Department of Geography, Cambridge

Undergraduate study

Geography is one of the most exciting subjects to study at university. We live in an interdependent world caught up in chains of events which span the globe. We depend upon an increasingly fragile physical environment, whose complex interactions require sophisticated analysis and sensitive management.

Postgraduate study

The Department has a large community of postgraduate students. Many are working for the PhD degree, awarded on the basis of individual research and requiring three years of full-time study. The Department of Geography also runs a range of Masters/MPhil courses.

People in the Department

The Department’s staff publish regularly in hundreds of separate publications, and attract research funding from a wide variety of sources.

Research groups

Research in the Department of Geography, arranged across six Thematic Research Groups and two Institutes, covers a broad range of topics, approaches, and sites of study. Our expertise, individually and in collaboration, is both conceptual and applied.

Latest news

Dr Matthew Adeleye awarded UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship

19th July, 2024

A huge congratulations to Dr Matthew Adeleye who have been awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. Matthew's project is 'Integrating past and present ecologies, and traditional knowledge for effective biodiversity management into the future' (IPPET).

The project aims to integrate local/Indigenous perspectives, past and present ecological methods to develop robust palaeoecological baseline specifically tailored to inform wetland conservation and management framework in the Great Fen (UK), Ramsar sites in Alderney (Channel Island) and Tasmania (Australia), as well as Nigeria and Príncipe Island. This will involve working closely with Indigenous and non-Indigenous land managers, including the Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation, Cradle Coast Natural Resource Management, Wildlife Trust (UK and Alderney), Dig Alderney, and Fundação Príncipe.

Professor Michael Chisholm FBA, 1931-2024

18th July, 2024

It is with sadness that we announce the death of Prof. Michael Chisholm at the age of 93. Michael first joined the Department as an undergraduate in the 1950s. He returned as the 1931 Chair of Geography in 1976 and served as Head of Department between 1976 and 1984. Michael was a distinguished economic geographer, publishing a number of books read by generations of students. After retirement he gave immense time to public service and policy, nationally and locally. He deeply loved Cambridge, the city and its region. We have passed on our condolences to his family.

60 things you didn't know about family, marriage, work, and death since the middle ages

11th July, 2024

Launching on World Population Day (and also, by coincidence, our 60th anniversary): a new blog from the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure busts some of the biggest myths about life in England from the Middle Ages to today. New blog posts challenge common assumptions about everything, from sex before marriage to migration and the health/wealth gap.

Professor Emma Mawdsley wins Student Led Teaching Award for Innovative Teaching

28th June, 2024

Each year students across the University celebrate outstanding teaching and student support through the Student Led Teaching Awards, coordinated by the student union. Over 600 nominations were made this year.

Amongst them were two members of the Department of Geography: Professor Emma Mawdsley, who was nominated for 'Innovative Teaching' and Dr Howard Nelson, who was nominated for 'Inclusive Practice'. We are delighted to see their efforts being recognised and celebrated by our students and congratulate Emma on winning the Innovative Teaching Award.

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