Academic news and updates

We are delighted to be supporting Research and Working Group activities over the coming year through the Research Groups grants scheme.

The winners of the 2022 Young Geographer of the Year competition have been announced.

Find out about Collaborative Doctoral Programme PhD student, Alice Oates’s, work to address the exclusion of blind or visually impaired people from space sciences.

Applications for the 2023 Wiley Digital Archive Research Fellowships are now open.

The Society will be collaborating on a new project, led by Royal Holloway, University of London, to document the history of environmental activism.

New guidelines of relevance to geographers have been published for external examiners at UK higher education institutions.

Watch our new on-demand application accelerator sessions and get support for your application for Chartered Geographer (Teacher).

The Society is seeking two new editors for its open access journal, Geo: Geography and Environment.

Don't miss out on the chance for discounted ticket prices for this year's EXPLORE weekend - book by Friday 14 October.

At the SGM on Monday 3 October, the Society's Fellowship voted to amend the Bye Laws and petition the Privy Council to implement a Supplemental Charter as proposed by Council.

New series of webinars to support postgraduate geographers is launched.

Eligible to apply for Chartered Geographer and want to accelerate your application? Find out more about our Application Accelerator series this October.

Apply for undergraduate or master's programme accreditation by the end of September.

We are saddened to hear of the death of Her Majesty The Queen. Our thoughts are with her family at this sad time.

The deadline for the 2022 Young Geographer of the Year competition is fast approaching - submit your entry by Monday 3 October!

As the new school year starts, here's a reminder about the activities and resources that we offer to support the teaching and learning of geography.

Day two of the conference saw a packed programme of events.

Today we welcomed delegates to the first day of this year’s Annual International Conference.

The Society's Council has called a Special General Meeting as it is proposing some changes to our Bye Laws.

Congratulations to everyone receiving their geography GCSE results today.

With just one week to go until the 2022 Annual International Conference, we have put together some programme highlights from across the week which you won’t want to miss.

We are working to deliver a conference that is safer, more accessible, more inclusive and convivial for everyone.

The Society has brought together a new series of resources for grant reviewers - find out more and become a reviewer

Geography courses at Oxford Brookes University have become the latest to be recognised by the Society’s programme accreditation scheme.

Tickets for EXPLORE, the expedition and fieldwork planning weekend are now on sale - don't miss the chance to meet over 100 leading field scientists and explorers for inspiration, advice, and contacts.

We are delighted to announce that the programme for this year's Annual International Conference has been finalised.

Authors and editors mark the anniversary of the Society's Book Series with six reflections

Throughout the last month we’ve been encouraging professionals to take a look at their continuing professional development (CPD) activities.

Join us this London Climate Action Week for our panel discussion and Earth Photo exhibition.

The number of candidates for GCSE and A Level geography rise again.

An exciting new project aiming to increase the diversity of students choosing geography at A Level and beyond.

Discover our award-winning interactive teaching and learning resources on the Weddell Sea.

Our award-winning teaching and learning resources bring the latest geographical research into schools.

Professor James D Sidaway, recipient of the 2022 Busk Award, talks about his work.

Professor Paul Cloke, recipient of the 2022 Victoria Medal, talks about his work.

Our Professional team will be at several high-profile geographical events this May.

This year our medals and awards recognise 23 different people or organisations for their outstanding contributions to geographical research, fieldwork, teaching, and public engagement.

Chartered Geographer status is not just beneficial for your employees, but also for you and your business.

To mark the centenary of Shackleton’s death, the Society’s exhibition, Shackleton’s legacy and the power of early Antarctic photography, will be on display at the Shipwreck Treasure Museum, Cornwall from 2 April.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education has published a new edition of the Subject Benchmark Statement for Geography – the document which defines the standards expected of geography graduates in the UK.

We are delighted to announce the chair's plenary speakers for this year's Annual Conference in Newcastle.

The Society commissioned a survey to discover more about the views of young people on their choices of subjects to study at school and university, and what influences their career choices.

This National Careers Week we are sharing a range of our I am a geographer career profiles on Instagram to inspire and help students get an important insight into the future of work and further learning.  

The Society is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Editorial Board for our academic journal Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers.

We are pleased to announce that nominations for positions on the RGS-IBG Postgraduate Forum Committee for 2022-2023 are now open.

A new exhibition, The art of politics: representing environmental challenges in the UK’s overseas territories, is now available for Fellows and members to view in the Director’s Gallery.

Through Teacher Tap, the Society recently conducted a survey of approximately 2,000 primary geography teachers to understand what support they have received for teaching geography during their careers.

