Program Overview

Restorative Land Management and Rural Surveying, MSc

Introduction

Societal and political developments increasingly require professionals with expert knowledge in land and nature restoration. We equip graduates with the skills and expertise to navigate competing interests and identify options for the optimal use of our limited land resource.

Study Information

At a Glance

• Learning Mode: On Campus Learning
• Degree Qualification: MSc
• Duration: 12 months or 24 months
• Study Mode: Full Time or Part Time
• Start Month: September

Knowing how to restore and manage our limited land-based resources in a socially just and economically viable manner is essential for us, as a society, to address the triple crises of climate change, food security, and biodiversity decline.

This degree gives you a comprehensive understanding of the drivers of the current land crunch (the competition for limited land resources); approaches to restoring land, soil, habitats and ecosystems; and supporting sustainable futures for rural communities. It will also teach you the skills needed to manage the inevitable trade-offs as not every outcome can be delivered from the same piece of land.

You will gain a solid grounding in different land use sectors such as agriculture and food production, forestry and game management, renewable energy and tourism, and conservation and rewilding. You will also develop an understanding of social, economic, and regulatory mechanisms underpinning behaviour change, equipping you to negotiate with a diverse range of stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes.

Graduates will be ideally suited to contribute to driving energy transitions relating to land management, in particular the deployment of wind, water, biomass and geothermal technologies.

What You'll Study

Students studying full time will take four courses per semester for the first two semesters.

Students studying part time will take two courses per semester.

Both study routes will include a project/dissertation.

Stage 1

• PD5006 Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (0 credit points)
• GG5047 Forestry and Game Management (15 credit points)
• GG5048 Agricultural Principles and Practice (15 credit points)
• GG5056 Contemporary Environmental Challenges (15 credit points)
• BU50xx Valuation for Surveyors (15 credit points)

Stage 2

• GG5514 Rural Business Management
• GG5516 Research Methods
• GG5537 Rural Policy in Practice
• GG5565 Introduction to GIS Tools, Techniques, Cartography and Geovisualisation

Stage 3

• GG905 Dissertation (Srd and Mle) (60 credit points)

Funding Opportunities

• The Aberdeen Global Scholarship provides scholarships for eligible self-funded international Masters students.
• The Commonwealth Shared Scholarship provides funding for international students from selected countries.

Scholarships

All eligible self-funded international Postgraduate Masters students starting in September 2025 will receive an £8,000 scholarship.

Related Programmes

• Geographical Information Systems
• Sustainability Transitions
• Sustainable Water Management

Entry Requirements

• Qualifications: 2:2 (lower second class) UK Honours degree, or an Honours degree from a non-UK institution which is judged by the University to be of equivalent worth.
• English Language Requirements: IELTS Academic: 6.5 with Listening - 5.5, Reading - 5.5, Speaking - 5.5, Writing - 6.0

Careers

The programme is designed for graduates from any discipline and is the only Masters programme of its kind in Scotland, accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). It allows graduates to proceed to the Assessment of Professional Competence and full professional membership of the RICS.

Career options include areas such as land agency, estate management, countryside and wildlife management, rural policy and business development. Graduates in Rural Surveying are particularly highly sought-after by the leading land agency firms throughout the UK.

Accreditation

• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

What our Alumni Say

• Frances Mills: "I wanted to get a good grounding in how Scotland's land and coastline is managed, as well as into the emerging natural capital markets and rural surveying techniques...though this course is particularly suited to those looking for a career in Rural Surveying, I found the breadth of topics studied, alongside the informative site visits and expert speaker programme to be very valuable in grounding me in Scotland's land management."
• Fergus Thomson: "The MLE course is a well-respected and renowned course and the only one available in Scotland."
• Katy Dickson: "As the only Scottish RICS accredited postgraduate course at the time, Aberdeen was the natural choice. The MLE provided a good overview of the issues I would come across as a rural surveyor. It provided me with the first step on the journey to my career as a chartered rural surveyor which led to my move into rural policy."