Geography and International Development BA (Hons)

Modules

• Year 1 at Sussex

  Your modules

  Core modules

  Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

  Autumn teaching

  • Colonialism and its Afterlives
  • Global Challenges and Innovations
  • Human Geographies of the Modern World
  • The Geographer’s Toolkit 1: Reading, Writing, Research and Fieldwork

  Spring teaching

  • Development Policies and Politics
  • Geographies of Cities and Mobilities
  • Key Thinkers and Doers in Development
  • The Geographer’s Toolkit 2: Maps and Stats

  Your degree

  In your first year, you’ll build strong foundations in geography and international development by exploring how the disciplines have developed and why they matter today. You’ll be introduced to some of the specific, world-leading research being done at Sussex, finding solutions to the world’s most pressing issues. Hands-on fieldwork will bring your studies to life as you explore Brighton and the surrounding area. You’ll be introduced to both disciplines’ interdisciplinarity through key social, cultural, economic, political and development perspectives. And you’ll learn to investigate the world. To do this, you’ll use methods ranging from data analysis to mapping and creative approaches such as film.

  Teaching

  Teaching methods typically include a range of lectures, seminars, small classes and tutorial hours.

  

  50%: Lecture
  40%: Seminar
  10%: One-to-one

  Assessment

  Assessment methods typically include essays, examinations, annotated bibliographies, policy briefs and group presentations.

  Contact hours and workload

  This year of study includes approximately 1,200 hours of work. This breaks down into about 180 hours of contact time and about 1,020 hours of independent study.

  Engage and actively participate throughout your studies to get the most out of your course. 

• Year 2 at Sussex

  Your modules

  Core modules

  Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

  Autumn teaching

  • Critical Approaches to Development Economics
  • Global Geographies of Economic Change
  • Social Justice and Development
  • Understanding Global Migration

  Options

  Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.

  While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.

  Spring teaching

  • Development and the State
  • Environmental Perspectives on Development
  • Gender, Race and Sexuality
  • Geography Overseas Field Class
  • Health, Poverty and Inequality
  • International Education and Development
  • Practitioner and Activist Skills for Global Justice
  • Social Geographies
  • Southeast England Field Class

  Field trips

  Get involved in fieldwork from the start of your course. You develop research, analytical and team-working skills in regions where our academics actively conduct research. 

  In Year 2, you can pick from an exciting range of locations: recent destinations include China, Greece, Marseille, Corsica, Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert. There is also an equally exciting UK-based field trip.

  Find out more about Geography field trips at Sussex

  Your degree

  In your second year you’ll build on your knowledge to explore major theoretical and topical themes in greater, critical depth. These themes range from environmental sustainability and climate change, to global migration and economic inequality. You’ll also explore the value of different disciplinary perspectives for understanding global problems. Our range of options allows you to choose which global issues and theoretical and methodological approaches you want to focus on. You’ll also have the opportunity to develop your own fieldwork ideas and put them into practice through an overseas or UK multi-day field class.

  Teaching

  Teaching methods typically include lectures and seminars with some tutorial time and field classes.

  

  40%: Lecture
  40%: Seminar
  10%: Practical
  10%: One-to-one

  Assessment

  Assessment methods typically include essays and examinations as well as writing blogs, fieldwork diaries and reports, and presenting group project work activities.

  Contact hours and workload

  This year of study includes approximately 1,200 hours of work. This breaks down into about 220 hours of contact time and about 980 hours of independent study.

  Engage and actively participate throughout your studies to get the most out of your course. 

• Experience Year

  Study abroad (optional)

  Apply to study abroad – you’ll develop an international perspective and gain an edge when it comes to your career.

  If your application to study abroad is successful, you’ll have to meet the academic requirements at Sussex and also at the partner university. Find out more about studying abroad as a Sussex student

  Beautiful scenery, welcoming people, and unforgettable experiences, from the Barrier Reef to the Snowy Mountains. I’m so grateful for the opportunity!”James Johnson
  Geography and International Development BA
  Studied abroad in Australia 

  Placement (optional)

  To help you gain experience and increase your employability, you can apply for an optional placement as part of your course. You’ll be responsible for applying for and securing your placement. Our dedicated careers team can provide you with information and advice. If you’re successful in obtaining a placement, this will form part of your course.

  Find out more about placements and internships

  Beautiful scenery, welcoming people, and unforgettable experiences, from the Barrier Reef to the Snowy Mountains. I'm so grateful for the opportunity!”James Johnson
  Geography and International Development BA

  Please note that if you’re receiving – or applying for – USA federal Direct Loan funds, you can’t transfer to the version of your course with an optional study abroad period in any country or optional placement in the USA if the number of credits for the placement/internship exceeds 25% of the total credits for your course. Find out more about American Student Loans and Federal Student Aid

• Year 3 at Sussex

  Your modules

  Options

  You choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.

  While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.

  Autumn and spring teaching

  • International Development Thesis

  Autumn teaching

  • Advanced Sustainable Development: Sustainability in Policy and Practice
  • Decolonial Movements
  • Disasters, Environment and Development
  • Environment and Development in World Politics
  • Geographies of Money, Finance, and Debt
  • Global Work Experience
  • Mobilities and Global Inequalities
  • Slavery, Emancipation and Legacies
  • The Politics of Armed Groups: Rebels, State and Society
  • Visualising War: Image, Media, and Culture

  Spring teaching

  • Class, Community, Nation
  • Critical Hope in Global Health: From Big Pharma to Local Wellbeing
  • Critical Perspectives on Conflict and Violence
  • Critical perspectives on home
  • Development Tools and Skills
  • Development, Business and Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Global Food Security
  • Global Supply Chains: Making an (un)sustainable world?
  • Humanitarianism in Theory and Practice
  • Political Ecology and Environmental Justice
  • Race, Ethnicity and Identity
  • Violence, militarism & (anti)colonialism: Transnational feminist and queer perspectives

  Your degree

  In your final year you’ll focus on the issues and ideas that matter most to you. Choosing from a range of options that draw on the research strengths of our faculty, you’ll engage in the most pressing issues of our time – such as climate change, environmental sustainability and justice, corporate social responsibility, human rights, decolonial movements, refugee movements, heritage and finance.

  If you choose to do a final-year thesis, you’ll develop your own independent research project on a topic you’re passionate about, supported through one-to-one supervision. In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to gain employability skills by combining in-class workshops with a placement in a professional environment.

  Teaching

  Teaching methods typically include small group, immersive and interactive workshops; one-to-one tutorials where staff and students discuss specialist topics; and other activities including field trips, lectures and project work.

  

  80%: Practical
  20%: One-to-one

  Assessment

  Assessment methods typically include group, project and policy work, as well as examinations and longer essays. The final-year thesis can include fieldwork or other kinds of self-directed research.

  Contact hours and workload

  This year of study includes approximately 1,200 hours of work. This breaks down into about 180 hours of contact time and about 1,020 hours of independent study.

  Engage and actively participate throughout your studies to get the most out of your course. 

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.