Why I chose Physical Geography
Being a first year student means I only recently decided which university I would go to and which course I would study. I chose where I wanted to study based on my subject area and job prospects. A career in geography often requires a route through university and my goal of becoming a teacher was also a driving factor. I knew my subject area would be Physical Geography after I discovered a passion for it during my geography GCSE so my biggest struggle was finding the university that would give me the best chance of success in Higher Education.
For me choosing the University of Huddersfield was a very quick decision as I applied and was accepted through Clearing. Despite getting good grades, my first choice university rejected my application, so I had to look at a university that suited my needs, which, after a day of list-making and planning became Huddersfield.
Surprisingly, I only found out about the University of Huddersfield on Results Day when a teacher made the suggestion during my search for commutable universities, but when I went to the Clearing Application Day I instantly knew it was the place for me. I have since found that being rejected from my first choice, was one of the best things that could have happened.
Huddersfield is smaller than some universities, however I like this, and I knew when I applied that I would be getting a lot more support than anywhere else. There are only approximately 21 students on my course, creating an amazing student-to-lecturer ratio.
I was also drawn to study Physical Geography at Huddersfield in particular, as the course is only in its second year, making it very new, allowing for fresh and exciting ideas of how we are going to study geography. It also has amazing facilities including the new extension to the Joseph Priestley Building.
We also go on a lot of exciting field trips, both locally and internationally, and in the first two weeks we went to Malham and Liverpool which was a lot of fun and a great way to get to know my course mates. To the right is a picture that I took on the fieldtrips; this is a photo that I took during my trip to Malham when we walked to Gordale Scar, and the one underneath is a picture I took of the River Mersey in Liverpool.
My course is really interesting and hands-on. A few things we have done include learning (in depth) how the world was created, taking on different job roles in a volcano roleplay, and identifying minerals using their composition and how hard they are in comparison to others.
We also had the oppurtunity to take part in a two week ‘Flying Start’ programme which made the transition to university education a lot smoother, looking at ways to manage both academia, as well as incorporating mental wellbeing and the social life at university.
There is an abundance of facilities and many places to study inbetween lectures. My favourite places to study include; the study hub in Joseph Priestly with additional rooms for group work, the Library and the stepped seating area in the Oastler Building. Additionally, I look forward to the summer when I will use the University’s outdoor spaces including the canal side, shown in the photo below, which provides a peaceful study environment.
Check out more information about our Physical Geography course.
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