Why Study Geography at Manchester?
At a glance
- Study at a global top 10 Geography department (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026).
- Discover how Geography can help us understand global challenges, from climate change and sustainability to cities and inequality.
- Develop practical skills using specialist facilities, including laboratories, digital mapping technology tools and field equipment.
- Take your learning beyond the classroom, with fieldwork in Manchester, across the UK and overseas.
Video: Why Study a Humanities Degree at The University of Manchester?
Frequently asked study questions
Geography allows you to explore the connections between people, places and environments.
As a Geography student, you will have the opportunity to investigate how cities grow and change, why inequalities exist between places, how landscapes are formed, and how climate and environmental change affect the world around us.
We bring together expertise from across human and physical geography, including:
- cities and economies;
- political ecology;
- environmental processes;
- geographical information science (GIS);
- and geoarchaeology.
You will learn how these different areas connect with each other to help you understand what is happening in the world and why it matters.
Human geography looks at people, societies and places. It can help you understand topics such as cities, economies, inequality, politics and how the places where we live are changing.
While physical geography focuses on the natural world and the processes that shape it. This can include climate, water, soils, landscapes and environmental change.
The two are closely connected. Take flooding, for example: you might look at the physical processes that cause floods alongside how they affect communities and how flood risk can be reduced.
Get a chance to work with Geographical Information Systems (GIS), digital mapping and spatial data to investigate patterns and changes across different places.
Through field and laboratory work, you can collect and analyse samples and use specialist equipment. You can also gain experience with coding, image processing and mapping software using our computing and laboratory facilities.
These practical methods will provide you with different ways to collect evidence, analyse data and present your findings.
Geography helps you understand how environmental and social change affects people and places, from the pressures facing growing cities to the impacts of a changing climate.
Our research projects explore these challenges across a wide range of areas, including renewable energy, climate resilience, urban transport and green spaces.
Through these projects, we address issues such as:
- flood risk;
- energy poverty;
- water demand;
- sustainable infrastructure;
- peatland restoration;
- and social justice.