Human Geography and Anthropology with Placement Year

Human geography and anthropology is a pairing that examines how people inhabit, organise and give meaning to the spaces and places they occupy. Human geography focuses on the relationship between human societies and the physical and social environments they create and transform, examining urbanisation, migration, economic development, climate change, political geography and the spatial dimensions of inequality. Anthropology is the study of human societies and cultures in their diversity, concerned with how different communities structure their social lives, create meaning and relate to each other and to the natural world.

Together they develop a distinctively holistic understanding of human life in its social, cultural and geographical dimensions.

At Brunel University London you will study human geography and anthropology over four years of full-time study, including a placement year and with a foundation year available as an extended entry route. The programme combines the expertise and research strengths of staff across both disciplines, developing your knowledge and skills in ways that each enriches the other. The placement year provides a substantial period of professional experience, connecting your academic learning to applied contexts in research, the public sector, NGOs, international organisations or the private sector.

The typical tariff of 104 reflects a programme that is accessible to students from a range of backgrounds who bring genuine intellectual curiosity about the human world.

Graduates of human geography and anthropology programmes work in international development, humanitarian aid, urban planning, community development, environmental organisations, the civil service, research, journalism, education, health and social care and the voluntary sector. The combination of geographical awareness and anthropological insight is particularly well suited to roles in international organisations, cross-cultural projects and organisations working across different social and geographical contexts. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in human geography, anthropology, development studies, international relations or social policy, using the dual formation of the degree as the basis for specialist or research careers.