As part of the Society’s commitment to support teachers to provide meaningful, fun and curriculum relevant fieldwork experiences, we are running a range of training events over the coming months for both primary and secondary geography teachers.

Nominations are now open for the 2022 Geography in Government Awards, which celebrate geographers and geographical work across government.

The Society has published a series of key resources for current and prospective external examiners in geography.

This spring we are bringing in the changes to how some of our membership categories are named or structured that were agreed at the Special General Meeting in September 2021.

Last year, we welcomed eight interns, funded by the Antipode Foundation and the Society with support from Black Geographers, to support the 2021 Annual International Conference.

Join our Author meets critics session with author of Respatialising Finance: Power, Politics and Offshore Renminbi Market Making in London, Professor Sarah Hall of University of Nottingham.

Following another difficult year, if you find yourself looking for something rewarding to do in 2022, why not consider volunteering for one of the Society’s regional committees?

Every year we support the Society’s 31 Research and Working Groups through the Research Groups grants scheme.

Every year our medals and awards recognise geographers who have made a significant contribution to geographical research, fieldwork, teaching, policymaking, and public engagement.

The image on this year’s membership card features a photograph taken by Yevhen Samuchenko, Magic Tree. 

The Society welcomed the Cresting team to the Society on 15 December for the Circular Economy: Sustainability implications of a social transformation conference.

The Society’s journal, Area, has this week published a new special section: Practising legal geography.

The Society is pleased to announce the publication of a new guide to support those new to teaching geography in higher education (HE).

We are delighted to announce our plans for our 2022 Annual International Conference which will take place at Newcastle University from Tuesday 30 August to Friday 2 September 2022.

The Society and the Financial Times are delighted to announce the winning and highly commended entries to their joint School Essay Competition.

Over the past few months, the Society’s seven current PhD students have continued to carry out their research on the Collections, as well as several associated activities related to their projects.

There has never been a better or more important time to study geography at university, but the application process, particularly writing your personal statement, can seem daunting.

Today marks the start of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, taking place in Glasgow.

Join us for an interactive workshop revisiting a classic Area paper by Louise Bracken and Emma Mawdsley, Muddy Glee: rounding out the picture of women and physical geography fieldwork.

The first in the final batch of episodes of our partnered BBC Radio 4 series, 39 Ways to Save the Planet, will be broadcast today.

Today is the UN International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, an opportunity to acknowledge the progress being made towards reducing disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health.

The Society’s 45th annual fieldwork and planning seminar this November is a weekend for anyone aspiring to undertake original geographical field research.

The heads of geography departments at UK universities have agreed a set of principles to guide undergraduate fieldwork in the future.

The Society has recently installed a specially commissioned portrait by visual artist Steve Russell to commemorate the COVID-19 era.

To mark Black History Month, we will be sharing a range of content by and related to Black geographers who have a connection to the Society and who have contributed to a better understanding of our world.

Looking to apply for Chartered Geographer status but haven’t found the time? Then our four-week application accelerator programme is for you.

Every year we support over 60 fieldwork projects with our range of grants, many of which have application deadlines in the coming months.

With just one week to go until the 2021 Annual International Conference, we have put together some programme highlights from across the week which you won’t want to miss.

The first in the next batch of episodes of our partnered BBC Radio 4 series, 39 Ways to Save the Planet, will be broadcast today.

Do you have a geographical journey you want to share with others? Can you inspire, entertain and engage a public audience? If so, apply now to become one of our microlecturers in 2022.

The exhibition is self-guided and features 50 of the best environmental photographs and five films that document the Earth in all its diversity.

Ahead of the opening of the Earth Photo exhibition to the public next week, we caught up with one of the shortlisted photographers, TJ Watt, whose images appear in the Changing Forests category.

The newest addition to the RGS-IBG book series, The Unsettling Outdoors: Environmental Estrangement in Everyday Life, is now available to order online.

This week is National Map Reading Week, an event run by Ordnance Survey (OS) which aims to encourage people of all ages to understand the importance of map reading and how this vital life skill can unlock the outdoors and keep people safe.

Congratulations to Professor Felix Driver, Dr Lowri Jones, Vandana Patel and their research team who have received the President’s Medal of the Society for the History of Natural History, for their work on the research project Hidden Histories of Exploration.

If you’re planning a conference, lecture or meeting over the coming weeks and months as coronavirus restrictions ease, look no further than the Society’s COVID-secure venue.

Between 2016 and 2019, the Society supported over 230 projects. We caught up with four of the recipients to hear about their projects and how support from our grants programme aided their research.

