Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Geography

Summary

A Bachelor of Science (BSc) is about understanding and improving the natural world through observation, experimentation, modelling, and calculation. The Bachelor of Science requires a minimum total of 360 points:

• a compulsory 15-point Science course
• a minimum of 255 points of Science courses
• the remaining 90 points can be from either Science courses or courses from other degrees.

At least 225 points must be from courses above 100-level, with at least 90 points at 300-level.

Double degrees

Many students combine the study of a BSc with another degree.

Conjoint degrees

Students can study the Conjoint Bachelor of Product Design and Science or the Conjoint Bachelor of Commerce and Science, which requires 60 points less than a double degree and will be completed in four years in an intensive format.

Geography Major

Geography is an exciting and distinctive discipline at the interface between Science and Arts. 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. For example, geographers are able to examine the issue of climate change holistically by looking at both the physical factors that affect the problem and also the human responses to the challenges created.

Further Study

If you have achieved top grades during your Bachelor of Science, you may be permitted to enter the BSc(Hons), which is an accelerated 12-month postgraduate degree.

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.

The Resource Management Act has created a lively market for geographers in consultancy and in regional and local government. Those who gain technical expertise in areas such as GIS and remote sensing are also in demand from both the public and private sectors. In addition, research and policy positions in central, regional and local government are popular.

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.