Geography
The Course Geography at Cambridge has one of the largest annual single-honours intakes in the country and accepts about one hundred students annually to read the three-year course. As with nearly all subjects in Cambridge, the first year of the Geography course is broadly-based and compulsory. In the second year some specialisation is possible, whilst in the third and final year you are required to select four courses from about three times that number and submit a dissertation on a geographical subject of your own choice. Many students carry out their dissertation research abroad. In the first year there are five courses that introduce the ideas of Economic Geography, the Geography of Society, Environment and Development, Historical and Cultural Geography, and Physical Geography. In the second year, students choose four courses, but at least one must be considered Human Geography, and one Physical Geography. There is also a compulsory course on 'Geographical Ideas', which is examined by an open book exam. Fuller details of the individual courses are available on the internet (http://www.geog.cam.ac.uk/), in the Cambridge University Guide to Courses and in the booklet available from the Department of Geography, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EN. A typical formal workload for a student reading Geography consists of eight lectures and two laboratory or practical classes per week, together with three supervisions a fortnight. For each of the supervisions, an essay requiring a significant amount of background reading has to be prepared. Several one-day field courses form an essential part of the course in the first year, and in the second year there is a compulsory one-week field course, usually held somewhere around the Mediterranean. Expeditions are also undertaken by geography students, not as part of the formal course, but organised by the students themselves, usually under the auspices of the Explorers and Travellers Club. Some departmental and college funds are available to assist with the cost of field courses and expeditions. The Cambridge Geography Department has an excellent reputation and good facilities. After graduation, many students undertake further study in Cambridge or at other universities, or move straight into a wide range of occupations. Studying Geography at Clare Although there is some clustering of admissions in particular colleges, all colleges offer places in the subject to those who can show that on academic grounds they merit them. Clare is no exception, and, following its general policy of aiming for an overall Arts-Science balance, but without quotas for particular subjects, it considers applications for Geography on an equal footing with those for all other Arts subjects. Admissions Requirements A typical offer to read Geography at Clare would be AAA at A2 level (or the equivalent in other educational systems). Although it is not essential most applicants take Geography as one of their A2 level subjects, but the possible supporting subjects cover almost the entire range of A2 level courses. Interviews Candidates will be asked to send in examples of their school essay or project work before the interviews, and will then be interviewed twice during the usual interview period in the second or third week of December. Teaching Fellows: Dr Andrew Friend, Senior Lecturer in Geography (Environmental Science) |
Dr Andrew Friend |
