RESEARCH PROFILE
- Research income: £2.28m (2007-8).
- Current number of academic staff: 42.
- Current number of research students: Approximately 100.
- Current number of postdoctoral: 17.
- Recent publications:
- The International Handbook of Environmental Sociology.
- Development of a Modelling Methodology for the Investigation of Riparian Hydrological Processes.
- Wind Fields & Turbulence Statistics in an Urban Street Canyon.
- Accessible Housing: Quality, Disability & Design.
- Measuring Vulnerability to Urban Natural Disaster Risk.
- Frontiers: Histories of Civil Society & Nature.
- Joint PhDs available: Exciting opportunities to gain a joint PhD with the National University of Singapore, Hong Kong University or Humboldt University (Berlin, Germany).
KEY FACTS
Student destinations
Students go on to become lecturers and research assistants, directors and senior managers of international consultancies; lawyers; consultants for environmental agencies, governments, charities and research organisations.
Head of group/division
Professor Raymond Bryant (PhD Tutor)
Duration
Expected to be two years FT; three-four years PT for MPhil; three years FT; five years PT for PhD.
Location
Strand Campus; some projects may take place on non-campus locations.
Year of entry 2013
Offered by
School of Social Science and Public Policy
Department of Geography
Closing date
For September entry 31 August, for January entry 1 December and April entry 31 March. Students interested in applying for funding should be aware that deadlines for this differ and may be earlier, therefore applicants should view the graduate funding pages at
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources/index.aspx for more information.
Variable.
Fees
CONTACTS
Contact information
Centre for Arts & Sciences Admissions (CASA)
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 7206 / 7208
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 7200
Email
Website
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION
The Department of Geography has a vibrant community of scholars - most are members of one of four research groups: Cities; Environment, Politics & Development; Environmental Monitoring & Modelling. Some members of each of these groups are also members of the multidisciplinary Hazards & Risk group. Staff research also ranges well beyond those groups and involves both individual scholarship and colleagues in other institutions as well as the department. These groups operate through staff-funded research and PhD student collaboration on research projects. The research themes providing the central focus of our international reputation centre on: cultural, political and social change in cities; urban governance and public policy in cities; urban sustainability; environment and development in low-income locations; monitoring and modelling of terrestrial environmental processes and investigations of the politics of environmental policy. In addition, we have thematic research specialisms in: historical geography, geographies of disability, architecture and the built environment, rural development, and remote sensing of the environment.
Joint PhD programme
Exciting opportunities are now available to undertake a joint PhD programme with Hong Kong University or, for topics specifically relating to comparative urbanism, Humboldt University (Berlin, Germany) or the National University of Singapore bringing together expertise in urban (social and/or economic) geography, physical geography, political geography, political ecology, risks and hazards.
Staff interests associated with the research programme and its research groups
Interests:
Aeolian geomorphology, complex systems; physics of saltation, turbulence in boundary layers, vegetation and aeolian sand transport, development of dune landscapes, self-organization models, aeolian streamers, spatio-temporal variability in transport.
Tel:
020 7848 2421
Fax:
020 7848 2287
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Interests:
Natural hazards (wildfires, earthquakes, floods, landslides), environmental hazards (heavy-metal contamination), time series analyses, and confronting models with data in the broad environmental sciences.
Tel:
020 7848 2466
Fax:
020 7848 2287
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Interests:
Health geography; consumption; critical geographies of public health; lifestyles; political economy of food; urban political ecology.
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Interests:
Critical water resources geography; social networks and environmental management; global approaches to terrorism; South Asia.
Tel:
020 7848 1667
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Interests:
Politics of climate change; environmental history; philosophy of science; social theory; North America.
Tel:
020 7848 2622
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Interests:
Historical geography; 19th-century labour protests; public welfare, wealth and the middle class; social exclusion of young people; London.
