University of Glasgow

Geography at Glasgow

Hi, I didn't manage to make it to the open days because I live far away :frown:

I was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me about their experience of studying geography at Glasgow, what the course was like, if they liked it, any benefits or drawbacks etc
I'm thinking about applying here for 2017 so I really appreciate any help you can give me :smile:

Also any information about studying here in general is very useful :smile:

(Btw I am currently in upper sixth studying French, Italian and Geography at A2)

Reply 1

Ohmycosh

I can't speak about Geography, but if you have any general questions about life at Glasgow I can answer :smile:

University of Glasgow

Visit website

Reply 2

Libertë

Original post by Ohmycosh

I can't speak about Geography, but if you have any general questions about life at Glasgow I can answer :smile:

ooh thank you, that would be really helpful :smile:

I don't have any specific questions as such, I was just wondering what it is like to study there and what the various benefits and drawbacks are 🌸

Reply 3

Ohmycosh

It's really nice studying here, there's a lot of societies and sports teams, so you'll be able to find something that you're interested in most likely. The library is pretty nice too, but often really busy around the afternoon.

Also a nice thing about Glasgow over other unis is that in the first year you'll take 3 subjects, which makes a lot of people decide to change their degree (including me) and in second year you'll take 2 subjects.

I can't think of many drawbacks other than it can be kind of hard to find a flat after you leave halls, but most cities are like that :smile:

also depends on how you view it but exams are in December and not January, so while you'll get Christmas free of work (which is as good as it sounds) there's a stressful period where you have lectures and need to revise at the same time.

Other than that the West end of Glasgow is really nice, and there's a lot to do here as well as in the city center which is a few mins away by the subway, but the West end can be expensive.

If you think of questions feel free to message me :smile:

Reply 4

natalie9rees

Hi, I like how positive you are about UoG!

I'm holding an offer from the Uni to begin in 2017, and am wondering how safe/secure you feel in Glasgow? I have a friend who has warned me about its high crime rates, but we're from a small city so perhaps it's just a contrast to ours.
It's not exactly a factor that's putting me off but what has your experience been like in terms of campus security and in the city in general?

Reply 5

Ohmycosh

Original post by natalie9rees

Well I came from London so I am used to a fairly high crime rate, but as long as you live in the West End of Glasgow you'll be fairly safe (maybe apart from Maryhill - pretty dodgy area). I feel way safer here than I do back in London, which is really nice. Usually I'm fine walking around on my own here after midnight.

On campus it's even better, I rarely see security around but I feel safe anyway, I've not seen anything dodgy around campus.

The city centre is a bit different, but I'm not usually on my own that late around there anyway.

Reply 6

natalie9rees

Original post by Ohmycosh

Thats great to know! Thanks for the reply!

Reply 7

Friffinghell

Is it physical or human geography that you are interested in?

The 1st year course caters for both - I know that some people do struggle when it's the parts of the course that they're not interested in.

That said, the course is interesting and has a high number of subscribers. The course is forever changing as well to stay relevant and a lot of the lecturers are eminent in their fields.

You tend to get 3 lectures a week (1hr), and then once every two weeks you have a tutorial (1hr) which is a small group session around a table and the alternating two weeks you have a lab (3hrs) which is where you do your field work and more practical group work.

Drawbacks of Glasgow are that it is quite a spread out campus. If you have two lectures back to back it means that you have 10 minutes to get across the West End of Glasgow (not fun in the rain!).
Pros - it's a friendly campus. You can get as involved as you want with societies - there's always lots going on. Geogsoc is a particularly well attended society if you want to nerd out with fellow geographers!

Reply 8

Friffinghell

Re: Crime rates in Glasgow. It's really not any different from any other large city. General rule of thumb is that if you stay away from dodgy areas/clubs you're not going to see any trouble. You're guaranteed to see a scuffle at the city centre taxi ranks at 3am on a Friday night out - but that's about it.