School History

 

Geography at Nottingham has a long and distinguished history, although the student Geographical Society actually predates the formal department, having been set up in 1923! The Geography department was established in 1934, although degrees in Geography had first been awarded in 1922 under the auspices of a combined Geology and Geography department of the then University College Nottingham.  K.C. Edwards was appointed to the first Chair of Geography in the University of Nottingham in 1949 and held the post until his retirement in 1970. The department became a School in August 1998. 

In line with the overall philosophy of the University of Nottingham, the School of Geography is research-led and was ranked 6th in the UK in terms of research power in the latest research assessment exercise (RAE 2008), with 60% of its research recognised as being internationally excellent or world leading. The staff are, however, equally committed to teaching, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.  The current (2011-2015) Head of School is Professor Andrew Leyshon.

Geography moved into its current accommodation in the Sir Clive Granger Building on its construction in 1967 as the social sciences building. The building is now shared by Geography with the School of Economics.  The School’s physical laboratories have been significantly expanded over recent years.  The David Ebdon Computing Laboratory gives Geography students access to more than 97 high specification PCs.

The School currently has 36 academic staff and more than 50 PhD students.  There is also a range of taught and research Masters programmes.  Research is organised around four research themes (Cultural and Historical Geography, Economic Worlds, Environment and Society and Geosciences). Each theme provides a focus for different parts of the School’s research community, although there is considerable overlap between them reflecting our emphasis on trans-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research.  The School is home to the Centre for Environmental Management, co-sponsors the Centre for Geospatial Science and plays a leading role in the University's Centre for the Environment.

Geography at Nottingham provides a stimulating environment for students and staff alike based on high standards of innovative teaching and research.