Tel:
020 7848 2721
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Interests:
Dr Potts works in the broad research field of urbanisation and migration in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly southern Africa. She also works on land and environmental issues in the region in the context of political ecology. Her research on rural-urban migration in sub-Saharan Africa examines migration rates and motivations, rural-urban linkages, urban-rural movements, migrants' land rights and analytical approaches to urban migrancy and migrants within the Africanist literature. In terms of urbanization she is interested in the nature of urban growth, evaluating the ways in which changing economic patterns in most African countries have had profound effects on contemporary urbanization and rates of net in-migration. An important research interest focuses on how structural adjustment policies in most sub-Saharan African countries have affected the livelihoods of the urban poor, as their real incomes have fallen and informalization of the economy has progressed. These two strands of her research have been followed through since 1985 with an ongoing longitudinal research project on rural-urban migrants in Harare, Zimbabwe. She also has a longstanding interest in the nature and provision of low-income housing in African cities. She has recently published two co-edited volumes on development challenges in East and southern Africa, and on African urban economies and in 2010 will publish a new book on circular migration in sub-Saharan Africa which brings together her work both on general trends there in urbanization and internal migration and her longitudinal work on these issues in Zimbabwe. The linkage between land and migration has drawn her research also towards issues of land tenure and land reform in southern Africa, and the tensions between the approaches and policies towards environmental and agricultural issues designed by policy makers and economists, and the experience and perceptions of poor, rural people. Dr Potts also has a research interest in human fertility in Africa.
Tel:
020 7848 1572
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020 7848 2287
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Interests:
Catchment and hillslope hydrology, with special emphasis on the modelling of near-stream hydrological processes and flooding. Examples of current research include:
- ESTEL Model development and application - finite element saturated-unsaturated flow modelling including random walk particle tracking. (in collaboration with University of Bristol)
- Hydrological Processes at Sleepers River, Vermont - measuring/modelling riparian water flow pathways (in collaboration with USGS)
- Flooding -flood inundation and groundwater flow in the floodplain of the River Severn, Leighton Shropshire. (in collaboration with University of Bristol)
- Flood Risk and Communication - communication of uncertainty and the European Flood Alert System (in collaboration with EC Joint Research Centre, Ispra)
Tel:
020 7848 2604
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Interests:
Risk regulation; regulatory transparency; accountability and public participation; regulatory reform; science and governance.
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Interests:
Environmental and social theory; cultural geography; nature conservation; urban wildlife; postcolonialism; Geographies of Nature.
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Interests:
Gender & livelihoods in the global South; women-targeted microfinance in West Africa & Latin America; feminist critiques of citizenship, economy & social inclusion; transnationalism and financial democracy.
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Interests:
Gentrification; urban public spaces; urban renaissance; geographies of youth; architectural geography.
Tel:
020 7848 2243
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Interests:
Numerical modelling of global scale transport and chemistry of atmospheric compounds; natural & anthropogenic emissions; transport sector emissions; greenhouse gases and climate impact.
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Interests:
Modelling land surface and ecological impacts of environmental change especially land use change and climate change; desertification and land degradation in arid and semi arid environments; hydrological processes and impacts in Mediterranean and tropical environments with particular emphasis on vegetation hydrology interactions; tropical forest processes and dynamics especially with respect to tropical montane cloud forests; decision and policy support tools for modelling human impacts on the environment in dryland and tropical humid environments; environmentaol monitoring and remote sensing particularly from aerial photography and ground penetrating radar; Colombia, Ecuador, Philippines, Spain, Italy, Greece, North Africa.
Tel:
020 7848 2280
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Interests:
Human impacts and adaptation to climate change, human vulnerability to natural hazards, international development, sustainable urbanisation, institutions and governance in risk management.
Tel:
020 7848 2462
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Interests:
Earth observation; remote sensing; global biomass burning; atmospheric pollution; carbon cycle; infrared temperature measurement; environmental modelling; volcanology; geophysical hazards; spectroscopy.
Tel:
020 7848 2577
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020 7848 2287
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Interests:
Aquatic ecology; ecosystem
function; river and estuary invertebrates;
ecological responses to environmental change.
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Interests:
Alternative food production and consumption, ethical and fair trade systems, contemporary consumption and commodity geographies, rural development, qualitative research methods.
Tel:
020 7848 2525
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Interests:
Remote sensing; GIS; semi-arid and arid zone geomorphology and geoarchaeology; land degradation and soil erosion; the Sahara Desert, India and Spain.
Tel:
020 7848 2798
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Interests:
Risk communication and management; renewable energy policy; transboundary environmental issues; telecommunications; biosafety; food and pharmaceuticals.
Tel:
020 7848 1404
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Interests:
Political ecology; forestry policy; NGOs and environmental politics; urban pollution; Asia.
Tel:
020 7848 2258
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Interests:
Geography of international boundaries and territorial disputes; use of historical archives in political geography; Arabia and the Persian Gulf.
