Geography
Academic Staff
Fellows
Dr Patricia Daley is a Fellow and Tutor in Geography. She teaches the human geography components of the course, including development geographies, economic globalization, African societies, and the philosophical and methodological underpinnings of the discipline of geography. Her research interests are in African development; refugees, ethnicity, political and gender-based violence, and sustainable peace, as well as land tenure, rural livelihoods and conservation in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr Daley is also a University Lecturer in Human Geography.
Dr Richard Grenyer is a Fellow and Tutor in Geography. He teaches the physical aspects of the geography course, including ecology, geomorphology, remote sensing, statistics, biogeography, biodiversity conservation, and global environmental change. His research interests are in the role of space in microevolution, and how to use mathematics and computing to make conservation more efficient and effective. He particularly works on mammals and plants. Dr Grenyer is also a University Lecturer in Physical Geography.
Lecturers
Dr Deborah Phillips is a Lecturer in Geography. She teaches on aspects of urban, social and cultural geography, including social identities, social exclusion, urban deprivation and qualitative research methods. Her research interests focus on ethnic segregation, racial inequalities, social integration and geographies of citizenship and belonging. Dr Phillips is also a Visiting Reader in Geography.
Dr Fai Fung is a Lecturer in Geography. He teaches on aspects of the physical geography course, including climate modelling, hydrological modelling and water resources. His research investigated the impact of climate change on freshwater systems and how this information may affect decision-making in water resources management.
About the Course
Geography at Oxford
Approximately 90 undergraduates are admitted to read Geography at Oxford each year and it is one of the biggest departments in the country, with a School of Geography and the Environment as part of the newly-established Oxford University Centre for the Environment - containing lecture rooms, laboratories, a large library, computing facilities and tutors' rooms - in South Parks Road.
College and University Life
Jesus was one of five men's colleges to admit women in 1974, and has been co-educational ever since. Students are admitted purely on the basis of their ability and potential. Jesus College normally admits 8 geographers annually. We were a pioneer Oxford college in awarding Scholarships and Exhibitions in Geography, and since that time over 60 years ago, the subject has retained a firm place in the College. Second year geographers can apply for the JNL Baker prize for academic excellence.
Undergraduates' activities in Oxford are divided between University and College: in this respect Geography is like other subjects. Lectures, practicals and field classes are arranged on a university basis and attended by students from all the colleges. Similarly, examinations are set by the University. On the other hand, accommodation is arranged through the college, and most students eat in the College Hall. An undergraduate's social circle will probably be centred on the college - but not restricted by subject. Tutorials and discussion groups are college matters.
Course Structure
During their three-year course, undergraduates have to take two public examinations - the Preliminary Examination at the end of the first year and the Honour School at the end of the third.
The Preliminary Examination consists of four papers:
- Earth System Processes
- Human Geography
- Geographical Controversies
(a) 1 examination paper (b) 1 practical folder - Geographical Techniques
(a) 1 examination paper (b) 1 field notebook
The wide range and complementarity of staff interests at Jesus College enables us to teach all the Geography papers in College. Students are expected to attend the relevant lectures in the School of Geography and the Environment.
The Honour School is examined in ONE compulsory subject, TWO Foundational courses (from a choice of three) and THREE options (plus 3 extended submitted essays). Candidates write a geographical dissertation of no more than 12,000 words. Students undertake fieldwork during the Easter Vacation of their second year in either Berlin or Tenerife.
Compulsory Course:
- Geographical Research (1 examination paper and 1 field notebook)
Foundational Courses:
- Earth System Dynamics (1 examination paper )
- Environmental Geography (1 examination paper )
- Space, Place and Society (1 examination paper)
Options: (NB not all will be available in each two-year teaching cycle):
- Biogeography, Biodiversity and Conservation
- Climate Variability and Change
- Drylands Environments
- Quaternary Environments
- Heritage, Conservation and Management
- Contemporary India
- Contemporary China
- Forensic Geography
- Spaces and Power in Africa
- European Integration
- Geographies of Finance
- Spaces of Politics
- Transport
- African Environments
Teaching
Geography provides undergraduates with a varied course ranging in content from environmental problems to global cities and developmental issues, and in method from computer analysis to field classes. Recent School of Geography and the Environment visits have included the USA, China, Northern Ireland, Czechoslovakia, France, Spain, Portugal and Russia.
