European universities offer a wide range of geography courses, both broad and specialised. Claudia Iordache explains how geography skills can lead to an exciting range of careers

Have you ever wondered how you can predict the weather? Or how an avalanche is created and what causes it? Or how some cities have managed to make such great use of their accommodation spaces?

Geography is a field of study that offers responses to these kinds of questions. People choosing to study one specialisation or another under the geography umbrella have a very intense will to discover the world around them, to understand how it works. The main goal is to preserve it or change it for the good of all of us.

Geography is a multi–disciplinary topic which includes specialisations such as: physical geography (which includes: geology studies, climatology, hydrology, bio-geography, geomorphology, space analysis and remote sensing, etc.), human geography (social-economic studies, urban planning, demography, population and settlement studies, etc.) or services (tourism and hotel management, teaching, geography of transportation, alternative energy studies, etc.). Also, many of these courses include analysis and methodology classes on: GIS, statistics, cartography and topology.

Universities across Europe have an education structure based on the Bologna Declaration, meaning: bachelor (three years), master’s (two years) and PhD (three years). International students are welcome to register in one of these stages of education. Also, the European Union education programme - ERASMUS - offers the possibility of student exchange for three to twelve months. For more information, check with your university for ERASMUS agreements with other universities.

Also, Geography students across Europe have the opportunity of meeting their peers through the European Geography Association for Students and Young Geographers (EGEA), which aims to provide a platform to enable students and young geographers to exchange knowledge regarding geographical topics, travel across the continent and improve their social and scientific skills via training and conferences. With this, we wish to offer extra-curricular opportunities to geography students. For more information, please visit the website at www.egea.eu

Geography prepares global, open-minded, adaptable citizens. Many Geography graduates are now working in scientific research at different institutes across the world, in administration or private companies on water management, urban planning, tourism management, journalism and media and space analysis agencies among others.

Written by Claudia Iordache
President
European Geography Association for Students and Young Geographers