MA in Social and Cultural Geographies (GEOT01 and GEOT12)

Students studying on the MA in Social and Cultural Geographies will be part of one of the world's largest research groups studying social and cultural geographies and will work with internationally recognised scholars who are defining agendas in the interdisciplinary fields of consumption and material culture; the organisation of people, objects and practices; and landscape, visuality and identity.

The MA in Social and Cultural Geographies seeks to offer students the opportunity to engage with those aspects of geography that sit between social science and the humanities. The programme allows students to explore the methodological intersections between social theory, practice and representation as they connect to space and place in the lived and experiential world. There is an emphasis within the course on qualitative research methods and the more than just textual representation of research (eg archive, interactive display, film and video, etc). The course is very flexible and offers a number of pathways through the optional modules, enabling students to tailor their study to their particular interests.

The MA in Social and Cultural Geographies is geared toward those students wishing to pursue careers in academia, public and private research, and other commercial and professional fields where an advanced understanding of social and cultural geographies is an advantage. Study on this MA may undertake on either a full-time (12 months) or part-time basis.

Course structure

The MA in Social and Cultural Geographies comprises four elements that make up 180 credits worth of study:

  1. training in generic social science research methods (15 credits)
  2. discipline-specific methods training in human geography (45 credits)
  3. substantive subject training in chosen specialist areas of human geography (30 or 60 credits, depending on the pathway chosen)
  4. a research dissertation (60 or 90 credits, depending on the pathway chosen)

You complete an Extended Dissertation (90 credits) or the relatively smaller MA dissertation (60 credits) depending on your pathway through the optional modules.

Core modules

Theoretical Issues in Human Geography
Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography
Research Proposal
The Research Process

Optional modules

Options may be chosen from the following list of modules or from another programme with permission of the Master's coordinator.

Identity and Difference
Consumption Cultures
Postcolonial Geography and Spatial Politics
Politics, Place and Governance
Researching Practice
Data, Visualisation and GIS