Geography
STUDENT HANDBOOK
First Year Undergraduate Programme
2015 – 2016
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DESCRIPTION
Page
First Year Academic Calendar 2015/2016
3
Introduction
4
First Year Geography – Quick Overview
4
General Information
5
First Year Geography Contacts
6
Lecture Schedules and Venues
7
Summary Module Descriptions
8
TI150 Principles of Human Geography
9
TI151 Principles of Physical Geography
10
TI1100 & TI1101 Geography in Practice
11
Success in First Year Geography
12
Module Assessment and Related Issues
13
Description of Grade Performance Criteria
Coursework
13
13
Submission of Printed Coursework
13
Late Submission of Coursework
13
Calculating Your Final Grade in Geography
14
Circumstances Affecting Coursework
15
Absence from lectures and course activities due to illness/other circumstances
15
Absence from scheduled examinations
15
Plagiarism…………………………………………………………………………………………...
15
Code of practice for dealing with plagiarism…………………………………………………….
15
Student Code of Conduct and Welfare
16
Communicating with staff members
16
Student welfare
16
Student code of conduct
16
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FIRST YEAR ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2015-2016
First Semester
2015
Orientation
Monday 31st August - Friday 4th September,
Teaching will commence in the week of 7th
September in accordance with information
which will be provided to students.
Registration will be open from late August. Monday, 7th September
Teaching ends
Saturday, 28th November
Study Week
Monday, 30th November – 5th December
Examinations begin
Monday, 7th December
Examinations end
Friday, 18th December
Christmas Vacation
Saturday, 19th December 2014 – Sunday, 10th
January, 2016
Second Semester
2016
Teaching begins
Monday, 11th January
Teaching Ends
Saturday 16th April
Easter Holidays
Thursday 25th March – Tuesday 29th March
Study Week
Monday 18th April – Saturday 23h April
Exams Start
Examination end
Monday 25th April
Wednesday, 11th May
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INTRODUCTION
Geography is a multi-faceted, diverse and exciting field of study. Geography is the key
bridging subjects linking the Humanities, the Social Sciences and the Sciences. It provides
an insight into each of these broad areas of human knowledge. People’s impact on the
earth, as reflected in the landscape, forms the central theme. The relationships between
society and the landscape are highly complex, multifaceted and often contested. Students
studying Geography can not only acquire an understanding of people’s place in the world
but they will also develop a skill set (Research, Data Analysis, Computing/GIS, Cartography,
Survey Techniques, Laboratory Techniques and others) that is widely applicable to many
jobs and future careers.
This Handbook contains much of the basic information you need to know for First Year
Geography. We recommend you read the handbook fully and carefully, as it is your
responsibility to acquaint yourself with its contents. Staff and tutors in the Department will
assume that you know the material contained in it.
FIRST YEAR GEOGRAPHY – QUICK OVERVIEW
The first year programme in Geography is composed of three modules. Two modules are
solely lecture based and one involves a combination of lectures, and practicals such as field
trips and mapping exercises.
Lecture Modules:
Semester 1: TI150 Principles of Human Geography (5 ECTS)
-Introduces key problems, concepts and contexts of human geography
Semester 2: TI151 Principles of Physical Geography (5 ECTS)
-Introduces key aspects of the physical geography of the Earth
Semester 1 and 2: TI1100 Geography in Practice (10 ECTS)
-A lecture and practical module that emphasizes field, mapping and
laboratory skills with fieldtrip opportunities. (NB: BA connect students will
be enrolled in TI1101 which is a 5 ECTS module).
The lecture based modules are examined by end of semester multiple choice questionnaire
(MCQ) examinations and the practical module is examined by continuous assessment
through tutorials.
We provide accommodation for students to have Geography taught in Irish for those
wishing to avail of these services. Please contact the first-year coordinator.
Please see below for a more detailed outline of each module.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Geography is located on the ground floor of the Arts/Science Building (situated under the
Bank of Ireland end of the Concourse).
Geography
Department
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FIRST YEAR GEOGRAPHY CONTACTS
Questions regarding the 1BA programme or modules:
Dr. Terry Morley, 1st Year Course Coordinator for Geography
Email: terry.morley@nuigalway.ie
Office: 102 Geography
Submission of assessments and assignments:
Ms. Christina Costello, 1BA Administrator for Geography.
Email: christina.costello@nuigalway.ie
Office: 118 Geography
BA International Coordinator:
Prof. Ulf Strohmayer: ulf.strohmayer@nuigalway.ie
Email: ulf.strohmayer@nuigalway.ie
Office 112 Geography
Geography Student-Staff Liaison:
Dr. Siubhan Comer:
Email: siubhan.comer@nuigalway.ie
Office: 107 Geography
General questions about first year or your transition to University:
NUI Galway First Year Hotline team - extension 3999 (091 493 999).
