Geography and Spanish & Latin American Studies

Geography and Spanish and Latin American Studies is a pairing that rewards intellectual curiosity about the world in both its physical and human dimensions. Geography explores the spatial patterns and processes that shape landscapes, environments, and human societies, bridging the natural and social sciences. Spanish and Latin American Studies combines language acquisition at whatever level suits your existing knowledge with engagement with the history, politics, literature, and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world, from Spain to the diverse nations of Latin America.

At the University of Aberdeen, this MA runs over five years of full-time study, reflecting the depth and range of what the combined degree can offer.

Geography at degree level takes you beyond the descriptive accounts of the physical world familiar from school into rigorous engagement with climate systems, geomorphology, human geography, environmental change, and the spatial analysis of social and economic patterns. Latin America is a particularly important region for contemporary geography, containing some of the world's most significant environmental systems including the Amazon basin, and facing some of the most acute challenges of development, inequality, and environmental change. The Spanish language strand complements this geographical focus directly, giving you access to the communities and intellectual traditions of the region in their own language.

The degree is designed to be accessible at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels of Spanish, making it open to a wide range of students.

Graduates of this combination carry a genuinely distinctive set of skills: spatial and environmental analysis, cultural literacy in the Spanish-speaking world, linguistic competence, and the ability to think across the natural and social sciences. Careers in environmental consultancy, international development, NGOs, journalism, diplomacy, education, and research are all natural destinations. Spanish is the second most spoken first language in the world, and knowledge of it alongside geographical expertise is increasingly valuable in roles connected to Latin America's growing economic and political significance.

Some graduates go on to postgraduate study in geography, Latin American studies, development studies, or environmental management.