The Society has published a briefing report summarising the actions needed by national and local policymakers, planners, designers and developers, and local communities, to achieve the widespread benefits of blue-green infrastructure (BGI).

The annual undergraduate dissertation prizes, awarded by many of our Research Groups to recognise outstanding student research, are now open for submissions.

This week has marked International Archives Week, an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of the effective management of records and the preservation, care and use of the world's archival heritage.

We caught up with Dr Suresh Paul, recipient of the Geographical Award to discuss Equal Adventure – the organisation he founded – and the fieldwork of the future.

The Geographical Journal, one of the Society’s four academic journals, has published a new editorial, The Future of The Geographical Journal: Engaging with Public Issues.

A shortlist of 50 of the best environmental photographs and five films that document the Earth in all its diversity, have been selected for the Society’s Earth Photo competition.

The Society is pleased to be taking part in National Lottery Open Week, an annual celebration of the contribution National Lottery players make every week in support of good cause projects, just like ours.

We caught up with Professor Phil Ashworth, recipient of the Cuthbert Peek Award for his pioneering research methods through modelling of river dynamics, to discuss his career, greatest achievement, and most memorable fieldwork moments.

We caught up with Isabella Tree, recipient of the Ness Award, to discuss the importance of rewilding, changing attitudes to conservation and her advice for getting involved in this work.

Dr Ingrid A. Medby has received this year’s Area prize for her paper, Political geography and language: A reappraisal for a diverse discipline, published in our academic journal Area.

As coronavirus restrictions in England continue to relax, the Society is planning for when we can welcome Fellows, members, staff and other visitors back into Lowther Lodge, our building in South Kensington.

The Folio Society has this week published Everest From Reconnaissance to Summit, 1921 to 1953, an account of five key expeditions to Everest using photography and reportage held in the Society’s archives.

The Society and the Financial Times are pleased to announce the launch of our joint School Essay Competition for 2021.

The deadline for this year’s Earth Photo competition is fast approaching, with just one week left to submit your entries.

Congratulations to our Fellows who were awarded Chartered Geographer status by our Council earlier this week.

The Society’s Climate Change Research Group have announced the winners of their competition seeking the most effective, original and engaging ways to encourage action on climate change.

As part of our International Women’s Day celebrations, the Society's Disaster Risk Management PPG spoke to six women geographers working in Disaster Risk Management (DRM).

Throughout February, we have been sharing resources via our social media that highlight the geographies of LGBTQ+ groups, increase their visibility and better understand their history and experiences.

The Society is home to a remarkable collection of original photographic glass and celluloid negatives captured by Frank Hurley, the official photographer of the 1914-1917 Endurance expedition.

Do you have an interest in the world’s people, places and environments? Join the Society to be inspired by geography and be a part of our community of geographers.

Katy Simms, from Durham University, was the recipient of the Space, Sexualities and Queer Research Group 2020 undergraduate dissertation prize with her dissertation which looks at the effects of mobile dating apps on love, intimacy and identity negotiations for bisexual individuals.

We are delighted to announce our latest online exhibition: Lights and Shadows.

We caught up with former Cherry Kearton Medal and Award recipients Steve McCurry and Tacita Dean to discuss what the award meant to them.

We have a number of volunteer roles available on our Finance Committee, Investment subcommittee and Enterprise company board, commencing in the summer of 2021.

As the time for GCSE and A Level options nears, we will be sharing material and information about the benefits of choosing to study geography at GCSE and beyond, through our social media pages.

Following the cancellation of this summer’s exams due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Department for Education and Ofqual have opened a consultation on how GCSE and A Level grades should be assessed and awarded in 2021. 

We are delighted to announce the appointment of a new editor to one of the Society’s academic journals.

Our Research Groups have done a great job of creatively adapting to a very challenging year. In celebration of their work, here are just a few highlights from 2020.

During 2020 we have produced a range of useful information and resources from our Geography and Core Maths Initiative.

Jonk has won the 2020 Earth Photo competition for his stunning series Coffee Shop, Abkhazia; Hotel, Portugal; Swimming Pool, Italy and Theater, Abkhazia, which depict abandoned spaces reclaimed by nature.

We are delighted to announce our plans for our 2021 Annual International Conference which will take place from Tuesday 31 August to Friday 3 September 2021.

To mark London Climate Action Week, we’ve collated a list of five lectures and talks that you must watch this week.

The Society’s Northern Ireland Regional Committee is celebrating its 10th anniversary today.

As part of Ada Lovelace Day, we asked five of our Chartered Geographers how using geographical thinking has supported them in their careers and why geography is important to them.

