Overseas Field Courses
Geography degrees at Lancaster allow you to gain practical experience of a range of environments through an extensive programme of optional field courses. Local field courses exploit Lancaster ideal location close to two national parks, the Fylde Coast and Manchester and Liverpool. International field courses also allow students to visit cities such as like Amsterdam, New York and Paris, and challenging rural environments like northern and southern Spain and Croatia.
Contested Spaces of New York
In this course, we study the links between cultural, economic, political and social processes and the ways they influence urban landscapes and life in New York City. Students get to experience many of New York’s cosmopolitan districts and through independent projects consider the processes that make New York such a contested yet popular city.
Tunisia - Postcolonial reflections
This courser will introduce you to the cultural, political, economic and religious diversity and transition in Tunisia. Tunisia is a particularly fascinating country in all of these respects being a moderate Islamic country in North Africa with a strong Mediterranean influence. The recent revolution in Tunisia and North Africa in general will provide an interesting background to explore these issues from a new and contemporary angle.
Geomorphology of Northern Spain
Here, we visit the Cantabrian Cordillera that is a westerly extension of the Pyrenean Mountains. The course considers the evolution of landforms in the region over the past two million years. Examples of study topics include: reconstruction of past climates and their significance for landform development; karst geomorphology; caves; and early human impact on the environment (including archaeological evidence).
Water and Environmental Management in a Mediterranean Context
This field course tackles the challenges of managing the environment and especially water resources in the Istrian Peninsula at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea. Here, the environment is strongly governed by its position as a transitional zone between humid temperate and desert climates, making it particularly sensitive to global climate changes. This field course is available to students on all of our degree programmes.
Problem Solving in Physical Geography - Mediterranean Field course
This course visits an area of steep environmental gradients, ranging from semi-arid conditions along the Mediterranean coast up to the tundra of the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, in Spain. Working in groups, students gain practical experience in designing, implementing and critically evaluating research projects that investigate diverse problems, such as: sediment transport in highly dynamic river systems, the effects of agricultural terrace abandonment on biodiversity, spatial and temporal variations in microclimates within vegetation canopies, controls on landslide activity, altitudinal variations in soils and vegetation, and the relationships between process and form on alluvial fans.
Glacier/Landscape Interactions: Iceland
This field course takes place in a dynamic and exciting field environment, southern Iceland. Here, glaciers interact with the volcanic environments and processes of this mid-ocean ridge island. The course is designed to stimulate learning in the physical sciences and provide firsthand experience of observing glaciers and glacier-landscape interactions in the field. The week-long course is available to all students taking Physical Geography modules in their first and second years of study.
Geography degrees at Lancaster allow you to gain practical experience of a range of environments through an extensive programme of optional field courses. Local field courses exploit Lancaster ideal location close to two national parks, the Fylde Coast and Manchester and Liverpool. International field courses also allow students to visit cities such as like Amsterdam, New York and Paris, and challenging rural environments like northern and southern Spain and Croatia.
Contested Spaces of New York
In this course, we study the links between cultural, economic, political and social processes and the ways they influence urban landscapes and life in New York City. Students get to experience many of New York’s cosmopolitan districts and through independent projects consider the processes that make New York such a contested yet popular city.
Tunisia - Postcolonial reflections
This courser will introduce you to the cultural, political, economic and religious diversity and transition in Tunisia. Tunisia is a particularly fascinating country in all of these respects being a moderate Islamic country in North Africa with a strong Mediterranean influence. The recent revolution in Tunisia and North Africa in general will provide an interesting background to explore these issues from a new and contemporary angle.
Geomorphology of Northern Spain
Here, we visit the Cantabrian Cordillera that is a westerly extension of the Pyrenean Mountains. The course considers the evolution of landforms in the region over the past two million years. Examples of study topics include: reconstruction of past climates and their significance for landform development; karst geomorphology; caves; and early human impact on the environment (including archaeological evidence).
Water and Environmental Management in a Mediterranean Context
This field course tackles the challenges of managing the environment and especially water resources in the Istrian Peninsula at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea. Here, the environment is strongly governed by its position as a transitional zone between humid temperate and desert climates, making it particularly sensitive to global climate changes. This field course is available to students on all of our degree programmes.
Problem Solving in Physical Geography - Mediterranean Field course
This course visits an area of steep environmental gradients, ranging from semi-arid conditions along the Mediterranean coast up to the tundra of the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, in Spain. Working in groups, students gain practical experience in designing, implementing and critically evaluating research projects that investigate diverse problems, such as: sediment transport in highly dynamic river systems, the effects of agricultural terrace abandonment on biodiversity, spatial and temporal variations in microclimates within vegetation canopies, controls on landslide activity, altitudinal variations in soils and vegetation, and the relationships between process and form on alluvial fans.
Glacier/Landscape Interactions: Iceland
This field course takes place in a dynamic and exciting field environment, southern Iceland. Here, glaciers interact with the volcanic environments and processes of this mid-ocean ridge island. The course is designed to stimulate learning in the physical sciences and provide firsthand experience of observing glaciers and glacier-landscape interactions in the field. The week-long course is available to all students taking Physical Geography modules in their first and second years of study.
"The second year field trip to Paris and Amsterdam has been the best experience so far at Lancaster. It takes learning outside the lecture theatre and is a definite breath of fresh air from reading! The whole group and small group projects enabled me to develop a view of two culturally different cities, while enjoying the sites and sunshine at the same time. Being out in the field is definitely the best thing about geography and on top of everything, the Paris and Amsterdam Field trip has made me some of the best friends I have here at Lancaster".
Rachel Wilkinson, BSc Geography