Department of Geography

London's evening university

Innovative, interdisciplinary research and teaching addressing today's key social and environmental challenges

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Our research

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Undergraduate (BA, BSc, LLB, CertHE programme enrolment)

Postgraduate (MA, MSc, LLM, MRes)

MPhil/PhD research

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Looking for short courses or certificates of higher education (modular enrolment)? Visit our short course page to browse or search.

Congratulations - outstanding REF2021 result

78% internationally excellent or world-leading outputs. 62.5% internationally excellent for environment.
A great first submission!

Our research

Our research is collaborative and covers the breadth of the discipline, from areas of critical contemporary theory and policy to empirical, policy-relevant research.

Our staff

With over 20 academic staff and many more researchers, teaching and scholarship, and professional support staff, the Department of Geography is a lively and stimulating environment in which to study.

Study here

We offer small, student-focused classes, facilitating quality interactions with your lecturers and classmates, and we offer courses at all levels of study, from short courses to MPhil/PhD.

Contact us

Get in touch with us if you have any queries about studying, researching, working or collaborating with us.

About us

Our Department is genuinely interdisciplinary: we offer international development, community studies and social sciences in addition to geography, and our field trips explore diverse environments in the UK, India and the Mediterranean.

Current students

Read your programme handbook, access Moodle and My Birkbeck for Students, and find information about assessment, referencing, plagiarism and learning development.

Meet our staff

"Our students bring a massive amount to the teaching and learning experience, which makes Birkbeck a very lively and stimulating place to teach."

Professor Paul Watt

Find out more

Fieldwork

A number of our undergraduate degrees include opportunities for fieldwork, which will help you develop your data collection and analysis skills.

Student funding

Securing funding for your studies will be a key concern and we are committed to providing the advice and support you need.

MPhil/PhD research

Our MPhil/PhD programme will train you to conduct research of the highest academic standard and to make an original contribution to the subject.

Current research students

Find out about the ground-breaking and wide-ranging research our current PhD students are pursuing.

Research projects

We are conducting internationally recognised research in diverse areas, including international development, climate and environmental change, geo-analytics and urban cultures.

Geo-Analytics and Modelling Group

We use quantitative and computational methods to investigate social and natural phenomena, including urban dynamics, crime, and coastal erosion.

Ecology and Conservation Studies Society

Established in 1980, this society encourages interest and participation in conservation through a range of public activities.

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Book an open evening

Book your place at our next Open Evening, to find out more about our courses and talk to our academic and student services staff.

Birkbeck explains: Is gentrification necessarily bad?

Dr Melissa Butcher from Birkbeck's Department of Geography discusses the mixed benefits and drawbacks of urban gentrification in London.

Although gentrification causes displacement, it can also bring better facilities and infrastructure to an area, but the question is, 'Who are these changes for?'

Find out more about our research

News

Avoiding Plagiarism Week: Assignment writing strategies using apps & software

22 October 2024
13:00 — 14:00

Online
Book your place

News

What we learned on institutions and entrepreneurship from 25 years of GEM-based research

22 October 2024
13:00 — 14:00

Online
Book your place

News

Submitting your thesis without anxiety

22 October 2024
14:00 — 15:00

Online
Book your place

View all events

Events calendar

Avoiding Plagiarism Week: Assignment writing strategies using apps & software

22 October 2024
13:00 — 14:00

Online
Book your place

Events calendar

What we learned on institutions and entrepreneurship from 25 years of GEM-based research

22 October 2024
13:00 — 14:00

Online
Book your place

Events calendar

Submitting your thesis without anxiety

22 October 2024
14:00 — 15:00

Online
Book your place

View all events

Podcast

Insects and ice ages

Dr Stefan Engels from Birkbeck's Department of Geography discusses palaeoclimatology and how the remains of insects can help us understand abrupt climate change during the last Ice Age.

Comment

An archaeologist’s life (or how I learnt to love the pickaxe)

Ahead of the launch of Birkbeck’s BA Archaeology and Geography, Dr Melissa Butcher, a geographer, discusses her first experience of an archaeological excavation on the Greek Island of Despotiko.

Comment

Public-Private Partnerships viewed through a gender lens

In a new paper, Dr Jasmine Gideon argues that despite their current popularity, Public-Private Partnerships need to be reviewed through a gender lens.