In January, we asked our Fellows and members about how they engage with the Society: how they keep up to date with our activities, which member benefits they use, and if they had suggestions for how we could improve their membership experience.

To mark Black History Month this year, we will be featuring Black geographers from the 1800s to the present day who have a connection to the Society and who have contributed to a better understanding of our world.

The Society’s Climate Change Research Group has launched a competition seeking the most effective, original and engaging ways to encourage action on climate change.

The Society is pleased to be considering a proposal for its first Professional Practice Group: a network for professionals and others interested in the field of Disaster Risk Management. 

We are delighted to be partnering with the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) on their virtual conference, which is taking place online this week.

Area, one of the Society’s four academic journals, has published the first editorial from the new team of Editors, Continuing conversations: Reflections on the role and future of Area from the new editorial team.

Congratulations to everyone receiving their GCSE geography results today.

We are delighted to announce applications for our Wiley Digital Archive Research Fellowships are open.

Do you have a journey you want to share with others? Can you inspire, entertain and engage a public audience? Have you always wanted to speak on the Society’s Ondaatje Theatre stage? If so, apply now to become one of 2021’s microlecturers.

WIREs Climate Change, a Wiley journal published in association with the Society and the Royal Meteorological Society, is celebrating 10 years of publishing.

Our Geographies of Health and Wellbeing Research Group are hosting a series of online discussion sessions on the realities of doing research that is personal.

As part of our celebration of this year’s medals and awards recipients, we caught up with Dr James Esson, recipient of the Taylor and Francis Award for his contributions to teaching and learning in higher education, in our most recent Geography now podcast.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Society's building is currently closed to everyone - including Fellows and members - and staff are working remotely.

We’re excited to announce that our 2022 Annual International Conference will be held at Newcastle University between Tuesday 30 August and Friday 2 September 2022.

The Government Geography Profession has become a standalone profession within the Government Analysis Function and will be based at the Cabinet Office with the Geospatial Commission.

We are delighted to announce the recipients of our 2019 Excellence Awards and congratulate the students who achieved the highest marks nationally in last year’s summer examinations.

Since late 2019, Chartered Geographers have been able to request that their CPD log is reviewed and certified by the accreditation scheme’s assessors.

This week is Volunteers’ Week, an annual celebration of the contribution millions of people across the UK make through volunteering each year.

Graduates in the humanities and social sciences (HSS) are as employable as graduates of STEM subjects, according to a new report from the British Academy.

New data released by the Department for Education show that over 81% of master’s level geography graduates were in sustained employment, further study, or both, five years after graduation.

We caught up with two of the co-editors, Professor Hilary Geoghegan and Dr Julian Leyland, for our journal Area.

Following on from a discussion forum that explored the challenge of financing net zero, the Society has published a briefing report summarising the actions required to meet the scale and pace of change needed to reach a net zero economy.

With the Society currently closed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, our summer programme of Monday night lectures is being streamed online for Fellows and members.

We caught up with three of the editors for our journal Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers.

This year’s Young Geographer of the Year competition is now open for entries.

The Society has launched Professional Practice Groups, a new framework of support for professional geographers which brings together those with an interest and expertise in a thematic or sectoral area of professional geographical practice.

The latest episode of our Ask the geographer podcast, features East Londoner Victoria Ayodeji and her remarkable journey from Hackney to the University of Cambridge.

We are very pleased to have received funding from the Flotilla Foundation to build on our work as educational partner for the Weddell Sea Expedition.

Recipient of the 2019 Neville Shulman Challenge Award, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent, will be sharing tales from her travels to the remote Nagalands of India and Myanmar in an episode of Costing the Earth on BBC Radio 4.

Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) statement on industrial action by the University and College Union (UCU).

To mark the centenary of Eric Newby’s birth, an exhibition of stunning photographs from his lifetime of travels is now on display in our Pavilion.

The deadline for this year’s Environment and Sustainability Research Grants is fast approaching.

The February issue of Geographical is available now both online and in print.

The RGS-IBG book series turns 20 this year, and to date it has published 57 titles spanning the full range of geographical research topics.

The deadline for applications to the Frederick Soddy Schools Award has been extended to Monday 3 February.

We are closed completely between Tuesday 24 December 2019 and Wednesday 1 January 2020, inclusive.

Earlier this year, the Society’s Council approved the formation of a Professional Advisory Group.

Every year, the Frederick Soddy Schools Award offers grants of between £200 and £600 to teachers leading groups of pupils, from UK and Ireland schools.