In addition, please consult the 1BA notice board (outside the Department of Geography, on
the ground floor of the Arts-Science Building - Concourse) and Blackboard on a regular
basis. Also consult the 1st year section of the Geography website:
www.nuigalway.ie/geography/.
All other staff contact details and web pages are also available at
www.nuigalway.ie/geography/.
Student Representative
You can have a collective voice in Geography. The student representative is a point person
who conveys student issues directly to Geography, via Dr. Siubhan Comer. Nominations for
first year Student Representatives are welcomed in the opening weeks of the term.
Announcements will be made at introductory lectures in September. If you are interested in
the position of student representative please inform the lecturer at the end of the class.
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LECTURE SCHEDULES AND VENUES
Attendance at lectures is considered mandatory.
Attendance will also be taken regularly.
Both Semesters – TI150 &TI151
Day
Time
Location
Monday
14-14:50
Anderson Theatre
Tuesday
17-17:50
Anderson Theatre
Wednesday 12-12:50
O’Flaherty Theatre
SUMMARY MODULE DESCRIPTIONS
Below are more detailed descriptions of the three first year Geography modules for this
academic year. Please note that the content is subject to revision. The full details of all
modules will be provided by the module co-ordinator via Blackboard. As soon as you
complete registration, you should have full access to the relevant Blackboard sites.
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TI 150 Principles of Human Geography
Co-ordinators
Dr. Philip Lawton
Dr. Frances Fahy
E-mail
Philip.lawton@nuigalway.ie
Frances.fahy@nuigalway.ie
Office
Room 101, Geography
Room 106, Geography
Telephone
091- 49 2314
091- 49 2315
Module Outline:
This course seeks to introduce key problems, concepts and contexts within human
geography. Its focus is a contemporary one: it strives to illuminate the world of today by
exploring and analysing the origin of central issues that make the headlines (or not) in the
media and beyond. The course places lectures alongside the information given in the
textbook; for examination purposes, both are essential.
Major Themes covered in TI150
Cultural Geography, Urban Geography, Political Geography, Environment and Society,
Social Geography, Economic Geographies, Geographies of Advanced Economies,
Development Geographies.
Method of Assessment:
100% End of term Multiple Choice Question Exam (MCQ).
Key Readings:
Required readings will be posted on Blackboard.
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TI 151 Principles of Physical Geography
Co-ordinators
Dr. Audrey Morley
Dr. Terry Morley
E-mail
Audrey.morley@nuigalway.ie
Terry.morley@nuigalway.ie
Office
Room 109 Geography
Room 102 Geography
Telephone
091 – 49 4104
091 – 49 3897
Module Outline:
This course is designed to provide insight and understanding to the fundamental concepts
and principles of physical geography as an academic discipline. In doing this, the course
explores how the physical environment functions; how different environmental systems
interact and how the physical environment impacts on human activities. The course explores
the various components that make up these environmental systems, such as the biosphere,
atmosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere. In addition the course also provides some
understanding of how these fundamentals apply to Ireland and in so doing gives an insight
into the richness of the physical geography of Ireland.
Major Themes covered in TI151:
The Biosphere: Biogeography – species distribution and ecosystems,
The Atmosphere: Weather and Climate,
The Hydrosphere: Rivers
The Geosphere: Coasts
Method of Assessment:
80% End of term Multiple Choice Question Exam (MCQ) consisting of 40 questions.
20% Online quizzes via Blackboard
MANDATORY Text:
Fundamentals of Physical Geography. Second Edition. By Peterson, Sack and Gabler.
Cengage
This text will be made available to you via an e-book access through the Hardiman Library.
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TI 1100 and TI1101 Geography in Practice
Co-ordinator
Dr. Terry Morley
E-mail
terry.morley@nuigalway.ie
Office
Room 102 Geography
Telephone
091 – 49 3897
Module Outline:
This module introduces first year geography students to a range of field-based learning
environments designed to enhance their learning experience and develop their research
competences. Supported by class-based teaching & technical instruction, students
undertake a series of themed tutorials and projects involving observation & measurement
techniques, geographical mapping, topographic & geological data, and relevant methods of
analysis & reporting.
Module Aims:
This course aims to
a) Provide students basic skills for appropriate writing and literature citation in
geography,
b) Introduce field components and provide students with field-based skills in both
human and physical geographies, and
c) Provide students basic skills for mapping, data representation and geographical
information system (GIS)
Practical and Associated Lecture Outline and Content:
A separate Tutorial handbook is provided to students during the first week of
classes. This is the primary from of interaction and assessment for this module.
