Top 10 Universities in Geography and Environment (2020 Update)
Geography and Environment is becoming increasingly popular
subject as the world is focusing its attention on environment related issues
such as global warming and climate change. Many reputed and top universities of
the developed world teach geography, earth and environmental sciences and these
are degrees with excellent career prospects, as well as
opportunities for further study – around a fifth of students go on to
postgraduate study or research. This may also be necessary if one wishes to
pursue a career in law or graduate education.
Below is the list of top 10 universities ranked according to the employer reputation, H-index citations and research, citations per paper and academic reputation with regards to Geography and Environment (click on the name to visit each university’s geography website) based on 2020 Update according to QS Ranking:
1. University of Oxford: The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and is actually so ancient that its founding date is unknown – though it is thought that teaching took place there as early as the 11th century. It’s located in and around the medieval city center of Oxford, dubbed “the dreaming city of spires” by the 19th century poet Matthew Arnold, and comprises 44 colleges and halls as well as the largest library system in the UK. It has a friendly rivalry with Cambridge for the title of best university in the UK.
"Welcome to the School of Geography and
Environment, a vibrant community of agenda-setting researchers, teachers,
students and administrators."
-
Professor Gillian Rose, Current Head of School
“We are one of the world's most successful university geography departments, internationally recognised for the quality of our research and our teaching. In addition to the department, the School also hosts three globally-renowned research centres, and leads several cross-university research networks. We are proud of the wide range of partners with whom we collaborate across the world, and of our significant contributions to advances in social and environmental policy-making.”
2. London School of Economics and Political Science:
“Hello and welcome to the LSE Department of Geography and Environment. We are a friendly and welcoming department based in the St Clement’s building, just off Portugal Street, in the heart of London. A unique opportunity to study Human Geography, Economic Geography and Environmental Social Science/Policy. We offer a unique opportunity to study Human Geography, Economic Geography and Environmental Social Science/Policy in a university with a worldwide reputation as a centre of academic excellence in the social sciences. Our courses are designed to benefit from and complement the strengths and aspirations of LSE. You will find a healthy balance of experienced and younger academics within the department. Many of our staff have well-established international reputations in their fields of expertise.
We are highly regarded both nationally and internationally. In 2019, the QS World University rankings rated us 2nd globally for Geography. We have had 3 holders of the highly competitive Philip Leverhulme Prize Fellowships for researchers under 36.”
“The Department of Geography today is a flourishing and expanding academic community committed to high standards of research. The questions we ask, the philosophies and methodologies we draw upon, embrace the natural and social sciences as well as the humanities. Research is represented by our main research thematic groups and our work brings us into contact and collaboration with many other disciplines to address the challenges of a changing world. Geography has been researched and taught at Cambridge for more than a century; during that time both the world and geography have changed immensely. Geography at Cambridge has a remarkable tradition and also a great future.”
4. University of California Berkeley (UCB):
“All human activity takes place on a geographic stage of great diversity and constant transformation. For more than a century, the Geography Department at Berkeley has been a leading center of scholarship about earth’s landscapes and human relationships to the environment. Our inquiries encompass a wide range of topics, from the economies and cultures of cities and built landscapes, to tropical climates and the flow of polar ice sheets. We combine rigorous empirical work with deeply conceptual theoretical analyses, always recognizing the importance of both spatial processes and accumulated histories. We use geographic analyses to illuminate the abiding problems of the modern world.”
5. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA):
“WELCOME to the Department of Geography at UCLA. Established in 1911, the Department of Geography consistently ranks among the top departments in the United States. Recognized internationally as a leader in research and education in both physical and human geography, the Department offers undergraduate degrees (B.A.) in Geography and Environmental Studies, and graduate degrees (M.A., Ph.D.) in Geography.”
- Gregory S. Okin, Chair, Department of Geography
6. The Australian National University:
“Students undertaking the major in geography are provided with a rich learning environment characterised by an exciting mix of theoretical and practical training in an applied setting. The course options in the major expose students to a diverse range of skills that are much in demand, including experiential and field-based learning, GIS and spatial technology, the principles of modeling, integrated research training, and small-group learning that draws upon the diversity of student and staff professional and cultural backgrounds. The major in geography will equip students with a thorough yet broad-based grounding in the discipline, the background to pursuing a professional career related to geography.”
7. University of British Columbia:
“Geographical Sciences include the study of the Earth’s biosphere and its atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. The main sub-disciplines include biogeography, climatology, GIScience, geomorphology and hydrology, but much of what students learn in our BSc specialization is related to the interactions between these sub-disciplines. The Geographical Sciences degree is a broad-based undergraduate degree that emphasizes the environmental consequences of global change. During their degree, our students conduct field-based research, including field trips in nearly all of our upper level courses.
The Environment and Sustainability Program offers an integrated understanding of physical, ecological, economic, social, cultural and political systems, as they shape the world in which we live and influence the future of life on our planet.”
8. University College London (UCL):
“Located in the heart of Bloomsbury, London, the Department of Geography at UCL is a world-leading centre for teaching, research and public engagement.
Our lecturers address many urgent concerns facing the world today, including climate change, urban development, migration, environmental management and geopolitics. Our taught programmes are innovative and interdisciplinary, and we are committed to the importance of field courses, research-based learning and supporting our students in achieving their potential.”
9. National University of Singapore (NUS):
‘As a department we aim to be a key node of geographical knowledge production and dissemination, through both teaching and research, within Asia and globally’
“Located in one of the most culturally diverse and technologically advanced cities in the world, at the centre of an extremely dynamic and exciting region, Geography at the National University of Singapore has a long and proud history. This history dates back to 1928, when Geography became one of the first subjects offered in the Faculty of Arts at Raffles College, and what was eventually to become National University of Singapore. Having recently celebrated our 90th birthday, we are now firmly established as Asia’s leading Department of Geography and are consistently ranked among the top geography departments globally. This reputation is in part built upon research excellence in three key areas: tropical environmental change, social and cultural geographies, and political and economic geography. It is also, however, a product of a long-standing commitment to collegiality, inclusion, safety and mutual respect.”
Founded in 1928, the Department of Geography at Durham is one of the leading centres of geographical research and education in the world. We have been ranked in the top 10 for eight consecutive years in the QS World University Rankings by Subject (2020). We are recurrently ranked in the top handful of programmes in the UK by various league tables. We are ranked 2nd in the Guardian University Guide 2019 and 4th in the Complete University Guide 2021, and The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020. The most recent Research Excellence Framework found we produced the most world leading research publications and were top for overall research power in the discipline nationally.
Our ambition is to provide an outstanding education experience for each and every one of our undergraduate and postgraduate students, and for the Department to be a key research node in global networks, known for its agenda-setting research across the range of our specialisms. With over 60 academics, 40 researchers, 40 professional support, administrative and technical staff, 750 undergraduates and 130 postgraduates, we teach and research across the discipline. Our specialisms span from Antarctica, Greenland and the Arctic to Bangladesh, China and the emergent economies, whilst continuing to attend to the closer to home, the North east region in which we are located.
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These are the top ten best universities in the world for studying Geography and Environment.
You may have already noticed that these universities are also some of the top universities among the whole world and enrolling into the Geography courses offered by these universities is really tough (but not impossible).
It is no exaggeration to say that the world’s best scholars of Geography are from these universities, hence, getting into these universities is so competitive.
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