Students from the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences talk about why they chose to study Geography at the University of Birmingham.
Title: Our students talk about studying Geography at Birmingham
Duration: 2.54 mins
Catherine: I liked so many different aspects of Geography doing it through A level. So, I liked tourism but at the same time I liked volcanoes and it seemed like other courses you couldn’t do both. You had to do a BSc or a BA. Whereas here you pick whatever Geography modules you want to do.
Jack: When you come out of sixth form it seems quite daunting to suddenly specialise after you’ve been a generalist effectively for, you know, the whole of your academic life. So it was quite comforting to know that I could explore my different interests within Geography. So that was one of the main motives to come to Birmingham.
Jadine: Regardless of whether you came with an interest in Physical Geography or an interest in Human Geography across the three years you’re able to take which ever options you want.
Louise: The flexibility of the geography degree is really important. It means that I can find my own niche within Geography. I can really pursue what I want to study.
Sam: Because I hadn’t yet decided whether I was a Human or Physical geographer; I really enjoyed both. So that was great that I could flit between the two.
Louise: And on the Open Day with Birmingham I just got such a welcoming and friendly vibe.
Claire: The campus is just so cosy and we’re all together, almost like a student village within a city, and that really appealed to me.
Nicola: You get a great community atmosphere but you’re not in the middle of nowhere and you’re right on the edge of the city. So, you’ve got the best of both worlds really.
Jadine: The campus was the selling point for me. So when I first came here straight away I knew that I wanted to come to Birmingham.
Jack: So I think Geography is so relevant and important because it explores how we identify ourselves as people.
Louise: Geography covers issues, you know, contemporary human issues - whether that be development, political, cultural – all aspects of geography relate to the modern world and society today.
Nicola: It makes me feel as if I understand the world better.
Jack: Geography isn’t a stationary subject. There are new geographies emerging all the time. I mean just take, for example, social media.
Jadine: Facebook, twitter – so it’s things that people our age are using every day and I think it’s something that makes it a really relevant topic to be covering.
Catherine: Geography is all around us and that’s why it’s so important to study and doing it as a degree covers all skill sets that you will need for life.
Sam: People can start to look into things such as management or accounting. There’s really anything you can do with a Geography degree.
Claire: So it really does set you up for the future.
Louise: There’s so many different industries you can go into I think it’s a really, sort of, employable subject. Really make the most of Geography as a degree. There’s so much flexibility, so much help within the School and you can really pursue exactly what you are interested in.
Go for it and literally have the best, best time because, as a third year student, I can tell you it goes incredibly fast and I’m going to be so sad to leave.
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