Undergraduate Level 1 Optional Modules 2025-26 Guide

Optional Modules

Choose 20 credits:

BSc Geography - Level 1 – 2025-26

Core modules

100 credits:

Optional Modules

Choose 20 credits:

BSc Environmental Science - Level 1 – 2025-26

Core modules

100 credits:

Optional Modules

Choose 20 credits:

Module Descriptions

GPL103 Climate Action

Humans are altering the climate, with significant impacts on livelihoods, wellbeing, equality, and the environment across the globe.  While international organisations and governments are crucial in mitigating and adapting to these threats, individual and small group collective action are also essential in creatively exploring how the necessary changes can be realistically and equitably implemented. This module uses the Sheffield community as a Living Lab.  Focusing on one aspect of daily life in which there is potential for more mitigation or better adaptation, you will identify and plan an investigation or intervention (a ‘project’) to take a step towards more or better climate action.  You will need to justify your choices by elaborating on what you would consider success, how you would deliver it, as well as assessing the impact of its wider implementation. 

GPL111 Why Geography Matters

Geography helps us plan for the future by investigating social and physical processes as they interconnect from the past through to the present. Geographers actively contribute to contemporary debates across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.  We address some of the most pressing issues facing the modern world linking to social justice and environmental change.  Serving as a bridge between the general introductory modules, and the more specialist modules taught at levels 2 and 3, this module provides an opportunity for you to engage with topical issues in contemporary human and physical geography led by academics actively engaged in cutting edge research who are informing real world policy and practice.  The module provides a challenging but accessible insight into the origins of the discipline and how these translate into the cutting edge of contemporary geographical research, and how this helps us understand and contribute to our changing world.  The module will also begin to highlight how knowledge is always produced and reflective of those who produce it in ways that reinforce the positionality of some and silence others.

GPL112 Cities and Inequality

Cities are the primary living spaces of more than half of humanity and are therefore at the centre of debates about growing forms of material and social inequality. Urban studies today is at the forefront of research efforts addressing multiple forms of inequality that include ecological, housing, wealth, gender, and other forms.  Cities and Inequality will introduce you to many of the problems and divisions that are present across much of our global urban condition. The module pays particular attention to the multiple forms of inequality that pervade urban life and brings you into discussions about the kind of responses that might be developed to challenge conditions that hold back large sections of urban populations.  We will focus on a broad set of forms of inequality and uses diverse case examples from around the globe to bring these issues to life politically, socially, economically and in terms of debates around geography, planning and urban studies more broadly. 

GPL113 Housing and Home

Issues relating to housing, homes, streets and neighbourhoods that we live in are in the news every day. Whether this is over concerns about housing shortages, affordability, 'generation rent', social housing, evictions, Covid lockdowns, housing condition, domestic violence, flooding, or informal housing, housing is often at the centre of social science research.  In this module, we will develop a critical appreciation for housing and home, questioning some of the taken for granted assumptions that are often prominent in public debates. The module aims to introduce you to this broad and diverse subject by drawing on the expertise of staff who research across these multiple themes. The module focuses on contemporary concerns, while maintaining an appreciation of the impact of historical trends. The module will make use of cases from the UK and internationally to illustrate trends and challenges, making connections which span diverse global contexts. The module introduces you to a range of concepts and debates relating to housing, as well as indicating the linkages to housing and urban policy, developing a more nuanced understanding of this diverse topic.

GPL117 Exploring Human Geographies

This module introduces key principles, relations and processes that contribute to a diverse array of social, cultural, economic and environmental aspects of human geography.  It looks at spatial patterns of power, inequality and interdependence produced by economic and cultural globalisation, how we experience these at the local scale and how they have changed over time.  It outlines key concepts and current debates shaping how human geographers approach these issues by drawing on examples from around the world and at a variety of geographical scales.  It highlights the value of a geographical perspective on the world we live in.

GPL118 Earth, Wind, Ice and Fire

This module introduces the general principles of physical geography for students with diverse backgrounds.  The module seeks to develop a holistic understanding of how the Earth functions as a system, focusing on the functioning of key elements of this system - notably the operation of the geosphere, atmosphere, and cryosphere - and how these elements interact to influence the evolution of the system as a whole. Consideration of the latter aspect will include discussion of the impacts and consequences of alterations to the operation of different parts of the system, such as those caused by past and present climatic change. Finally, we consider how the form of Earth's surface reflects current and past geosphere, atmosphere and cryosphere processes at a range of spatial scales, from small-scale fluvial, aeolian and glacial landforms, to the evolution of continents and large mountain ranges.

BIS130 Biodiversity, Climate and Conservation

Humanity is facing inter-related crises of biodiversity decline and climate change. This module will give you an understanding of the anthropogenic and natural factors that determine the distribution of biodiversity, species' interactions and population sizes, and key biological-geochemical cycles that regulate environmental conditions on our planet.  You'll explore links between biodiversity decline, climate change and ecosystem function, before discussing the consequences for nature's ability to provide benefits to people and sustainability, and the solutions that can mitigate these impacts.  During this module, you'll also take part in field-based training to develop practical skills for identifying and measuring biodiversity and carbon storage.

Languages for All

If you aren't studying a language degree but would still like to experience learning a language at the University, you can do so through Languages for All. Languages for All has a wide choice of languages for you to study at various levels. Visit the Languages for All webpages to find out more: www.sheffield.ac.uk/languages-for-all