That is why geography leads research in interdisciplinary domains such as climate science, global poverty, plastic pollution, sustainability and geopolitics. The threats to university geography departments are even more surprising given the subject’s popularity at school: the number of students taking geography GCSE has increased significantly over the last 15 years, and A level numbers remain strong and stable. By contrast, only 25 per cent of geography departments with more than 40 academic geographers saw enrolment declines. Changes in recent years have been rightly motivated by environmental and inclusivity concerns, changing to UK locations (23 per cent of universities) and non-residential versions (20 per cent). Peter Hopkins is professor of social geography and a Leverhulme major research fellow at Newcastle University.

Source: The Times February 17, 2026 15:43 UTC