School of Geography

The School of Geography at Southampton is one of Britain's leading centres for geographical research, with excellent facilities, a strong publication record, and a thriving research culture. In the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise the School was graded 5A, confirming its position among the top geography research departments in the UK. The Graduate School currently has around 50 full-time and part-time students from the UK and overseas funded by research councils and other agencies. The Graduate School captures all that’s good about research: a mixture of stimulating intellectual activity and enjoyable social interaction. Our most recent postgraduate feedback (2007) records that 94% of respondents would recommend the School to friends or family for doing research.

Student and staff research is organised into three research themes:
Economy, Culture, Space Topics
Environmental Processes and Change Topics
Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis Topics

Each research student is allocated a supervisory team of at least two members. One of the team, the main supervisor, is responsible for ensuring the design and progress of the candidate's research project through regular meetings. An advisor may provide additional research support. Research training within the Faculty and the School is tailored to meet students' individual needs, with some common components. All students follow an induction course, introducing them to the facilities and services in the University, Faculty and School: later sessions cover important generic issues such as Intellectual Property Rights and Ethics.

Students follow a tutorial-based course on research methodology. Human geographers participate in the Social Science Faculty's one-year research training scheme, together with the two residential courses that comprise the Wessex Geographical Consortium Postgraduate Training Programme (where postgraduate geographers from Oxford, Bristol, Southampton, etc. meet). Physical geographers normally attend the BGRG/NERC Research Student Workshop held in December of each year. All graduate students can attend short courses run by the Science Faculty (on oral and written communication skills and preparing for work, for example), and students are encouraged where appropriate to follow advanced undergraduate courses. Students may also attend formal courses on methods and techniques specific to their research within or outside the university.

Research seminars in physical or human geography are held on a weekly basis during term time for research students and staff. A Graduate School conference is held each year, at which all students present their research and results. Graduate students are also encouraged to participate in practical demonstrating and supervision of undergraduate students, and the publication of postgraduate research is actively promoted.

The employability record of Southampton Geography postgraduates is first rate. Recent destinations include many postdoctoral and lecturing posts in the UK and overseas, teaching posts, UK primary care trusts, Office for National Statistics, alternative energy sector, Environment Agency, Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Scottish Enterprise, national and international environmental consultancies, Ove Arup, Faber Mounsell, Cundell Consulting Engineers, software houses, Food and Agricultural Organisation, SPOT Image, Transport for London, and North Island Water Authority, NZ.

For entry in October 2008, the School is funding up to 6 three year MPhil/PhD research studentships (Home/EU tuition fees and maintenance costs). The closing date for applications is 30 April 2008. See the web-site for further details http://www.geog.soton.ac.uk/pgrad/subpages/pgops.aspx

Study/Funding

General funding sources