Student Recruitment and the Geography of Undergraduate Geographers in England and Wales

Abstract

The health and success of geography as a higher education discipline depend to a considerable extent on the number and quality of students we can attract. It is surprising, therefore, how little research has been conducted on the subject of student recruitment. This paper examines aspects of the marketplace for undergraduate geography programmes in England and Wales using data for 1995, 1996 and 1997 provided by the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS). In addition to a national-level review, this paper also identifies and discusses the flows of applications and enrolments between regions. The results reveal that applications to read single honours geography degrees fell by 12 per cent between 1995 and 1997. Although geography students remain more mobile than the undergraduate population as a whole, geography departments are becoming increasingly dependent on their local region for their supply of students.