The Diploma Programme geography course integrates both physical and human geography, and ensures that students acquire elements of both scientific and socio-economic methodologies.
Geography takes advantage of its position to examine relevant concepts and ideas from a wide variety of disciplines. This helps students develop an appreciation of, and a respect for, alternative approaches, viewpoints and ideas.
The geography course embodies global and international awareness in several distinct ways. It examines key global issues, such as poverty, sustainability and climate change. It considers examples and detailed case studies at a variety of scales, from local to regional, national and international.
Please click on the arrow for a detailed breakdown:
| THE LEARNING JOURNEY FOR GEOGRAPHY | ||||
| Unit / Block of work | Key Episodes / Questions | Length of time. | Possible Symbol? | Learner Attribute(s) |
| Changing population | Population and economic development patterns – How population varies between places? | 22 lessons | Line graph increasing | Inquirer |
| What affects the processes of population change? | ||||
| What influences the places people live? | ||||
| Challenges and opportunities – Population possibilities and power over the decision-making process | ||||
| Urban environments | The characteristics and distribution of urban places, popluation and economic activities | 25 lessons | Urban silohuette | Open Minded |
| How does economic and demographic processes bring change over time to urban systems? | ||||
| The varying power of different stakeholders in relation to the experience of, and management of, urban stresses | ||||
| What are the future possibilities for the sustainable management of urban systems? | ||||
| Global climate – vulnerability and resilience | Causes of global climate change – How does natural and human processes affect the global energy balance? | 22 lessons | Thundercloud | Communicator |
| Consequences of global climate change – What are the effects of global climate change on places, societies and environmental systems? | ||||
| Responding to global climate change – What are the possibilities for responding to climate change and who has power over the decision-making process? | ||||
| Internal Assessment | Planning | 10 lessons | Clipboard | Reflective |
| Investigation | ||||
| Write up | ||||
| Global resource consumption and security | How does global development processes affect resource availability and consumption? | 22 lessons | Oil Barrel | Caring |
| How does pressure on resources affects the future security of places | ||||
| What possibilities are there for managing resources sustainably? | ||||
| THE LEARNING JOURNEY FOR GEOGRAPHY | ||||
| Unit / Block of work | Key Episodes / Questions | Length of time. | Possible Symbol? | Learner Attribute(s) |
| Leisure, tourism and sport | Changing leisure patterns – How does human development processes give rise to leisure activities? | 25 lessons | Football | Knowledgeable |
| Tourism and sport at the local and national scale – How do physical and human factors shape places into sites of leisure? | ||||
| Tourism and sport at the international scale – The varying power of different countries to participate in global tourism and sport | ||||
| What are the future possibilities for management of, and participation in, tourism and sport at varying scales? | ||||
| Food & Health | What are the ways of measuring disparities in food and health between places? | 25 lessons | AIDS Symbol | Thinker |
| How do physical and human processes lead to changes in food production and consumption, and incidence and spread of disease? | ||||
| The power of different stakeholders in relation to influence over diets and health | ||||
| What are the future possibilities for sustainable agriculture and improved health? | ||||
| Power, Places, Networks | How does global power and influence vary spatially? | 15 lessons | TNC logos | Inquirer |
| How do different places become interconnected by global interactions? | ||||
| How do political, technological and physical processes influence global interactions? | ||||
| Human Development and Diversity | What ways of supporting the processes of human development exist? | 15 lessons | Rainbow Flag | Principled |
| How do global interactions bring cultural influences and changes to places? | ||||
| What is the varying power of local places and actors to resist or accept change? | ||||
| Risk and Resilience | How do technological and globalizing processes create new geopolitical and economic risks for individuals and societies? | 15 lessons | Skype Logo | Caring |
| How do global interactions create environmental risks for particular places and people? | ||||
| What are the new and emerging possibilities for managing global risks? | ||||