Entry requirements

Holder of an L2 in Geography, initial full-time training, open to continuous training, open to VAE

Benefits of the program

After a multi-disciplinary first year (geography, history, sociology) and gradual specialisation from the second year, the L3 Social and Cultural Geography pathway provides general training in human geography. The training is delivered by experts in different cultural areas in urban, rural and social geography. This pathway offers the widest possible choice of Master's courses, from planning through to research. International partnerships offer numerous opportunities for international mobility.

Acquired skills

The Geography and Planning Licence equips students with both general knowledge in the subject area as well as skills which are valued in a large number of industry sectors. Students develop their analytical and critical skills as regards documents and discussions. Emphasis is placed on developing their written and verbal communication skills and on using tools effectively. Graduates of this training programme are proficient in a wide range of expertise: - knowledge of spaces at all levels, from the local (urban) to the global (North-South relations, environmental and economic issues);

- concrete and rigorous methods in individual work (documentary research and field surveys);

- an introduction to career plans (urban planning and development, knowledge of institutions, awareness of stakeholder conflicts);

- knowledge of the social issues of geography and land use planning policies;

- expertise in terms of data analysis and summary communication (mapping, statistics, field placements).

International

Under Erasmus+ partnerships, Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg, the University of Granada, the 'Alma Mater Studiorum' University of Bologna, the University of Aveiro, the 'Alexandru Ioan Cuza' University, the University of Bucharest, the National Technical University of Athens and the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague are key partners.

Furthermore, bilateral cooperation enables us to offer training programs further afield, with the Higher University of San Simón in Bolivia, the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) in Brazil, the Cégep de Sainte-Foy in Canada, the University of Québec at Chicoutimi in Canada, the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology (IMUST) in China, the Externado University of Colombia in Colombia, the National University of Colombia in Colombia, the Chonbuk National University, the Dong-Eui University and the Ewha Womans University in South Korea, the University of Costa Rica in Costa Rica, Xavier University in the United States, Rikkyo University in Japan, CETYS University in Mexico, National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico, Ricardo Palma University in Peru, National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, National Tsing Hua University in Taïwan and the Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela.

Capacities

30

Course venue

Your future career

This general training prepares students for geography-related professions as well as for all professions which require knowledge about geography and planning.

If students obtain a Master’s degree after graduating, they can apply for careers in: Urban planning and development research officer, Urban planning and development project manager, Local government attaché, Local government editor, as well as to teaching professions (see the RNCP list (National Directory of Professional Certification)).

The Master's in Urban Planning and Development at the Paris School of Urban Planning (EUP) is the main follow-up for students focusing on Urban studies and is in high demand by students from geography pathways. The Spaces, Societies and Territories Master's, jointly accredited with UPEC, is the second sector chosen. It offers both professional and research opportunities. The European and International Studies Master's programme is chosen by many students at the end of their Geography pathway. Teaching Master's (both primary and secondary school teaching certificates are also in high demand. Finally, the two specialities Web Careers and Cultures and Territorial Cultural Development are selected by fewer students.

Professional integration

The university is a founding member of PEPITE 3EF. The purpose of this scheme is to promote entrepreneurship among students and enable those with an entrepreneurial project to reconcile their project and their studies. Université Gustave Eiffel has an entrepreneurship adviser, whose mission is to meet students, support them and offer them the many services we provide: project maturation workshops, entrepreneurial speed dating, D2E (entrepreneurship setup degree), advice from professional partners, etc.

Study objectives

The Social and Cultural Geography pathway is the most generalist of all geography degree pathways (and offers the widest choice for continuing with a Master's) and is a pathway which attests to the specificity of the Geography and Planning degree at Université Gustave Eiffel. This degree, and this pathway in particular, are almost exclusively focused on human geography and place great importance on social and cultural geography approaches infused with the most recent developments in the field.

Each semester combines several types of classes:

- general geography classes(Southern Geography and Economic Geography, Social Geography and Mobility Geography),

- planning-focused classes,

- classes with a view to geographical research and broadening general knowledge,

- classes focusing on the use of tools,

- options offered in history and sociology to extend the interdisciplinarity which has existed since the first year. Furthermore, students on this pathway benefit, along with those on the "Urban Studies" pathway, from a class in the history of urban forms, designed especially for them,

- a language class,

- the opportunity to do an optional work placement.

Major thematics of study

Geography, Planning, History, Sociology

Calendar

Work placement at the end of S6.

Options

All information is available on the Social Science Training and Research Unit website, at shs.univ-gustave-eiffel.fr