Geography and Economics

Geography and economics might seem like distinct disciplines, but they share some of the most pressing questions in the social sciences: how do economies develop unevenly across regions and nations? What drives migration, urbanisation, and the geography of poverty? How does the environment shape economic activity, and how does economic behaviour in turn reshape the natural world?

At University College London, this three-year, full-time programme takes the deepening connections between the two subjects seriously, providing a rigorous dual training in the theoretical principles and analytical techniques of both fields.

You will develop strong quantitative and qualitative skills, learning to work with economic models, spatial data, and the methods of human and physical geography. The programme engages with themes including development economics, environmental economics, urban geography, globalisation, and public policy, encouraging you to draw on the analytical tools of both disciplines rather than treating them as separate subjects. UCL's research environment in both geography and economics is internationally recognised, and you will study alongside and in some cases with the researchers shaping these fields.

Graduates of geography and economics from UCL are equipped for careers across a wide range of sectors. The quantitative rigour of the economics component and the spatial and environmental literacy that geography provides are valued in international development organisations, government departments, consultancies, financial institutions, urban planning, and research bodies. Common roles include economist, policy analyst, urban planner, data analyst, and development consultant.

Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study, either deepening their economics training or pursuing graduate programmes in public policy, urban studies, or environmental economics. For those who want to understand the world as both an economic and a geographical system, this combined degree offers an intellectually demanding and practically valuable education.