Geography and Persian
Geography and Persian is an unusual and intellectually ambitious combination that prepares you to engage seriously with some of the world's most strategically and culturally significant regions. Geography develops your understanding of the physical and human processes that shape landscapes, cities, and societies, combining spatial analysis with social and environmental thinking. Persian, spoken by over 100 million people across Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, grants access to one of the world's oldest literary and intellectual traditions and to societies that occupy a pivotal position in global geopolitics, history, and culture.
At St Andrews this four-year full-time programme develops genuine proficiency in Persian alongside a rigorous geography degree. You will study the physical environment and human geographies of regions that Persian-speaking societies inhabit, developing an understanding of how environmental, economic, and political forces interact across scales from the local to the global. A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you the opportunity to develop your language skills in an immersive setting and to engage directly with Persian-speaking cultures.
The typical entry tariff is 232 UCAS points, reflecting the academic demands of the combined degree at St Andrews. The university's description of the combination emphasises critical and creative thinking about the interaction of environmental systems and human activity.
Graduates from geography and Persian programmes pursue careers in diplomacy, international organisations, development agencies, journalism, intelligence, and environmental consulting. The combination of deep regional knowledge, language proficiency, and geographical thinking is particularly valued in roles dealing with the Middle East, Central Asia, or South Asia. Academic research and postgraduate study in area studies, human geography, development studies, or Middle Eastern studies are natural routes for those who wish to deepen their expertise.