between places.
Main topics
- Population and migration
- City, economy and culture
- Space, identity and power
What does it look like in practice?
Comparing change processes in two neighborhoods and how they affect old residents.
What do you learn in the course?Introduction to Environmental Studies?
You get a systemic picture of human-environment relations and get to know the scientific, social and political challenges of sustainability.
Main topics
- ecosystems
- resources and pollution
- Sustainability and environmental justice
What does it look like in practice?
Mapping the effects of a product from consumption of raw materials to waste and emissions.
What do you learn in the course?Statistics for Geography?
Learn to summarize spatial and environmental data, check relationships and distinguish between a stable pattern and a random fluctuation.
Main topics
- Data description
- Sampling and testing
- Correlation and regression
What does it look like in practice?
Examining the relationship between building density and temperature in different neighborhoods.
What do you learn in the course?Geographic Information Systems?
Learn to manage, combine and analyze layers of information by location to answer planning, environment and services questions.
Main topics
- Vector and raster data
- Attribution and mapping systems
- Queries and spatial analysis
What does it look like in practice?
Locating areas that are both far from public transportation and close to a large population.
Frequently Asked Questions About Geography and Environmental Studies
Is a degree in Geography and Environmental Studies difficult?
There is no single answer — difficulty depends on your background, the institution, and your chosen study pace. According to this site's estimate, The degree has a relatively small quantitative component, so mathematics is usually not the main obstacle, and a large share of the reading material is in English. A good way to assess fit is to review the course map on this page: if most of the subjects interest you, the effort will usually feel worthwhile.
How long does a degree in Geography and Environmental Studies take?
Usually 3 years (Single-major or double-major, with fieldwork and digital tools). Exact duration varies by institution and depends on course load and the track you choose.
Geography and Environmental Studies or Political Science and International Relations — which is right for me?
The degrees most closely related to Geography and Environmental Studies are Political Science and International Relations, Architecture, and Sociology and Anthropology. Their differences are usually in emphasis rather than the overall subject, so the fastest way to decide is to compare their course maps — what you actually study in each program, year by year. You can also open the degree comparison tool to view the differences side by side.