Course details

Summary

Geography is an exciting and distinctive discipline at the interface between Science and Arts. Its focus is on putting various types of knowledge together to find innovative solutions to problems faced by society such as climate change, poverty, sustainability, health and inequality. We aim to provide courses and learning that will enable you to make a difference in your chosen career path after university.

Studying Geography will allow you to take an informed and analytical view of our changing world, and of your place in it. The relationship between people and their environment is a key geographical theme, as is the way in which this relationship can be made more sustainable for the future. This puts Geography at the core of many important current debates. For example, geographers are able to examine the issue of climate change holistically by looking at both the physical factors that affect the problem and also the human responses to the challenges created.

Courses

100-level courses

You can take one, two or all three of the 100-level courses, depending on preference. However, it is normally necessary to take and pass two in order to gain entry into 200-level Geography courses. To major in Geography for the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science, 30 points is required at 100-level.

The 100-level courses are interrelated, with GEOG106 based on an integrated approach to understanding the interaction of physical and human processes, and the other two courses focused more on natural and human environments.

GEOG106 Global Environmental Change

GEOG109 Physical Geography: Earth, Ocean, Atmosphere

GEOG110 Human Geography: People, Process, Place

200-level and beyond

There is a range of courses at 200 and 300-level. You can specialise within or combine courses from the four curriculum pathways (as many students do):

physical geography

human geography

Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and

resource and environmental management.

There are also options to undertake internships and research as part of your degree.

Career opportunities

Recent graduates have found work all over New Zealand and the world, from Auckland to Melbourne, California to Antarctica. Many have found careers in the public service, the tourism industry, private companies dealing with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS), the police, local authorities, and in education.

The Resource Management Act has created a lively market for geographers in consultancy and in regional and local government. Those who gain technical expertise in areas such as GIS and remote sensing are also in demand from both the public and private sectors. In addition, research and policy positions in central, regional and local government are popular.

Some graduates find work overseas for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, development agencies and the United Nations, or in positions that are particularly people-focused, like the union movement, teaching or personnel, where communication skills are critical.

Further study

The Certificate in Science can be used as a stepping stone to a Bachelor of Science.

Entry criteria

Admission to UC with University Entrance, or equivalent, is required to enrol for a Certificate in Arts. Applicants must have completed New Zealand University Entrance through NCEA; or Cambridge International Examinations (CIE); or International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) or any other equivalent overseas qualification.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 550 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum C+ grade; CAE or CPE minimum score of 169 with at least 162 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 57 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50.