Loughborough University
Leicestershire, UK
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Loughborough University

Programme Specifications

Programme Specification

BA (Hons) History and Geography (2017 entry)

Academic Year: 2017/18

This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if full advantage is taken of the learning opportunities that are provided.

This specification applies to delivery of the programme in the Academic Year indicated above. Prospective students reviewing this information for a later year of study should be aware that these details are subject to change as outlined in our Terms and Conditions of Study.

This specification should be read in conjunction with:

  • Summary
  • Aims
  • Learning outcomes
  • Structure
  • Progression & weighting

Programme summary

Awarding body/institution Loughborough University
Teaching institution (if different)
Owning school/department Department of Politics, History and International Relations - pre 2018
Details of accreditation by a professional/statutory body
Final award BA (Hons)/BA (Hons)+DPS/BA (Hons)+DIntS
Programme title History and Geography
Programme code EUUB07
Length of programme The duration of the programme is 6 semesters (three year programme), 8 semesters (four year programme) or 6 semesters plus one academic year (four-year thick sandwich programme)
UCAS code VF18/VF1V
Admissions criteria

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/departments/phir/historyandgeography/

Date at which the programme specification was published Tue, 01 Aug 2017 15:28:33 BST

1. Programme Aims

  • To provide students with an intellectually-stimulating environment within which they can develop knowledge, understanding and skills in both History and Geography.
  • To encourage a sense of enthusiasm for History and Geography; to foster critical, creative and independent thinking; and to develop a sensitive and disciplined approach.
  • To stimulate productive reflection on the similarities and differences between modes of study in both subjects.
  • To develop competence and practical skills which are transferable to a wide range of professions and employment as well as life experiences.

2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:

  • QAA History Benchmark Statement
  • QAA Geography Benchmark Statement

3. Programme Learning Outcomes

3.1 Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • the idea of academic disciplines as dynamic, plural and contested; developed within the broader framework of the social sciences and humanities;
  • the potential applications of concepts within a broader critical framework;
  • the main methodologies used in the analysis and interpretation of texts, other sources and data;

and within the History portion of the programme:

  • past societies and historical processes over a chronological and geographical range;
  • the use of primary evidence in historical argument;
  • History as an academic discipline, its schools of interpretations, and the variety of methodological approaches and theoretical foundations;

and within the Geography portion of the programme:

  • a range of environments, in the broadest sense, of environmental processes and the impacts of these processes on human activities and vice versa;
  • the ways in which representations and interpretations of the world are socially-constructed, and the forms of geographical difference;
  • the determinants of temporal and spatial variation in the physical, social, economic and political worlds; and the significance of spatial and temporal scale on physical processes, human processes and on their interactions;
  • past patterns of environmental and social changes, and of the processes and conditions that have determined those changes, and the implications for the future.

3.2 Skills and other attributes

a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

  1. demonstrate a reflexive approach to learning;
  2. abstract and synthesise information;
  3. assess the merits of contrasting theories, explanations and arguments;
  4. critically evaluate and interpret a range of evidence, including texts, other sources and data;
  5. undertake problem-solving and decision-making;
  6. develop a reasoned argument;
  7. solve problems with imagination and creativity;

additionally, within the History portion of the programme:

  1. appreciate the complexities and diversity of past events and mentalities;
  2. show a critical awareness of the problems inherent in historical sources and in interpreting the past;

and within the Geography portion of the programme:

  1.  recognise and critically debate the moral and ethical issues underpinning particular geographical debates or enquiries;
  2.  appreciate the importance of geographical scale to understanding physical, natural and social environments.
b. Subject-specific practical skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

  1. combine and interpret different types of evidence;
  2. design and execute a piece of research and produce a report;

additionally, within the History portion of the programme:

  1. present cogent and persuasive arguments in oral, written and practical form;
  2. critically assess the effectiveness and value of a wide range of oral, written and performed communications;
  3. locate and retrieve information using a variety of research methods;

additionally, within the Geography portion of the programme:

  1. undertake safe and effective field and laboratory work;
  2. employ a range of survey skills for the collection of qualitative and quantitative data and to use appropriate methods for the analysis of these data;
  3. prepare effective maps and diagrams using a range of appropriate technologies.
c. Key transferable skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should have:

  1. Verbal and written communication skills.
  2. Numeracy and computational skills.
  3. Field and laboratory skills.
  4. Spatial awareness and observational skills.
  5. IT and information handling and retrieval.
  6. Independent study and group work.
  7. Time management
  8. Creativity and intellectual maturity. 

