Bachelor of Arts (BA) majoring in Geography

Summary

The Bachelor of Arts is a flexible degree so you can specialise or study a wide variety of topics. Over the three years of your degree, you will gain the critical thinking, creative problem solving, and communication skills that employers want. Unique practical experiences such as internships are on offer too. The Bachelor of Arts requires a minimum total of 360 points. Each major has specific course requirements, but all consist of a minimum of 135 points in a single Arts subject. Of these, at least 60 points must be at 300-level and at least 45 points at 200-level.

Geography is an exciting and distinctive discipline. Its focus is on putting various types of knowledge together to find innovative solutions to problems faced by society such as climate change, poverty, sustainability, health and inequality. We aim to provide courses and learning that will enable you to make a difference in your chosen career path after university.

Studying Geography will allow you to take an informed and analytical view of our changing world, and of your place in it. The relationship between people and their environment is a key geographical theme, as is the way in which this relationship can be made more sustainable for the future. This puts Geography at the core of many important current debates.

Why study Geography at UC?

The undergraduate programme is structured around four curriculum pathways: physical geography, human geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and resource and environmental management.

Learning through community engagement occurs in a number of courses within Geography. It is a key feature of GEOG 110 Human Geography: People, Process, Place; and of GEOG 309 Research for Resilient Environments and Communities, which involves students working with local communities to address important real-world issues.

Double degrees

It is possible to combine an Arts degree with other degrees.

Further study

The College of Arts has a wide range of options for postgraduate and graduate study with excellent research facilities. Pathways include: Bachelor of Arts with Honours; Master of Arts; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Career opportunities

Recent graduates have found work all over Aotearoa New Zealand and the world, from Tamaki-makau-rau Auckland to Melbourne, California to Antarctica. Many have found careers in the public service, the tourism industry, private companies dealing with geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS), the police, local authorities, and in education.

Some graduates find work overseas for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, development agencies and the United Nations, or in positions that are particularly people-focused, like the union movement, teaching, or personnel, where communication skills are critical.