Spanish/Geography

Spanish is the native language of around 500 million people and the official language of more than twenty countries across Europe, Latin America and beyond. Combining it with geography at degree level creates a programme with unusual breadth, bringing together the cultural, literary and linguistic depth of Spanish studies with the physical, human and political dimensions of geography. The result is a combination well suited to understanding the world in its full complexity, from the literature and history of the Spanish-speaking world to the environmental systems and human geographies of its diverse regions.

At the University of Glasgow, this five-year full-time programme includes a sandwich year and a work placement, giving you structured professional experience to complement your academic training. Glasgow's Spanish department offers exposure to native speakers from different parts of the Spanish-speaking world, ensuring that your language development is informed by the genuine diversity of accents, registers and cultural contexts within the language. The geography strand covers both physical geography, including climate, ecosystems and landscape, and human geography, including urbanisation, development, political geography and environmental issues.

You will develop advanced language skills in Spanish alongside geographical analysis, field methods, data interpretation and the ability to engage with complex spatial and environmental questions. The combination develops both linguistic precision and quantitative analytical skills, which is genuinely distinctive.

Graduates go on to careers in international business, diplomacy, environmental consultancy, development work, geographic information systems, journalism, education, public sector roles with international dimensions, and the cultural and creative sectors of the Spanish-speaking world. Postgraduate study in Spanish, geography, Latin American studies, development or international relations is a common route for those who want to deepen their expertise.