Geography with Applied GIS

Geography with applied GIS is a degree that takes one of the most versatile tools in modern spatial analysis, Geographic Information Systems, and embeds it within a geography programme that addresses some of the most pressing questions about the physical and human world. GIS is a technology for mapping, analysing, and interpreting spatial data, enabling its users to understand where things are, detect patterns, and generate insights that would be invisible in a conventional spreadsheet or chart. As data about the world becomes ever more abundant, the ability to work spatially with that data is a genuinely distinctive and employable skill.

At the University of Exeter you will study across three years on a full-time programme, with a sandwich year for professional experience, a year abroad for international study, and work placement embedded throughout. This combination of structured industry engagement and international exposure is particularly valuable in a field where applied practice is as important as academic knowledge. The geography curriculum covers both human and physical geography, addressing topics such as climate change, urban development, globalisation, environmental management, and social inequality, alongside the quantitative and fieldwork methods that the discipline employs.

The GIS specialism develops your ability to use spatial analysis software, build and interpret geographic databases, conduct remote sensing analysis, and present spatial findings in maps and visualisations that communicate complex patterns clearly. Exeter's strong research environment and the South West's diverse physical landscape support excellent fieldwork opportunities.

Graduates of geography with applied GIS enter careers across a range of sectors where spatial thinking and data skills are in demand. Environmental consulting, urban and regional planning, transport and infrastructure, public health, emergency services, utilities, and defence are all significant employers of GIS-skilled graduates. Roles in spatial analysis, environmental management, planning, data science with a geographic dimension, and cartography are common directions.

Postgraduate study in GIS, geographic data science, environmental management, or urban planning is a natural next step for those seeking more specialist or research-oriented roles.