About this course
- Entry year: 2012/13
- Course code: NF88
- Level: Undergraduate
- Tariff points: 300
- Department: Geography and Environmental Management
- Campus: Frenchay
- Duration: Three years full-time; four years sandwich
- Delivery: Part-time, full-time, sandwich
- Study Abroad: Yes
- Programme leader: Dr Tim Gale BA, MA, PhD
- Key fact: This course brings together the expertise of geographers with interests in tourism and environmental management, and is particularly suited to students who have enjoyed studying geography and wish to apply that knowledge to the tourism field. Sustainable or 'green' tourism is an important and growing sector.
Introduction
Tourism may be defined as the voluntary and temporary movement for pleasure of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, and it is the world's fastest growing industry and one that shows few signs of slowing down at the dawn of the 21st century. Indeed, revenue from international tourism has increased by an average of nine per cent annually for the past 16 years to reach US $476 billion (around £300 billion) in 2000. During the same period, international arrivals rose by a yearly average of 4.6 per cent to reach US $698 million in 2000.
The course will introduce you to:
- The phenomenon of tourism
- The organisation of the industry that serves the needs of those who participate in it
- The spatial expression of tourism development in a variety of contexts (namely spa/coastal, urban, rural/wilderness and alpine)
- The impacts of such development upon host environments and communities
- The means by which tourism can be managed so as to make more sustainable use of the Earth's physical and human resources.
For its 10 September 2006 issue, The Sunday Times conducted a survey of the head teachers of leading state and independent secondary schools, asking them to rate the undergraduate provision of universities in different subject areas, based only on their personal experience. For Tourism, UWE Bristol appeared in equal fourth position nationally.
Structure
Content
The course is normally studied full-time. If you study part-time, you can choose how many modules to study each year. Your timetable will be constrained and determined by the teaching pattern for those modules.
Field courses are UK-based in the first year and overseas in the second year. You are expected to contribute to the cost of all field trips, which are subsidised by the Department.
Year One
You take six core modules that, together, provide a foundation in tourism, environmental management and human geography. The areas studied include the environmental impact of tourism, concepts of sustainability, environmental issues, an introduction to tourism and to human geography, and to geographical analysis.
Year Two
Core modules further develop your expertise in the geography of tourism, environmental management and research methods for tourism, while options allow you to specialise in areas such as 'geographies of the New Europe', tourism planning practice', 'global development' and 'tourism, cultures and societies'. You may also study a European language or two of a number of School-wide electives in your second year (encompassing a diverse range of subjects including Coastal and Estuary Management, Geographic Information Systems, The Global Warming Debate and Travel/Culture/Place).
Final year
You will undertake a dissertation (an independent research project on a topic of your choice), and study interdisciplinary issues with students from other awards in the School. This experience of researching with specialists from across a wide range of disciplines helps prepare you for a professional career. In addition, you will look at means of promoting sustainability, and choose from options such as 'heritage, place and society', 'communities, tourism and conservation', 'geography and sustainability in North America' and 'environmental management in the third world'.
Modules are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain up to date and relevant, so some of them may change before the course starts or whilst you are on it, but the overall aims and broad content of the course will remain the same.
Teaching and learning
Teaching methods are varied depending on the module; lectures, project work and tutorials all have a part.
The Department's inter-professional approach includes projects where you will work with students from other disciplines within the built environment. This encourages mutual respect and understanding of the professions which you are likely to be working with during your career, and helps you to develop and practise the skills of presentation, negotiation, communication, and delegation.
The teaching staff provide a friendly, enabling environment for learning. They are also actively engaged in research or professional practice, ensuring that you learn directly from the latest academic and business developments.
Assessment
Assessment is achieved through a balance of coursework and examinations. Examinations are held in either January or May/June. Coursework will be a variety of essays, reports, surveys, design projects, teamwork or progress tests.
You are encouraged to do 'formative work' to prepare for assessments: this does not count towards your marks but the feedback which you receive will help you to improve your performance. Support is available for students who have difficulties with numeracy, IT, literacy and study skills.
Special Features
Placements
After your second year, you can choose to take a year out gaining experience, and to qualify for a 'sandwich' degree. Some students undertake voluntary work abroad whilst others seek work in the UK. A placement connects university with work, allowing you to consolidate your knowledge and skills by applying them in a professional situation in the real world. This experience will also enrich and focus your final year studies.
Some organisations will pay or offer some financial support to students, whilst other students work for voluntary organisations, financed with a period of paid employment before they start. We offer support and guidance to help you find a placement, and you may be visited by a tutor who will also be available if you have any problems.
Study facilities
A range of specialist facilities are provided by the Department. A suite of computer rooms supports software for word processing, data analysis and spatial enquiry. They provide access to e-mail and internet, including Department and University websites which enable you to use a vast number of specialist electronic journals and publications, and resources provided by lecturers to support their modules.
A Project Room provides space for students to work on individual and group assignments, together with a range of materials and equipment. An audio-visual group provides support for photography, digital imaging, filming and sound recording.
You may also use the well equipped laboratories for earth sciences, spatial analysis (including mapping and Geographical Information Systems) and surveying technology, each with specialist technicians supporting both teaching and research.
The Department is based in a large modern building, to which a new set of studios and teaching rooms (designed by a member of the Department) have recently been added:
"The Studios are more of a textbook than a building, an object lesson in functional and sustainable design. They are to function as a learning tool and provide an opportunity for research through their construction, the use of innovative materials and performance monitoring,"
Royal Institute of British Architects Journal, September 2002.
Student representatives sit on a wide range of committees from University to course level, where they can influence discussions and decisions which affect your learning experience.
Careers/further study
Graduates will be well placed to secure a managerial position in the private, public or voluntary sectors of the tourism industry, as one of a 'new breed' of environmentally aware tourism practitioners. Alternatively, you may continue your studies at postgraduate level.
Entry
Typical offers
- Tariff points: 300
- GCSE: Maths and English Language at grade C or above required.
- Specific subjects: None specified
- Relevant subjects: Geography, Environmental Studies
- Access: Achievement of the Access to HE Diploma; achievement of level 2 credits in Maths and English Language.
Advice on typical offers
In addition to the 'typical offer' given here, please read the general information about entry requirements.
Fees
Details regarding fees and funding are available on the Money matters webpages.
For further information
Page last updated 14 December 2011