Environmental Geography with Foundation Year
Environmental geography sits at the heart of some of the defining challenges of our time. It investigates the relationships between human societies and the natural systems they depend on: how climate change is altering landscapes and communities, how land use affects biodiversity and water cycles, how natural hazards interact with human vulnerability, and how environmental policies succeed or fail. It is a discipline that demands both scientific rigour and social awareness, because the environmental problems we face are inseparable from the human decisions and inequalities that produced them.
At York St John University, the four-year full-time programme begins with a foundation year, which builds the scientific and geographical foundations you need before progressing onto the full degree. You will study physical geography, environmental science, human geography and the methods used to investigate environmental systems, including geographic information systems, remote sensing, field survey and quantitative analysis. The degree includes a sandwich year, a year abroad and a work placement, giving you substantial opportunities to develop professional experience and international perspectives.
Environmental issues are genuinely global, and encountering them in different national contexts is a valuable part of your education.
York itself sits within a region that offers a range of distinctive environmental settings, from the Yorkshire Dales and Moors to the Humber estuary and the Vale of York, all of which are relevant to the environmental questions the degree addresses.
Graduates work in environmental consultancy, conservation organisations, government agencies, local authorities, water companies, planning departments, NGOs and international development organisations. Climate change adaptation, ecological surveying, environmental impact assessment and sustainability management are among the roles graduates enter. Postgraduate study in environmental management, geography, climate science or sustainability is a common next step.