Geographers study the earth’s landscapes, people and environment, and bridge the social sciences (human geography) and natural sciences (physical geography). Focused on key global issues such as climate change, economic and cultural diversity and international migration, geography is concerned with explaining difference and how places can be transformed by both natural processes and human action.
Why geography at Sussex?
- Geography is ranked in the top 20 institutions in the UK in The Complete University Guide 2011-12 and The Guardian University Guide 2012.
- Excellence in teaching: in the 2010 National Student Survey (NSS), our students rated our friendly and supportive Department equal 2nd average score for overall student satisfaction, and 3rd for teaching in the UK.
- Excellence in research: all of our faculty are research active in their chosen fields of expertise. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), geography at Sussex was ranked as one of the top 13 departments nationally.
- Great learning environment: our teaching and research facilities are first rate, and training takes place in the classroom, laboratory and in the field, and includes an understanding of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), now a key public- and private-sector decision-making tool.
- Geography at Sussex is part of the School of Global Studies, which aims to provide one of the UK’s premier venues for understanding how the world is changing. The School offers a broad range of perspectives on global issues, combining world-leading research by academic faculty with innovative teaching programmes that draw on our areas of research strength.
Course topics may include:
- Applied Geomorphology
- Challenges in Climate Prediction
- Climate Change: Impacts and Adaptation
- Climate Change Science and Policy
- Coastal Processes and Coastal Management
- Cultural Geographies
- Cultures of Colonialism
- Environmental Management and Sustainable Development
- Field Observations and Geomorphology Mapping
- Forcing and Predictive Models of Change
- Geographical Information Systems
- Geographies of Development and Inequality
- Geohazard Risk Analysis and Communication
- Geomorphological Processes
- Global Landscape Dynamics
- Globalisation and Empire
- Globalisation and Geopolitics
- Ground Models
- Human Geography
- Ice Age Earth
- Industrial Change and Regional Development
- Introduction to Geographical Methods and Statistics
- Labour Geographies and Work Migration
- Land Use and Land Cover Change
- Landscape, Nature and Representation
- Low Carbon Development
- Palaeoenvironments and Human Impact
- Polar Regions and Environmental Change
- Risk Mitigation, Planning and Engineering
- Rural Change in Britain
- Rural Livelihoods in the Global South
- Social Geography
- Soil and Rock Description and Site Investigation
- Terrain Analysis and Digital Mapping
- The Dynamic Earth
- The Natural Environment
- The Science of Climate Change
- Transnationalism and Identity
Louise's perspective
‘The selection of course topics is truly inspiring and the Geography Department has a quiet and well-equipped resource centre 
where a lot of group work between fellow geographers is undertaken. The Geography Society is a fantastic way to make close friends and holds great social events.’
Louise Nicole Edkins
Mat's perspective
‘I can never think of a negative experience – academically or socially – that I’ve had at Sussex. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the 
close relationship with fellow students and members of faculty.
‘I’ve gained a thorough knowledge of research skills in geography, combined with solid laboratory experience.
‘I’m extremely happy studying here at Sussex, and the courses are just one reason among many why each term I can’t wait to return!’
Mat Fernandez
Sam's perspective
‘Geography benefits from faculty who offer expertise in myriad geographical subdisciplines, reflected in the high standard of 
research they produce.
‘When conducting my own work, a significant amount of support was available in the form of technological resources, abundant literature and helpful staff.’
Sam Mortimore
