Geography, Society and Environment

Geography, society, and environment at Heriot-Watt is a programme that will interest you if you want to specialise in human geography and related topics such as urban design, social policy and equity, sustainable cities, and sustainable development. At its core, this degree explores the ways in which people shape and are shaped by the places and environments in which they live, asking how the physical and social dimensions of geography interact to produce the landscapes, inequalities, and opportunities that characterise different places at different times.

At Heriot-Watt University, this four-year full-time MA (Hons) programme is taught within the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, reflecting the university's particular strengths in the applied social dimensions of geography, including urban planning, energy geography, sustainability, and the human dimensions of resource management. You will develop skills in human geography theory, qualitative and quantitative research methods, urban analysis, geographic information systems, social policy, and sustainable development, building the analytical and methodological capabilities that employers in planning, policy, environmental management, and research increasingly value.

With a typical entry tariff of 152 UCAS points, this is a competitive programme at a research-intensive university with distinctive strengths in applied human geography. Graduates pursue careers in urban and regional planning, environmental consultancy, sustainable development, local and national government, housing, transport, social research, international development, and the many applied geography and planning roles that shape the built and natural environments in which people live and work. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in urban planning, geography, or sustainable development.