Aerial view of Toronto with ice in lake

Geography

The Cambridge geography course is one of the most diverse undergraduate degrees; it emphasises the interactions between the human and physical sides of the discipline and consequently requires both breadth of ability and flexibility of approach.

department_of_geography_building by Sir Cam

Geography at Wolfson

The course is designed to introduce you to all areas of the subject in the first year before specialising in later years.

Fieldwork is an important part of Geography, and the course includes day trips, and a week’s field class in the Easter or summer vacation of your second year. You are also expected to undertake independent fieldwork for your final-year dissertation, and many students travel overseas.

You can find further information about studying Geography on the University's course pages. Detailed information is also available on the Department's Prospective Undergraduates page.

Toronto harbour with ice in Lake Ontario Gleb Kozenko/Unsplash

What are we looking for?

Geography comprises an exciting, wide-ranging and dynamic discipline which unites environmental, physical and social sciences. Geography at Cambridge involves being willing and able to take on board new ideas, innovative methods, and pressing social issues.

Whether students express a preference for Physical or Human Geography or have no marked preference, we look for an interest in geographical issues broadly defined. An interest in contemporary issues gained from newspapers and journals (e.g. Geographical Magazine, New Scientist, The Economist) is also a good background for studying Geography.

Entry Requirements

There is no single combination of subjects that is especially good for students wishing to study Geography; the teaching programme for Geography is broad enough to encompass those whose primary interests are in the humanities, the social sciences, the natural or the environmental sciences, or any combination of these. It isn’t even essential to have studied Geography at A-level (although in practice nearly all our students have done so).

If you are particularly interested in contemporary human geography or historical geography, then Economics, English Literature, History, and Sociology are helpful. If you are interested in physical geography, then Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics and Physics are useful supporting subjects. However, there is no distinction between ‘human’ and ‘physical’ geographers in terms of their GCE A level subjects.

Please consult the University's entry requirements for Geography for further information.

Applications

Applications to study Geography at Wolfson are submitted through UCAS. The College additionally requires the submission of a written assessment and an online interview, as detailed below.

Written Work

No written work submission is required.

Assessment

Those interviewed will sit a written assessment around the time of the interview. Further information about the written assessment can be found on our applying page.

Interview

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to be interviewed in December (or late March for those who apply in the March round). There will be one or two interviews (in total lasting 40-50 minutes) which will be conducted online via Zoom.

For more information about making an application, please visit our application webpages.  

You can also find useful information on our Application FAQs page.