Royal Holloway Department of Geography

04/06/2026

Absolutely lovely afternoon sharing pizza and drinks with our finalists. Congratulations on all you have achieved! Looking forward to seeing you at Graduation 🎓

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03/06/2026

Research in Action: Develop your research interests with our experts

At Royal Holloway, University of London, our teaching is powered by cutting‑edge research that shapes global conversations on climate change, geopolitics, geohazards, development, and more. Our students learn from researchers at the forefront of contemporary debates.

In this series, meet the researchers whose work feeds directly into our lectures, labs, field classes, and student research projects. This is what it means to study Geography at Royal Holloway.

Our first academic is Professor Ian Candy, a Physical Geographer whose work focuses on earth surface processes, natural hazards, and global warming. Ian is the first lecturer our students are taught by when they join.

19/05/2026

Love a lunchtime walk ❤

18/05/2026

🍩 New book alert! 🍩

‘What’s in a Doughnut Hole? And Other Philosophical Food for Thought’, by Dr Suki Finn is officially out, published last week by Icon Books.

The book uses all kinds of foods to explore classic philosophical problems. With National Doughnut Week (16th–24th May) underway, the timing couldn’t be more fitting!

🎙️ Suki will be discussing the book on BBC Radio 4 Free Thinking on Friday 22nd May at 9-10pm.

14/05/2026

Our Year 1 students at workshops for our new global challenges modules bringing together human & physical geography to explore climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainability and potential solutions. Great to see students suggesting place-specific solutions that recognise spatial interconnections, power relations and complexity. Having no exams this term means we have been able to introduce new activities and assessments.

12/05/2026

Considering a degree in Geography? Come and experience it first!

Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, is running two summer taster sessions!

A-level students will have the chance to experience degree-level teaching, discover career prospects, and meet current students.

Dates
📅 Thursday 25th June - from 9:30 to 14:30
📅 Thursday 2nd July - from 9:30 to 14:30

These sessions are a fantastic opportunity to discover what it’s really like to study Geography at university.

Sign up using the link below!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxrptEEiIofy8ueTLE8M7dWC_SCrPATd3l6giZKcOGXdB7Jw/viewform?pli=1

All data you provide will be used solely for the purposes of organising the Taster Days and communicating with you about these days. It will only be accessible to the day organiser (Dr. Chris Satow), not passed onto any other parties and will be deleted immediately after the events.

07/05/2026

📣We are delighted to announce that applications are now open for our MSc by Research in Geography, with a current focus on Physical Geography.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work closely with an academic supervisory team to design and deliver a substantial piece of original research, developing advanced analytical, laboratory and technical skills relevant to both academic and applied career pathways.

Our full list of available research projects is now live on our website (link in bio). Prospective students are encouraged to contact the lead supervisor of any project they are interested in to discuss suitability and research direction. Applicants may also propose their own research ideas through discussion with our PGR Lead, Dr Ian Matthews.



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05/05/2026

Climate action is at an impasse. Its political opponents are stronger than ever, its advocates powerless. Almost every major government and corporation expresses their commitment to tackling climate change, yet decades of discussion, governance, and action have failed to stop carbon emissions advancing to record annual levels. How has so little been achieved for so long on such an urgent issue?

In Climate Hegemony: Confronting the Politics of Environmental Impasse, Laurie Parsons shows how the architecture of environmental thinking has been locked into ineffective pathways. We don’t need to be coerced into inaction on climate, because our understanding is constrained by metaphors, rhetoric and assumptions so embedded we have long since ceased to see them. To confront this, Climate Hegemony brings us a human’s-eye view of the climate crisis, building up from lived experience to reveal the interests and politics that underpin the impasse. Drawing on almost two decades’ research at the frontline of global development in Cambodia, Parsons reveals the chasm between how climate change appears in a newspaper, or a policy bulletin, and how it appears to those immersed in the places it affects. From this perspective, the limitations of current environmental thinking become clear, but so too do a great many alternatives.

In this powerfully argued work, Parsons set out how, if we were to rethink the perspective from which we understand climate change, we can build knowledge from and for marginalised communities, from the ground upwards, challenging the impasse and creating new pathways to address and adapt to the social impacts of climate breakdown.

https://press.lse.ac.uk/books/m/10.31389/lsepress.che

29/04/2026

We are pleased to share that two of our placement‑linked dissertation students recently presented their research findings to senior management at Windsor Great Park. Both Hannah and Polly completed their dissertation placements with The Crown Estate, contributing high‑quality research that supports ongoing environmental and visitor experience initiatives within the park.

Hannah’s research explored the influence of age on interactions with green space and the implications for well‑being. During her placement, she engaged with members of the public to understand their use and perceptions of Windsor Great Park. Although public engagement initially felt daunting, it became a highly rewarding aspect of her research as visitors were supportive and willing to share their experiences of the park.

Polly conducted a pilot study investigating water quality in Windsor Great Park. Through this project, she developed new skills in environmental data collection and analysis, working with complex datasets and specialist equipment to better understand the wide-ranging ecosystem services the pond provides.

Both students found the opportunity to present their findings extremely valuable as it offered an insight into workplace‑style presentations and helped build their confidence. They also shared how enjoyable it felt to discuss their results with such a welcoming team, contributing constructively to the park’s future planning.

They left the experience feeling proud of their achievements and are very grateful for the team at Windsor Great Park for their support throughout their placements.

28/04/2026

A team of researchers, led by Dr Alice Milner, from the Department of Geography at Royal Holloway, have identified the most urgent, unanswered questions about peatland ecosystems, providing a global roadmap which can guide future science.

Peatlands are a wetland ecosystem found across the globe in which plants are not able to fully decompose, instead forming peat - a type of soil formed from these partially decomposed pieces of organic matter. Peatlands are exceptionally carbon-rich and can lock carbon away for millennia.

The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment, involved surveying participants to determine which research questions matter most for understanding and protecting peatlands.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-03321-5