MA Geography : Spatial Justice

at Maynooth University

This MA is flexible in delivery, innovative in emphasis, and stresses experiential- and field-based learning opportunities for students to develop ethical research skills and other employability competencies.

The ‘MA Geography: Spatial Justice’ offers a wide-ranging programme of taught modules, delivered through lectures, seminars, fieldwork, practicals and civil society partnerships, with an emphasis on teaching and learning informed by participatory action research.

Degree structure: 90 credits, taken over 1 year full-time (MHN66) or 2 years part-time (MHN67).

Students must take 70 compulsory credits, which develop competencies in field methods, spatial thinking, and theory and applied research methods in spatial justice, and includes a 30-credit independent minor thesis focused on a topic of the student’s choosing as related to spatial justice. Depending on the students’ research focus, s/he will take an additional 20 optional credits, with at least 10 credits in Geography and up to 10 credits of electives in Anthropology, Law, Media Studies and Sociology. In Geography, taught modules consist of ten, 2-hour seminars. All modules are 100% continuous assessment, with a range of assessment types (academic essays, field research journals, applied research projects, mapping projects, blogs, vlogs and videos, field-based reports, individual and group presentations, other). Please see the list of possible classes below and in course finder.

Students should normally have earned a 2.1 or above in Geography (either subject degree in Geography or overall) or related disciplines. A personal statement is required so the Director can give consideration to applicants with relevant academic, work or professional experience if coming from a different background than the social sciences and/or if earned a 2.2 mark.

Applicants must have a recognised primary degree which is considered equivalent to Irish university primary degree level.

The fees for MA Geography : Spatial Justice may vary from €6,500 to €15,000 annually for tuition fees. The fee's prices may get higher for International Students.

Our graduates acquire valuable research, analytical and critical, spatial thinking, ethical and professional skills. The skills learned allow our graduates to find employment in various fields, such as: administration; education; services; creative industries; and working with NGOs and local government authorities. A number of our graduates go on to pursue a PhD.

One student said she ‘would never have gotten to this stage without the [M]asters’ because the high academic standards ‘helped me to define what I’m interested in’. Another student stated that ‘My MA in Geography has allowed me to expand my knowledge of working with vulnerable groups, census data and overall aspects of Human Geography’. Our graduates note that the professional research training in the MA ‘helped me demonstrate a varied skill set when interviewing for employment’ (data engineer). Another graduate stated that the research thesis and transferrable skills from the MA were the reason she landed a senior position ‘dream’ job in local government. Three students who went on to receive fully-funded competitive PhD fellowships acknowledged that the MA provided the skills and accomplishments leading to doctoral research: ‘This is especially true about my funding which I couldn’t continue without’.