Interuniversity Master's Degree in Geography and Territorial Sciences
Turin, Italy
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English, Italian
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2024
TUITION FEES
EUR 156 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* tuition fees are related to family or individual income, up to a maximum of 2,800 euros per year for those with the highest incomes
Introduction
The master's degree in Geography and Territorial Sciences trains professionals capable of integrating cultural, socio-economic, technical and planning knowledge for spatial and environmental analysis, organisation and management. As such, it trains a new generation of skilled workers and citizens who can effectively deal with the unprecedented contemporary societal, economic and political challenges both locally and internationally (e.g., environmental crisis, planetary urbanisation, globalisation, geopolitical tensions).
The master's degree in Geography and Territorial Sciences is an inter-university programme: this means that the degree is awarded jointly by the University of Turin and the Polytechnic of Turin, two leading Italian and European Universities.
In Italy and abroad, geographers work in public and private research centres; development agencies, professional firms and companies operating in the field of spatial policies and sustainable development; public offices in the fields of environmental and landscape protection and management, preservation of historical-cultural resources, urban and regional policies; international and national agencies. Overall, students will leave the master's degree in Geography and Territorial Sciences with the geography skills needed for jobs in natural resource management, research, sustainability, development and policy.
Gallery
Admissions
Curriculum
Course organisation and pathways
In the first year, the degree includes courses aimed at acquiring an in-depth knowledge of physical and human geography: students will attend classes that are fundamental for understanding the environmental, socio-cultural and political phenomena connected to the main processes of global change. At the same time, students will learn to use the main IT tools for spatial representation, analysis and management.
In the second year, students can refine their skills, following their study interests and professional goals by choosing one of three different pathways. One of them is entirely in English: Urban and Political Geography.
The master's degree also offers pathways in Italian: Geomorphological Hazards and Climate Change; Landscape Protection and Enhancement. Faculty members acting as tutors will help students to choose their pathway and the related teaching activities.
Urban and Political Geography
Many of the most urgent challenges facing contemporary societies refer to urban issues: that is, they concern cities and the life that takes place within and around them. Indeed, it is often the urban level, given its demographic and economic centrality, that is the first to be confronted with the most concrete, immediate, and radical effects of the economic, social, and political crises of our time.
The pathway in Urban and Political Geography analyses the political, economic, social, and institutional processes that operate at different spatial levels and that significantly shape the urban domain. The course traverses multiple crucial topics (including migration, housing issues, urban economies, spatial development, geopolitics, planetary urbanisation, and the growth of inequality and poverty) that are approached through the lens of different disciplines dealing with the urban and political domain, including geography, economics, and political science. During the two years of coursework, students will have the opportunity both to deepen their understanding of the main theories and interpretative lines on and relating to the urban, and to acquire a methodological background suitable for understanding the various issues of urban and political geography. The aim of the course of study is to train experts in the social, economic, and political processes that govern territorial systems at all spatial scales.
List of courses includes: Geography, theory, and practice; Urban political ecology; Urban studies; History, spaces, and theories of capitalism; Housing, property, and struggle; Advanced GIS; Geomorphology and soil conservation; Urban and Regional Development; Critical migration studies; Racialized and gendered cities; Southern urbanism; Laboratory “The geopolitics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”; Laboratory “Chinese urbanism”; Laboratory “The green and just city”.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Graduates from the Master’s Programme in Geography and Territorial Sciences have strong theoretical and practical skills as well as a broad understanding of current social and environmental issues. Our students, integrating the study of physical and human systems, are in equal parts natural and social scientists and have specialized knowledge in geographical information science techniques. As such, they have been very successful in the job market after completing the programme both independently and as members of multi-professional teams.
In general, graduates from our master’s programme can work in public and private research centres; development agencies, professional firms and companies operating in the field of spatial policies and sustainable development; public offices in the fields of environmental and landscape protection and management, preservation of historical-cultural resources, urban and regional policies; international and national agencies. After completing the Master’s degree, it is also possible to continue with postgraduate studies.
Overall, students will leave the master’s degree in Geography and Territorial Sciences with the geography skills needed for jobs in natural resource management, research, sustainability, development and policy.