By Simon Tate, Newcastle University, Peter Hopkins, Newcastle University
As the exam results are published and university places confirmed, thoughts soon turn to starting your Geography degree and the academic year ahead. What will the course really be like? Will I enjoy it? Am I clever enough to succeed at university? Am I ready for more independence? Will I make friends? Central to many of these questions is the idea of making a smooth transition from school to university. This is important because the differences between school and university Geography in the UK are well-established and continue to feed into concerns about the challenges you might face when transitioning to studying Geography at university: ‘university and pre-university geography in [the UK] are like distant relations: there is a family connection but it is fairly weak’ (Castree, Fuller & Lambert, 2007, p.130).
Over the last fifteen years, we have researched and written about Geography students’ transitions and sought practical advice and interventions to support students, teachers and lecturers (see, for example, Tate and Hopkins 2020). Much of our research adopts students-as-partners approach, to ensure the voices of those experiencing the transition to studying university Geography really shine through. As we head towards the start of this academic year, we want to share with new Geography students some thoughts and advice from recent Geography graduates about what to expect from your new degree and wider university experience.
One of the key findings from our research is that the transition to university is what Thomson et al (2002) refer to as a ‘critical moment’ in a student’s life course and includes both social and academic aspects. Indeed, there is a symbiotic relationship between the two: you cannot expect to produce your best academic work until you are socially settled and have made friends. Finding a route through these social and academic transitions is a process, rather than an event – most likely the transition will continue throughout most of the first year of your Geography degree, and beyond. Therefore, you shouldn’t put too much pressure on yourself to have made lots of good friends and to be on top of your studies in the first couple of weeks at university:
‘The first few weeks are a bit mad with everyone going on nights out and meeting loads of new people, but after that you start to make a few good friends and settle into something more balanced and sustainable. Then, you begin to feel happier with your course: you’ll be over the initial shock and are getting into a bit of a routine. You’ll also have made a few new friends and can begin to support each other as you get used to studying and learning at uni. It is good to talk to others who are feeling the same as you.’ (Ayesha graduated with a BA (Hons) degree in Geography)
In terms of subject content, students tell us that the breadth and diversity of university Geography is undoubtedly a positive, as it keeps Geography degrees interesting and varied. On most degree courses there is enough similarity to school Geography for the content to feel familiar, but also lots of differences, which give the learning a fresh feel and means it doesn’t feel like you are covering the same topics again. Compared to school, there are also differences in the teaching methods for human and physical geography which help to make a Geography degree more interesting:
‘It was strange, I picked Geography as a degree subject ’cos I loved Geography at school. But then I sort of steadily drifted onto new things. By the time I’d reached my final year I was writing my dissertation on how humans had caused aquatic pollution in a Scottish loch and I spent a lot of my time in a lab…So, my advice is not to overthink it, just go with your gut instinct and definitely study the topics you enjoy most.’ (Charlotte, graduated with a BSc (Hons) degree in Geography).
Of course, with these differences come a range of skills that you will need to develop as a new undergraduate student, some of them practical (such as GIS, advanced quantitative methods, lab skills and time management); while others are more cognitive (such as notetaking in lectures, critical thinking, essay writing and referencing). Of particular concern to many students is academic reading. By the end of their first year at university, students begin to realise that they need to rely multiple sources, to analyse their content, and reference them correctly to form an argument.
‘Sixth form students go from using a small selection of very large broad topic textbooks to using massive amount[s] of literature spanning journals, books and research papers. It makes the transition from sixth form to university a time-consuming battle until you work out how to read quickly and still find the information you need.’ (Jake, graduated with a BSc (hons) degree in Physical Geography).
As with other aspects of the transition to university, you will need time to develop these skills and it can help you to master them quickly. However, there are things you can do now to ease the transition into your new degree. That is one reason why we wrote Studying Geography at University: How to Succeed in the First Year of Your New Degree (Tate and Hopkins, 2020). Written in a practical and conversational style, it offers important insights into how to succeed in the first year of a new degree course, covering everything from how to succeed in assessments to how to decide where to live. Some of the information the book provides is academic and some of it is non-academic. Each chapter offers hints and tips and gives practical real-world insights into becoming a successful geography student that will enrich applications, open days and visit days. While reading it alone won’t solve all of the potential transitional challenges you will face during the first year of your new Geography degree, we hope it helps everyone starting their studies in Human Geography, Physical Geography, Environmental Science or any other related subject at university.
About the authors: Simon Tate is Professor of Higher Education and Peter Hopkins is Professor of Social Geography, both in Geography at Newcastle University. Simon and Peter have a shared interest in student transitions to, through, and from university. Simon is a National Teaching Fellow and co-authored the RGS-IBG guide on those new to teaching geography. Peter is currently a Leverhulme Major Research Fellow working on the topic of Everyday Islamophobia.
Suggested further reading
Tate, S., & Hopkins, P. (2020). Studying Geography at University: How to Succeed in the First Year of Your New Degree. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351166768
How to cite
Tate, S., & Hopkins, P. (2025, August) Studying Geography at university: how to succeed in the first year of your new degree. Geography Directions. https://doi.org/10.55203/ILOV7813
Geography Directions 