Tel:
020 7848 1345
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Interests:
Labour mobility and housing within large organisations; allotments and community gardening; geographies of ageing and masculinity; Japan.
Tel:
020 7848 2628
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Interests:
Urban governance and community development; the impact and implications of urban policy; the geographies of disability and the built environment.
Tel:
020 7848 2487
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Interests:
Riparian plant ecology and hydrogeomorphology; landscape ecology; plant physiological variability and its influence on ecological processes.
Tel:
020 7848 1233
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Interests:
Urban climatology; surface-atmosphere exchanges: heat, carbon and water; micrometerological measurements; land-surface parameterisation schemes.
Tel:
020 7848 2275
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Interests:
Urban regeneration and gentrification with special reference to London; the geography of education – specifically choice and achievement; the relationship between gentrification and education and/or ethnicity; change in East London; changes in class structure.
Tel:
020 7848 1693
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ACADEMIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
General entry advice
A first or 2:1 degree (or their equivalent) and/or a good master's degree. Those applying for the joint degree are encouraged to contact an academic at King's to develop research links with the partner institution.
APPLYING TO KING'S
To apply for graduate study at King's you will need to complete our graduate online application form. Applying online makes applying easier and quicker for you, and means we can receive your application faster and more securely.
King's does not normally accept paper copies of the graduate application form as applications must be made online. However, if you are unable to access the online graduate application form, please contact the relevant admissions/School Office at King's for advice.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Completed applications will be accepted at any time prior to the start of the degree programme. However, early applications are encouraged particularly as deadlines for outside funding can fall several months before entry.
PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPORTING INFORMATION
You should include a detailed outline of a proposed research project (500-1,000 words).
FUNDING
Commonwealth Scholarships, AHRC, British Council, Chevening, ESRC, EU, Leverhulme Trust, NERC, scholarships from a variety of national governments, School and departmental bursaries. The Department of Geography also maintains an extensive list of potential funding sources on our website.
Student profiles
Geography MPhil/PhD, or option of joint PhD with HKU/Humboldt/NUS
After studying in Bulgaria and the United States for my bachelor and master's degrees, I chose King's for my doctoral studies. The outstanding research programme in Geography thoroughly satisfies my scientific curiosity in using geospatial sciences to alleviate the socio-economic impact of global ecosystem changes. I am committed to bridging the gap between remote sensing and environmental modelling to study desertification processes in North Africa and the faculty here at King's are highly supportive, internationally recognised experts who have been engaged in many multinational research projects. The geography programme completely stands up to its prestige and I am confident that the skills developed here will help me to undertake a role as research scientist.
During my first year, I have attended several project meetings, conferences, a summer school, and a number of training courses, with topics ranging from grant proposal writing to applied scientific consulting. Some meetings or conferences have involved travel abroad, while others were offered through King's in London, and all have tremendously enhanced my overall learning experiences. The department and graduate students organise frequent seminars as well as social events, and the excellent Modern Languages Centre is indispensable to those interested in foreign languages and travel.
As a geographer, it is particularly exciting to study at King's and live in cosmopolitan London, close to Greenwich and the numerous libraries and museums that the city offers. The unique opportunity to work among colleagues from a variety of backgrounds not only provokes and inspires ideas, but also sustains excellent prospects for collaboration with internal and external researchers.
Geography MPhil/PhD, or option of joint PhD with HKU/Humboldt/NUSI chose to study for my PhD at King's for a number of reasons; firstly that I have maintained a good relationship with my supervisor stretching back to my undergraduate days and secondly because King's remains one of the few places to perform research in the areas of remote sensing and computational geography which interest me most.
I find the Department of Geography a generally friendly place to work and the lecturers are very accessible and willing to lend advice and observations, as well as buy the odd pint on a Tuesday night.
I am funded fully by NERC and this has proven more than adequate for survival and the essential relaxation that must accompany a PhD! During my PhD I have been closely involved with the Mountaineering Club (serving as the webmaster for
http://www.kclmc.org ). This led to an unexpected meeting with the Head of College Administration on the Snowdon Horseshoe, and my old Club the Rifle Club, where I undertook some extra coaching during my second year.
