Marine Geography with a Year of Study Abroad

The world’s oceans and coasts are full of amazing habitats and wildlife and they sustain many important and growing industries including shipping, tourism and renewable energy. As a marine geographer you will have the skills and knowledge needed to keep our oceans healthy and support traditional and emerging marine industries to be sustainable.

As the only Marine Geography degree in the UK, you will study a unique mix of physical and environmental geography. You will explore the science behind the relationship between society and the sea and investigate global challenges like ocean acidification and rising sea levels.

We make the most of our location and take regular trips to the Bristol Channel, the Glamorgan Heritage Coast and the Gower. There will also be opportunities to do overseas trips, in the past we’ve been to Malta, Jersey and Greece. You will get involved in activities like offshore surveying, water quality monitoring, ecological mapping and beach profiling.

On this four-year programme, you can spend one academic year studying at one of our partner universities abroad. Studying abroad is a fantastic opportunity to experience other cultures and viewpoints, learning the different styles and approaches to your subject in another country and exploring new physical environments, landscapes and coastlines. You will get the chance to make new friends and contacts from around the world. Plus, you will have the opportunity to develop a wealth of life skills and strengths that will help you to compete in an increasingly global workplace, such as adaptability, resourcefulness, and resilience.

Our Regrow Borneo project allows you to offset your flight’s carbon emissions by making an affordable donation to support our tree-planting project in the Lower Kinabatangan rainforest, Sabah, Borneo.

Students on this course are usually concerned about the health of the oceans and want to make a positive difference. Graduates leave with the skills to solve a range of complex marine environmental problems and with experience of hands-on fieldwork and cutting-edge research with world-leading scientists.

Distinctive Features of the Programme

Year Abroad opportunity - Learn while you travel and experience the landscapes or coastlines, education and culture of a different country with the opportunity to complete a year studying at a university abroad.

Professional accreditation - our Marine Geography degree is accredited by international bodies IMAREST and RICS. These accreditations keep us well connected to industry, so students graduate with employable skills and up-to-date, industry-specific knowledge. You will also get the opportunity to work towards a ‘chartered’ status.

Student satisfaction - belong to a small and friendly community voted top among all Russell Group Universities in the main category of Overall Satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2018. In 2019 our Marine Geography and Environmental Geography degree were jointly ranked 1st out of 63 Physical Geography and Environmental Sciences undergraduate courses.

Flexible degree schemes - all of the School’s degrees have a common first semester that introduce you to geosciences and geography. You can then decide whether to stay with your chosen degree or switch to another in the same School. You don’t need to commit to a university abroad until your second year, so there’s plenty of time to consider your options and decide where you would like to explore.

Hands-on fieldwork in the UK and overseas - you will get plenty of opportunity to develop your field and boat work skills with regular day trips and residential trips along the Welsh coast and overseas. South Wales has a rich and diverse marine environment including estuaries with large tidal ranges, islands thriving with wildlife, offshore renewable energy and the largest oil port in the UK in Milford Haven.