Recently graduated Geographer, Matthew* tells us how his BA Geography degree helped him decide to take up a Law degree in the USA.
After 3 wonderful years studying Geography at King’s College London, I will be going on to study Law in the United States. I developed countless skills during my time here which will prove invaluable to my future educational and professional career.
First and foremost, I believe that the critical thinking skills I gained at Kings College London will be crucial. The ability to analyse an argument, consider opposing arguments and give my own input based on the available research are all key skills which will be required in every form of further education and particularly so in a subject as interpretive as Law. Additionally, the extensive reading that is required in the Geography course has prepared me for the greater amount of reading that is required for post-graduate study. Reading and analysing scholarly articles has familiarised me with academic text and the process of building an argument from numerous sources. Needless to say, this requirement of the Geography course has also improved my research skills.
The benefit of studying Geography at King’s specifically was that I had the option to do a wide variety of modules that covered a lot of different topics. These topics sprawled both physical and human geography and I could take any combination of the courses that I desired. This flexibility and variety led to me gaining an understanding of a range of topics and subsequently become familiar with many different Geographic issues. I am a human geographer and have studied issues such as the development of cities and the role of Hollywood in this process, however, I also have a strong physical Geography foundation since I have also studied desert plants and water processes. This scope of knowledge has made be better equipped to tackle foreign and unknown issues.
The multiple, diversified trips that the Geography department at King’s College London makes available to its students also help in this respect. I had the opportunity to take educational trips to both Spain and Hong Kong. Not only are these trips a great opportunity to get to know your coursemates better, by placing you in a foreign environment, but they enable you to build up your cultural knowledge and improve your ability to adapt to an environment that you are not familiar with. This is a vital skill to have in a world that is becoming increasingly connected yet remains extremely unique and extraordinary in different regions.
These skills that I have discussed make me confident that I will succeed in my legal studies. Due to the education I received studying Geography, I can research in order to find specific information, interpret and balance multiple views, take on a wide spectrum of sub-topics and interact with people of different cultures.
* Matthew is not the student’s real name. In order to protect his identity we have given this student a pseudonym.