Sustainable Development with Gaelic Studies

Sustainable development and Gaelic studies is a combination that reflects the deep connection between language, culture and place, and the particular importance of that connection in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Sustainable development is one of the central intellectual and policy challenges of our era, concerned with how human societies can meet their needs without compromising the capacity of future generations to meet theirs. Gaelic studies brings you into one of Europe's oldest and most distinctive surviving language traditions, connecting you to a living culture, a rich oral and literary heritage and a community whose relationship with land, sea and environment has been shaped over many centuries.

At the University of the Highlands and Islands you will study the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainability alongside Gaelic language, literature and culture. Sustainable development coursework covers ecological systems, resource management, climate change, community development and the policy frameworks that govern how societies respond to environmental challenges. Gaelic studies develops your language skills alongside your understanding of Highland and Island cultural history, oral tradition, literature and the contemporary Gaelic revival movement.

The university's distributed model, operating across a network of colleges and research centres throughout the Highlands, Islands and beyond, gives the degree a distinctive regional character and unusually close links to the communities and environments it studies.

Graduates of this combination are well placed for careers in environmental management, community development, heritage and cultural organisations, Gaelic language promotion, education, public sector bodies and the charitable and voluntary sector in the Highlands and Islands. The combination of sustainability expertise and Gaelic knowledge is particularly valued by employers working in the region's distinct cultural and ecological context. Further study in sustainable development, environmental management, Celtic studies or education provides pathways for those who want to specialise further or pursue research and academic careers.