Course content and focus areas
The Institute of Physical Geography at Goethe University Frankfurt, with its several working groups that are active both nationally and internationally, covers a wide range of content and methods in the field of physical geography. The research-based master's program in physical geography focuses on the relationship between humans and the environment in the past, present, and future. This broad approach benefits the program, and the complex networks and regional, national, and global challenges that emerge shape its content during the four semesters.
The program's flexible structure and individualized mentoring enable students to develop their own profiles. The program emphasizes learning and research, qualifying students for specific activities in research and industry. Students can specialize in each of the four semesters. The program includes interactions between relief, soil, water, and vegetation, as well as physical-geographical methods in laboratories and outdoors. The program also includes methods of processing geoinformation and remote sensing, as well as environmental shaping procedures that are particularly useful in biogeographical and hydrological research and practice. These content-related and methodological approaches strictly orient students toward current theoretical and applied projects in Europe and Africa.
General lectures are offered throughout the program to expand students' fundamental knowledge of physical geography and prepare them for the professional world. Excursions and seminar days are central elements of the master's program. An international practical or research work placement will give students the opportunity to gain practical experience in Germany or abroad.