College teaching is undertaken mostly in paired tutorials and college-based discussion groups. Oxford terms are short - eight weeks - so students are expected to do a good deal of vacation reading. University lecture courses in Geography are numerous and varied, but emphasis is on the need for each student to learn, for him or herself, by choosing lectures of interest on the advice of tutors, and by reading and discussion of written work with college teachers.
Joint Schools
There are no Joint Schools for Geography.
Admissions
Applicants receive conditional or unconditional offers depending on whether they have already taken their final examinations. Our normal pre-qualification offer is AAA at A2 level (or equivalent). Geography must be studied to A2 level or equivalent. Otherwise there are no compulsory subject requirements, so sixth-form specialization in Physical Sciences, Social Sciences or Arts subjects all provide their distinctive and valuable background to the undergraduate course in Geography. Statistical analysis has grown in importance in recent years, so Mathematics (at AS or A2 level or equivalent) is a useful supporting subject: it is desirable, but not essential.
Decisions about whom to admit to the College are made on the basis of information on candidates' UCAS forms, our assessment of candidate's submitted work and performance in interview. Candidates will not be required to sit a pre-interview written test.
All candidates are required to send in two pieces of written work. Preferably, this should be work which has been prepared as part of the geography course during the final year at school or college. We prefer short essays (maximum 2,000 words) rather than extended projects. They should be sent exactly in the form candidates receive them back from teachers, marks, comments and all! It helps if they are chosen from different parts of the geography syllabus.
Most candidates will be interviewed if they meet the selection criteria. Candidates receive two interviews: one in human and one in physical geography. Before each interview candidates may be asked to write a brief (approx. 250 words) summary of an article on a geographical topic. Assessors will be looking for an ability to identify the key arguments in the article and to express these clearly. No prior training in critical thinking is required for this exercise. In the interview they are questioned about the article. They may also be asked to comment on a variety of pictorial, cartographic and tabulated data which are given to them during the interview, and may be asked questions arising from their submitted work or other aspects of their geography course.
Deferred Entry: Applications for deferred entry to Jesus College are welcomed. You must apply for deferred entry at the time of application to Oxford: you cannot change your mind after an offer has been made. Please refer to departmental web sites for subject-specific advice. You should be aware that applicants who are offered places for deferred entry will generally be among the strongest of the cohort for their subject. We would not usually offer more than one or two deferred places per subject in order not to disadvantage the following year's candidates. In some cases, an applicant for deferred entry may be offered a place for non-deferred entry instead. If you require any further advice, please contact the Admissions Officer.
Postgraduate Studies and Careers
The School of Geography and the Environment has one the largest graduate programmes in the UK. The following degrees are offered:
- MSc by Research, MLitt or DPhil Geography and the Environment
- MSc Biodiversity, Conservation and Management
- MSc Nature, Society and Environmental Policy
- MSc Environmental Geomorphology
- MSc Water Science, Policy and Management
Numerical, bibliographic, laboratory and archival skills are developed by geographers and are much appreciated by a range of employers. Careers entered are extremely varied. A number of graduating Jesus geographers continue with their subject as teachers, researchers or planners, but many go into business, the civil service and into professions such as law or accountancy. For most undergraduates, Geography is non-vocational, yet it does offer an entrée into a variety of satisfying careers.
Preliminary Reading and Further Information
Further information about Geography at Oxford can be found on the School of Geography website. Information about admissions is available on the University's Undergraduate Courses pages.