Approximately every other Monday (see schedule in the handbook), the normal
semester lectures will be supplanted with class-based lectures on the relevant
tutorials.
Students will complete 20 tutorials (10 each semester)*. Your final mark in this
module is reliant on the timely completion of these tutorials.
Students submit all tutorial assessments via a Turnitin link OR online quiz within
Blackboard.
Help sessions are provided to students every Wednesday from 4-6 in room AC214.
Note: *BA Connect students will complete five (5) tutorials each semester for 5
ECTS
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SUCCESS IN FIRST YEAR GEOGRAPHY
Generally speaking, students who attend lectures, complete assignments effectively and on
time, take copious notes, read the assigned readings, and allow for adequate exam
preparation put themselves in an excellent position to pass the subject.
Attend lectures: Attendance at all lectures is compulsory and lack of attendance is one of
the biggest causes of failure in first year.
Complete your Assignments: Second to attendance is completing your work. The main
reason why students fail modules is due to a lack of attendance and/or no assignment
submission (i.e. continuous assessment as opposed to the end of term examinations). In
99% of cases, where all assignments were submitted, the student passed. Only 9% of
students who submitted 75% of assignments passed. All students who submitted half or less
assignments failed the module. Below is a graph from a Geography module that also uses
continuous assessment. You can clearly see that those who passed the continuous
assessment were very likely to pass the course.
Prepare for your exams and assignments: In addition to lecture and practical hours it is
expected that students undertake at least six independent study hours per week per
module throughout the semester. It is extremely difficult to review and adequately prepare
for the exams by beginning your preparations during study week. You are setting yourself up
for failure. Study and review the information throughout the semester. Likewise, TI1100
presents an excellent opportunity to dedicate time to prepare well-structured reports. Do not
wait until the last minute to complete the assignments. Graders can easily see sloppiness
and evidence of hastily prepared assignments, and your grade will suffer severely. The
academic calendar above outlines the key dates for the year. Deadlines for continuous
assessment are normally communicated to you at the start of the semester. One of the most
frequent requests for extensions to submission dates relates to other assignments being due
around the same date. We do not grant extensions for these reasons.
Use Blackboard as a key support - Lecture notes, core readings and detailed course
information for all three first year Geography modules will be made available on Blackboard.
The Student Guide to Blackboard is available at: http://blackboard.nuigalway.ie.
Blackboard is not a substitute for attending lectures! In order to encourage attendance,
lecture notes will be posted up prior to each lecture; however, these will be incomplete, i.e.,
there will be blanks in key parts of the material. In other words, you must attend the lecture
in order to find out what the missing material is and fill in the blanks. All gaps will be
indicated with an asterisk.
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MODULE ASSESSMENT AND RELATED ISSUES
DESCRIPTION OF GRADE PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
The link below brings you to the Exams Office Module Grade Descriptors document for
undergraduate degree programmes. This document provides an outline of the different
grade bands and the level of academic performance required to meet each one.
http://www.nuigalway.ie/exams/gradedescriptors.html
COURSE WORK
Submission of coursework
All work will be submitted through Turnitin or other relevant Blackboard features (i.e., online
quizzes). We cannot accept materials submitted by e-mail for reasons of authenticity except
in cases where an e-mail submission has been agreed with a member of staff.
Late submission of coursework
To ensure fairness to those of you who adhere to deadlines and submit your coursework on
time, penalties for late submissions will be applied rigorously.
Coursework submitted after the set deadline has expired will have the following deductions
applied (out of 100):
Number of days over the deadline
3 days (or one weekend)
1 week
2 weeks
3 weeks
th
4 weeks up to end of 5 week
Number of marks deducted
5
10
20
30
Marked to a maximum of 40
6 weeks
No submission accepted after this date in respect of
first sitting.
A mark of zero awarded for the first sitting
Non submission
A mark of zero awarded
Example of late penalty being applied
Late work marked and awarded 65%
20 marks deducted from 100 = 80
Therefore, 65% of 80 = 52%
Mark returned after late penalty = 52%
We will regard coursework that is still outstanding 6 weeks after the deadline has
passed as not eligible to be included as part of the first sitting examination unless there
are extenuating circumstances that you have made us aware of within reasonable time. In
extenuating circumstances, you may be in a position to seek an extension to a deadline.
You must make this request directly to the lecturer concerned, outlining the reasons for the
request. Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate requests for extensions which arise out of
poor time management on your part, for example, pressure to meet a similar deadline for
another assignment.
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CALCULATING YOUR FINAL GRADE IN GEOGRAPHY
Your final grade in the subject of Geography is the average of the three module grades –
TI150, TI151 and TI1100. The pass standard overall is 40%. .
