Department of Geography

We are a world-leading centre of geographic research and education. Our work addresses the most pressing challenges of our time, from climate change in Antarctica to the algorithms that are remaking social relationships.

Welcome to Geography at Durham

“Our success as a department is a measure of the open, inclusive environment we foster for students and staff. Climate change, environmental governance, landslides, natural hazards, geopolitical conflict and territorial dispute, migration, sea-level rise, energy poverty, flooding, debt, austerity and urbanisation; these are just a few of the significant challenges that are confronting us today, and few departments are better placed than Durham Geography to study them. To be a member of Durham Geography is to be welcomed by a community that wants you to succeed and creates an environment to make it happen.”

Professor Cheryl McEwan, Head of Department

Find out more about us

Ranked Joint 1st Nationally REF 2021 based on GPA

Top 15 For Over a Decade QS World University Rankings by Subject

Ranked 3rd Nationally Complete University Guide 2023

Athena Swan Bronze Award in Gender Equality

Welcome to New Students

Welcome to Geography! We are thrilled that you will be part of our community over the next three years and look forward to having you shape and sustain it with fellow students and our staff. Whether you’ve had lots of time to prepare for your arrival at Durham or not, once you are here we look forward to helping you settle in.

Information and orientation activities during induction week and meetings early in the term with your academic advisors are all designed to ensure your time at Durham starts out on a path to a successful educational experience. Read on for a welcome from the Durham University Geographical Society and key information about registration and about induction week. - Professor Cheryl McEwan, Head of Department

Study with us

Undergraduate Study

At Durham, we offer BA and BSc Geography degrees that you can tailor to your interests and career goals.
Postgraduate Study

Durham Geography is a world-leading centre of research and our postgraduate community is central to our pursuit and delivery of excellence.

Undergraduate Study

At Durham, we offer BA and BSc Geography degrees that you can tailor to your interests and career goals.

Postgraduate Study

Durham Geography is a world-leading centre of research and our postgraduate community is central to our pursuit and delivery of excellence.

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Research

We are a large department of human and physical geographers conducting world-leading research that addresses pressing social and environmental challenges.

Our aim is to be a global node for geographical research – a destination and conduit for outstanding researchers from a wide range of countries and backgrounds. Our research clusters function as centres of gravity for new ideas, for experimentation, and for maintaining an environment that maximises our collective research strengths. As we move across boundaries and forge new areas of inquiry, we foster a research culture that is open, ambitious, flexible, and adventurous. This ethos is one we are purposeful about, as staff and students at all levels collaborate to advance scholarship and to share knowledge with communities and partners.

What we're up to

Research Clusters

Featured Projects

Check out our Virtual Library

Outreach

Masters students communicate climate change in The Centre for Life, Newcastle

Explore our research

Follow Geography News and Events

Latest Geography News

Learn about the impact our staff and students have on the local, national, and international stage.
Upcoming Events

Find out about upcoming research talks, conferences, alumni events.

Many are free and open to the public.

Latest Geography News

Learn about the impact our staff and students have on the local, national, and international stage.

Upcoming Events

Find out about upcoming research talks, conferences, alumni events.

Many are free and open to the public.

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Work with us

We are always excited to welcome new people to our community and are committed to thinking, researching and studying globally - addressing the grand challenges of our age on issues such as climate change, security, sustainability, hazards and resilience, mobility, and urbanisation. We embrace different ways of working and thinking across the discipline and beyond that complement and extend the reach and impact of our geographical scholarship.

See our recruitment pages for more opportunities