To celebrate the Higher Education Research Group becoming the Geography and Education Research Group (GeogEd), a conference is being held at the University of the West of England in mid-December.

To mark GIS day, we’re sharing the career profiles of geographers from a wide range of sectors who use GIS in their day-to-day role.

Before his UK tour of our regional theatre venues gets underway, we caught up with filmmaker and author Reza Pakravan to discuss his love of travel, his visit to the Sahel and the issue of desertification.

The Society and the Financial Times are delighted to announce the winner and highly commended students of their joint Schools Essay Competition that asked students to discuss whether it is better for the world to be wealthier or more equal.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of five new Editors for two of the Society’s academic journals and the RGS-IBG book series, alongside the appointment of a new Managing Editor for the Society’s academic publications.

It’s Ada Lovelace Day and we’re sharing some profiles of women working across a wide range of roles – all of whom studied geography at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

We are delighted that our Migrants on the margins resources have been awarded the 4-star award, in the Curriculum Impact category, of the Teach Secondary 2019 Awards.

We are delighted to welcome our newest Collaborative Doctoral Award student, Alice Oates, who has started her PhD project exploring the governance of Antarctica.

The Royal Geographical Society Puzzle Book is now available to buy from all good bookshops.

Every year the House of Lords opens up the chamber and invites people from across the UK to take part in a lively, topical debate. As a partner in this year’s debate, the Society has a limited number of places available for Fellows and members.

Research on soil ecology, fertility apps and climate change influencers was presented at our conference yesterday.

We have launched a new bank of online resources to support those engaged in geographical teaching and learning in higher education.

Members of the Migrants on the margins team will be presenting their research in a session at this year’s Annual International Conference.

The Migrants on the margins team were at the Hargeisa International Book Fair last week to present their research to the local community.

Fifty years ago today, Commander Neil Armstrong, Col. Edwin Eugene ‘Buzz’ Aldrin and Lt. Col. Michael Collins successfully completed the first mission to land a person on the moon.

Congratulations to the Chartered Geographers who were approved by the Society’s Council in June.

Our contribution to London Climate Action Week is a joint event with the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) to share emerging knowledge on how to tackle climate change globally.

New research, published today in our journal The Geographical Journal, reveals the daily disruption homeless families living in temporary hotel accommodation experience.

With over 750 Chartered Geographers now accredited, we caught up with two of our CGeog assessors, Angela Baker and Dr Stephanie Davidson.

Our academic journals are now being delivered to subscribers in 100% compostable packaging.

A shortlist of 50 exceptional photographs and four films that document the Earth in all its diversity, have been selected for the Society’s Earth Photo exhibition which opens on 6 July.

The deadline for early bird registration for this year’s Annual International Conference is fast approaching.

New co-editors are being sought for the Society’s book series and two of our academic journals, Area and The Geographical Journal.

Congratulations to the Geography Spatial Analysts Team at the Office for National Statistics who have won the overall inaugural Geography in Government award.

To mark Geoweek, we have selected a collection of Discovering Britain walks to help you discover the remarkably varied geology of the UK and learn more about our rocky heritage.

A new section of our website allows teachers to share their ideas on how to inspire students about geography.

This month's issue of Geographical takes a closer look at child labour in the tobacco industry. 

This year’s Young Geographer of the Year competition is now open for entries.

Dr Maria Beger from the University of Leeds has received this year’s Ralph Brown Expedition Award to explore whether subtropical coral reef ecosystems could be a refuge for tropical coral communities.

The 2019 Walters Kundert Fellowship has been awarded to Professor Alun Hubbard to investigate the processes of submarine melting and iceberg calving on four of Greenland’s tidewater glaciers.

It is National Careers Week, so what better time to remember that if you want to understand our world, help to shape the future, and have a rewarding career that pays well, geography is the subject for you.

Brexit! The Urban and Regional Implications is a free workshop which will discuss the potential economic consequences of Brexit for both regions and cities across the UK.

The Weddell Sea Expedition has been forced to conclude its search for the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance. 

We’re excited to announce this year’s Earth Photo competition is now open for entries.

With London Fashion Week fast approaching, join us for a discussion about the impact of the fashion industry on our planet and what we can all do about it.

The February issue of Geographical is available now both online and in print.

Honouring the achievements of Sir Ernest Shackleton and the men of the Endurance expedition of 1914-1917, our Enduring Eye exhibition is on display in Cheltenham until 24 February 2019.

From February’s issue, Geographical magazine will be delivered to subscribers in 100% compostable packaging.

As part of the Society’s work with Ordnance Survey (OS), two events later this month will help raise awareness of the uses of geospatial data.