Several situations can occur: we review these below with examples of actual student results
(NB: previously TI1100 was called TI152 and was 5 ECTS, in 2015 TI1100 is now 10 ECTS):
a) Passing all three modules – Quite simply, if you pass all three modules you pass the
subject and can continue to take Geography in 2nd year.
b) Fail one module but pass overall – You can pass the subject if you pass two modules
sufficiently yet fail a third module. Your overall average must be 40 or better.
c) Fail one module and not pass overall – In this situation if you do not pass the other
modules such that your average grade is above 40, then you will have not passed
geography and you will have to resit failed modules.
d) Fail multiple modules. Should your average fall below 40 overall, you will be required to
resit one or more modules over the summer. You only resit those modules you fail.
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CIRCUMSTANCES AFFECTING COURSEWORK
Absence from lectures and course activities due to illness or other circumstances
If your absence is due to illness, a medical certificate should be obtained and submitted to
Ms. Catherine McCurry, College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies, Office 217A,
First Floor, Arts Millennium Building. If your absence relates to other circumstances, it is your
responsibility to communicate in a timely way with your module co-ordinator, and/or with the
relevant year co-ordinator. You may also communicate with Dr. Siubhan Comer,
Geography’s Student Liaison Officer. If you are experiencing difficulties in keeping up with
course work during the year for whatever reason, you are strongly encouraged to let us
know about this while there is time to offer constructive advice and assistance. If we are not
aware of issues until towards the end of a module, it is usually very difficult at that stage to
provide practical support. You will find that we are very approachable and willing to be
accommodating, and in making your situation known to us, we will regard you as having
acted in a mature and responsible way. It is our wish to see you perform to the best of your
ability and enjoy Geography as a subject.
Absence from scheduled examinations
In exceptional circumstances where you may be unable to sit an examination on the
scheduled date, you must bring your request to defer the examination until the second sitting
date to the Dean of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies. These arrangements cannot
be made by Geography. The first point of contact in this regard is Ms. Catherine McCurry.
Ms. Catherine McCurry (e-mail: catherine.mccurry@nuigalway.ie )
Plagiarism
Plagiarism means presenting the words of another writer as if they were your own. This
amounts to straight copying from other author’s texts, including fellow students’ work.
Copying another student’s essay or assignment is as reprehensible as plagiarising an
academic text. It is a serious matter, and if it is detected in your continuous assessment it
may result in an automatic failure mark. The way to avoid plagiarism is very simple: always
put quotation marks around someone else’s words, credit them to their source, and discuss
their content and ideas in your own words.
Code of Practice for dealing with plagiarism
It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with the guidelines relating to plagiarism and
the
University’s Code of Practice in this regard:
www.nuigalway.ie/current_students/university_code_conduct/index.php#7
Further guidance on recognising and avoiding plagiarism is provided by the James
Hardiman Library. You can access this resource by logging on to Blackboard and selfenrolling in the ‘Learning Centre’. Full details are available at:
http://www.library.nuigalway.ie/media/jameshardimanlibrary/content/documents/support/Skill
s4Study%20Student%20Guide.pdf
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STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT AND WELFARE
Communicating with staff members
For all communications with staff members, do make sure to consult all materials on the
departmental webpages and Blackboard prior to e-mailing additional questions that you may
have. Also, please make sure to e-mail in advance to arrange any meeting with staff
members outside of their stated consultation hours. When writing an e-mail to staff it is
important to be professional and concise. For example, you should make sure that your
opening address conveys a professional tone; e.g. Dear, etc. If your query is directed at
teaching staff, please ensure that your e-mail includes your name, student ID and the
name/code of their class in which you are participating. Please be aware that due to the
large number of e-mails received by academic staff on a daily basis, you must allow time for
them to respond. Finally, please check your NUIG e-mail account regularly as this is the
main way that university staff will contact you.
Student welfare
In the Discipline of Geography, we recognise that students may have particular
circumstances that impact upon their capacity to complete their studies to the best of their
ability. Every effort will be made to accommodate individual circumstances, and we would
encourage you in this regard to communicate your situation to us if you feel we can be of
assistance. You should also be aware of a number of support services available to you on
Campus, whose role is also to help students fulfil their potential both academically and
personally. Details are available on the following link:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/student_services/
Student code of conduct
As a student, you also have certain responsibilities in relation to conduct on and off campus.
The University has outlined a comprehensive explanatory statement in this regard, which we
would urge you to read and be familiar with. Once you accept a place as a student at NUIG,
you are automatically bound by its code of conduct:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/current_students/university_code_conduct/index.php#7
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