Geography MPhil/PhD, or option of joint PhD with HKU/Humboldt/NUS
During my time at King's I've taken advantage of research training opportunities within and outside the department, along with teaching opportunities. I hope to stay in academia after completing my thesis and the skills I've gained at King's will stand me in good stead for this or other career paths. Highlights of my time at King's include experiences during field research and attending conferences both in the UK and abroad. I recently won an award for a presentation I gave at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly.
Geography MPhil/PhD, or option of joint PhD with HKU/Humboldt/NUSFor my PhD journey, I thought of no other university but King's, not only because of its world-renowned reputation but also of my personal experience here studying for my MSc. King's is an institution not made from grey academics and brick buildings, but from well established academic knowledge, curiosity for the unknown world, and a search for a better alternative; not to mention brilliant students and inspiring academics from all over the world.
I learned from aptly prepared classes as well as from fellow students sharing experiences and enthusiasm over a cup of coffee after classes. I was particularly impressed by my dear lecturers and professors who always paid keen attention to my murmuring about other cultures and societies.
On the completion of the MSc programme in Geography, I felt assured that King's had deepened and broadened my scope of the world. With the support of King's Alumni Bursaries, I am grateful to continue my research to contribute to a better world, which King's has taught me to do so.
Geography MPhil/PhD, or option of joint PhD with HKU/Humboldt/NUSI'm Qing Huang, from People's Republic of China. I'm a full time first year PhD student in the Department of Geography. Sitting right at the heart of London, King's is a place filled with academic opportunities and exiting socializing occasions.
King's enjoys a superb reputation for excellence in advanced learning and academic research. It also attracted me for its strong academic culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning.
For research students particularly, King's abundant funding resources and its clear competition system are really valuable. I'm a holder of KCL- China Scholarship Council joint scholarship. As an international student, this scholarship gives me the precious opportunity to go abroad and pursue a PhD in London, supporting me with both tuition fees and living expenses.
For any prospective students who are interested in applying for a postgraduate research place in King's, my advice is please prepare well and apply early, as the competition is strong - you will never regret choosing King's!
Staff profiles
Geography MPhil/PhD, or option of joint PhD with HKU/Humboldt/NUS
Academics do more than teach and undertake research and I am no exception. Within the Geography Department my main role is to act as one of the master's programme admissions tutors, and the aim is simple - to attract the best and brightest students from across the world to come and study one of the many geography master's programmes at King's. Each year we regularly have over a hundred students from a wide variety of countries as far apart as Colombia and Korea, not to mention from across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the UK. Having this diversity, in addition to the high quality of our graduate students, makes for an interesting and challenging learning environment in which we can all learn from each other. This is what makes that aspect of my job so exciting! Recent master's students now work for national and local governments, NGOs, consultancies as well as in private industries. Our internship programmes help bridge the gap between study and work, and many of our students have found their way into employment through these programmes. We feel that we can make a difference for our students and that once they graduate they make a difference to their own communities.
Discussion and seminars form the backbone of our master's teaching programmes and staff ensure that they incorporate their own research into their teaching. Each of the master's degrees therefore links to a research specific group. This means that our master's degrees are research led, which opens up great opportunities for those who wish to explore their subject in more depth.
My own research focus is on various approaches to understanding welfare in a historical context. I am interested both in the kinds of provision made for the poor, as well as by those with greater amounts of wealth. People often ask me how this kind of work fits into a geography department but the answer is really quite simple: geography plays an important part because where people live makes a real difference to the way that wealth is accumulated and welfare is distributed. I have published research not just on the English poor law and other aspects of poverty but also on the kinds of investments made by the middle class and the way those were used to distribute wealth to members of the family. Although this work is historical it also has a very contemporary feel, as all societies seek to find ways of ensuring that welfare is provided for all members of their community.
Geography MPhil/PhD, or option of joint PhD with HKU/Humboldt/NUS
The Department of Geography hosts one of the largest master's programmes in the UK, with around 100 students joining us each year. We have high academic standards but also aim to create a supportive and exciting learning environment though our selection process, which acknowledges professional and voluntary experience. For degrees related to international development, overseas experience is also an asset. We believe that students should be able to learn as much from each other as from our staff.
Teaching and learning is research led. Courses are taught by leading international academics with experience of consultancy as well as research, teaching includes small group work, presentations and seminars. Opportunities for career development and specialisation will include your thesis and also internships with London based organisations. For example, my own research on policy to reduce risk and loss from natural disasters has led to collaboration between MA students and the British Red Cross.