Year 1
Near the beginning of your first semester of BA Geography at Southampton, you will take part in a fieldwork week focused on the local region. This is likely to incorporate Southampton, Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, and the South Coast more generally. This gives you the chance to start learning early on about geographical research. It also means you will get to know academic staff and fellow students early on in your degree programme.
Year 2
In the second year, you will attend a week-long field trip to an overseas destination. Our second year fieldwork modules are a core element of the degree programme. All students, with the exception of students participating in a study abroad, are required to attend one of our field classes overseas. These are held in the second semester of the second year and for BA Geography students the field class is embedded into the module GEOG2035.
Typical trip content and costs
You will typically participate in a field course in a European city, which is currently Amsterdam. As this field course is a core element of your degree programme, your tuition fees fully cover the cost of this second year trip.
During the field class you will engage in group research projects related to your core discipline, learn key skills that will enhance your degree and develop the methodological tools needed to complete your final year dissertation project; GEOG3018.
Year 3 Berlin field class
The flagship Year 3 optional field class for BA students is the Berlin field class (as of October 2018). Comprising the module GEOG 3003, this popular trip aims to understand how urban space is produced, particularly in the context of Western Europe, and particularly in the present and recent past.
Typical trip content
A typical week covers the following themes: modern architecture and urbanism; nation-states and political ideologies; memory and memorials; global capital and public space.
Signing up to the field class
The Berlin field class usually runs in mid-to-late September, prior to the beginning of Year 3. Students are introduced to the trip in Semester 2 of Year 2, and sign-up takes place after Easter when you select your other optional modules for Year 3.
Costs of attending
The costs of attending the Berlin trip usually comprise around £160 for pre-booked accommodation. Additional costs incurred are for your travel to/from Berlin, your transport around Berlin, and your lunches and dinners for a week (all of which you are asked to arrange for yourselves).