Bachelor in Geography : General

Extending a Batchelor in Geographical Sciences to a Master in Geographical Sciences, will give the candidates access to jobs dealing with the management of territories, including urban and country planning, environnemental planning, geomatics and geomarketing. They will be able to answer specific questions such as:

• Where toset up a new company, a new head office, a new infrastructure?

• What activities are suitable for a given territory?

• How to map the territory and its evolution using aerial and satellite imagery (teledetection)?

• How to reconcile landscape or heritage preservation with (sustainable) development?

• How to protect sensitive natural territories?

Extending a Batchelor in Geographical Sciences with a Master in Environmental Sciences and Management, will give the candidates the opportunity to join the various national and international research programs that aim at reducing the uncertainties in our abilities to predict the future impact of Humanity on our planet. It will also allow them to actively contribute in developing sustainable development solutions at all spatial scales within the society.

The training of the bachelor in Geography is based on the idea that its essence is at the hinge of natural and social sciences. Based on this basic concept, the student develops, from the very first year, analytical competences and expertise in geographical representation of territories. This knowledge base can be mobilized at various spatial scales, from local to worldwide, in a serious of activity domains dealing with interactions between Man and the Environment or interactions between territories. The strong scientific background of geographers makes them good, polyvalent and prized candidates wherever action requires an understanding of multiple phenomenons (natural and social) at play in a given territory, together with the capacity of analyzing these systems in all their complexity. Geographers therefore often act as a link between various sciences and the interests of the Society, proposing a synthesis in a given spatial context.

Most of the teaching units specific to the discipline addressing groups of small size, the training includes practical work, excursions (including several days in Switzerland or in Belgium in 2^nd and 3^rd blocs), fieldwork, personal and group work, but also strong and regular interactions between students, assistants and professors. In the course of his/her studies, the student will have access to computer programs specialized in the treatment of geographical data sets (GIS) and also dedicated libraries, map collections and atlas (carthoteque).

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The Bachelor in Geography offers a strong training in exact sciences (physics, mathematics, chemistry, statistics..), natural sciences (biology, botanic, geology,...) and human sciences (history, economy, sociology,...), spread across the 3 years, and covering both tools and basic knowledge for the analysis of spatial distribution of various phenomenons and interactions between Man and the Environment. From the very first year, the learning process addresses both Human and Physical Geography lectures and also Geomatics. Physical Geography topics deal with the structural build up of territories and their evolution under climatic forcings. Human Geography proposes interpretation schemes to the spatial distribution of men and their activities at various scales (from town to continent) across the world.

To support these analyses, methodological lectures and practical works introduce the mandatory tools for the Geographer, from the reading and critical interpretation of maps to its own conception of maps and indicators, through mastering of geographical data and geographical information systems. From the second annual "bloc", the student will be able to approach more specific topics, while choosing a preferred orientation in Environmental Sciences or in Social Sciences.

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• Holistic approach combining physical and social sciences to understand the Interactions between Man and its Environment

• Specific Geographical teaching from the very first year

• Focus on practical work

• During the year you will be in close contact with the teaching staff and the teaching assistant, due to the relatively small size of the groupss

• Geography topics will be accessible from the very beginning of the cursus

• Access to multiple facilities such as:

  • Laboratories

  • Dedicated Libraries

  • Two computer rooms equipped with PC's, and access to the larger facilities of the Faculty

  • A "cartotheque" with atlas, old and new topographic and thematic maps, aerial photography...

• Pleasant social life in Brussels, the administrative heart of Europe

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