4. Programme structure

4.1

(1)       Modules with a total modular weight of 60 must be studied in each academic year (Parts A, B and C) from both History and Geography.

(2)       Candidates must take at least 20 credits in History and 20 credits in Geography in each Semester.

(3)       Candidates must take a total modular weight of 120 in each Part with a minimum module weight of 50 in each semester, taking into account both compulsory and optional modules.

(4)        Due to timetabling constraints, not all option combinations may be available.

 

4.2       Content

Students must be registered for a minimum of 50 credits and a maximum of 70 credits in each semester.

(1) Part A – Introductory Modules

History Component

(i) Compulsory Modules (total modular weight 60 Credits)

 Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

EUA001

Introduction to Academic Studies

1

10

EUA701

Modern Europe: From the Enlightenment to the Present

1

20

EUA703

Modern World History: New Perspectives (20 credit)

2

20

EUA704

What is History?

2

10

(ii)  Optional Modules

 None

Geography Component

(i) Compulsory Modules (total modular weight 60 Credits)

 

Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

GYA004

Geographies of Global Economic Change

1

10

GYA007

Cartography, Digital Mapping and GIS

1

10

GYA101

Earth System Science

1

10

GYA003

Quantitative Methods in Geography

2

10

GYA104

Geographies of Identity

2

10

GYA110

Environmental Hazards: from mitigation to management

2

10

(ii)  Optional Modules

 None

 

(2) Part B – Degree Modules

Students must be registered for a minimum of 50 credits and a maximum of 70 credits in each Semester

History Component

(i)  COMPULSORY MODULES

 Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

One module from:

 

 

EUB708

Crafting a Dissertation

2

10

GYB327

Geographical Research: Design and Practice

1 & 2

20

 

(ii)  OPTIONAL MODULES (total modular weight 60 Credits, 30 in each semester)

Candidates should note that combinations of modules of the same titles but with different credit-weightings are mutually exclusive.  If module EUB708 is chosen, this forms part of the 30 credits in Semester 2.

History optional modules are likely to cover:

  • European History

  • History in the 19th Century

  • Global History

  • British History

Geography Component

(i)  COMPULSORY MODULES

None

(ii)  OPTIONAL MODULES

 Candidates must choose a combined modular weight of 60 from Geography modules over Semesters 1 and 2, of which a minimum of 40 must be from Group 1.  Fieldcourse modules are mutually exclusive. If module GYB327 is chosen, this forms part of the 60 credit combined modular weight.

 Geography - Group 1 

Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

GYB201

Remote Sensing and GIS

1 & 2

20

GYB210

Globalization

1 & 2

20

GYB220

Geographies of Social Difference

1 & 2

20

GYB230

Earth Surfaces Processes and Landforms

1 & 2

20

GYB240

Environmental Systems and Resource Management

1 & 2

20

GYB327

Geographical Research: Design and Practice

1 & 2

20

 

Geography – Group 2

Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

GYB311

River Ecology

1

10

GYB322

Lake Systems Dynamics

1

10

GYB328

Physical Geography Fieldcourse

1

20

GYB901

Human Geography Fieldcourse

1

20

GYB110

Sustainable Urban Geographies

2

10

GYB113

Geographies of Culture, Media and Representation

2

10

GYB308

Forest Ecology

2

10

GYB320

Global Migration

2

10

GYB400

Exploring the Ice Ages

2

10

 

(3)          Part I

Candidates following the four-year programme are required to undertake an academic year abroad (Part I) which occurs between Part B and Part C at a French-, German- or Spanish-speaking university, following an approved course of study leading to the Diploma in International Studies in accordance with Senate Regulation XI.  Candidates may also follow an approved course of study at a foreign university where teaching is in English leading to the Diploma in International Studies in accordance with Senate Regulation XI.

Candidates following the four-year thick sandwich programme are required to spend the third academic year (Part I) EITHER undertaking an approved Assistantship at a school or other approved placement in a French-, German- or Spanish-speaking country, leading to the Diploma in International Studies in accordance with Senate Regulation XI, OR undertaking an approved placement in the UK or abroad leading to the Diploma in Professional Studies in accordance with Senate Regulation XI.  Participation in study abroad or a placement is subject to Departmental approval and satisfactory academic performance during parts A and B.

 

(4)          Part C – Degree Modules

Students must be registered for a minimum of 50 credits and a maximum of 70 credits in each Semester. Credits for the Dissertation in History module must be split equally (20:20) across both semesters.  Credits for the Geography Dissertation may be split between Semesters in the ratio of either 20:10 or 10:20 depending on the balance of other modular weights selected.

(i)           COMPULSORY MODULES (total modular weight 30 or 40 Credits)

Code

Title

Semester

Module Weight

EITHER:

 

 

EUC701

Dissertation in History

1 & 2

40

OR:

 

 

GYC400

Geography Dissertation

1 & 2

30

 

(ii)          History Modules (total modular weight 20 or 60 Credits)

Candidates who have chosen to take EUC701 Dissertation in History (40 credits) must take a further 20 credits of History optional modules.  Candidates who have chosen GYC400 Geography Dissertation (30 credits) must choose 60 credits of History optional modules.

 History optional modules are likely to cover:

  • British Political History

  • Global History

  • History in the 20th Century

Geography Modules (total modular weight 30 or 60 Credits)

Candidates who have chosen to take GYC400 Geography Dissertation (30 Credit) must take a further 30 Credits of Geography optional modules.  Candidates who have chosen EUC701 Dissertation in History (40 Credit) must choose 60 credits of Geography optional modules.  Candidates must choose a combined modular weight of 60 from Geography modules over Semesters 1 and 2, of which the Geography Dissertation GYC400 is part.  GYC401 instances 1 & 2 are mutually exclusive.

 

Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

GYC104

Glacial Environments and Landscapes

1

10

GYC208

Aeolian Processes and Landforms

1

20

GYC211

Snow, Ice and Society

1

10

GYC212

Globalised Urbanisation

1

20

GYC226

Geographies of Work and Life

1

10

GYC308

Global Cities Fieldcourse

1

20

GYC309

Feminist Geographies of Home

1

10

GYC315

Environmental Change and Ecological Response

1

10

GYC401

Independent Geographical Essay (instance 1)

1

20

GYC904

Island Biogeography Fieldcourse: Tenerife

1

20

GYC905

Livelihoods of the Global South Fieldcourse

1

20

GYC907

Arctic Glaciers Fieldcourse

1

20

GYC107

Regional Worlds

2

20

GYC108

Climate and Society

2

10

GYC110

GIS, Modelling and Flood Risk Management

2

10

GYC200

Conservation: Principles and Practice

2

10

GYC214

Geographies of Children and Youth

2

10

GYC300

River Dynamics and the Environment

2

10

GYC325

Geographies of Transnational Immobility and Diaspora

2

20

GYC401

Independent Geographical Essay (instance 2)

2

20

 

5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award

 

5.1 In order to progress from Part A to Part B, from Part B to C, and to be eligible for the award of an Honours degree, candidates must not only satisfy the minimum credit requirements set out in Regulation XX but also achieve a module mark of at least 30% in all modules in each Part.

5.2 Provision will be made in accordance with Regulation XX for candidates who have the right of reassessment in any Part of the programme to undergo re-assessment in the University's special assessment period.

 

6. Relative Weighting of Parts of the Programme for the Purposes of Final Degree Classification

Candidates' final degree classification will be determined on the basis of their performance in degree level Module Assessments in Parts B and C. The percentage mark for each Part will be combined in the ratio Part B 40%, Part C 60% to determine the final programme percentage mark.

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