Course: MSc Sustainability (Climate Change)

Climate change is a central issue for environmental policy makers at the international, national and sub-national levels, as well as for environmental managers and experts in public, private and non profit making organisations. This programme provides students with a solid foundation in the broader debates on sustainability as well as expertise in climate change, encompassing the physical science of climate change, climate change impacts, and adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. The programme’s interdisciplinary training is based upon compulsory modules on sustainability, in physical climate science and in the economic, political and business dimensions of managing climate change and its impacts. There are also electives to broaden or focus the taught content, and the dissertation gives students a chance to examine an issue of their choice in detail. The programme also offers a stepping stone towards a doctoral degree for qualified and interested students.

Upon completion of the programme, students will be able to:

• demonstrate a broad interdisciplinary knowledge of the concepts, information and techniques relevant to climate change
• engage in, and contribute to, broader debates about sustainability and governance solutions, as well as public policies pertinent to climate change at an international, national and local scale
• use a variety of research methods and approaches that are pertinent to interdisciplinary and social scientific research on climate change
• offer a critical awareness of the factors that shape the influence of political parties and interest groups in collective environmental decisions, and the performance of different forms of policy intervention in different contexts
• take a proactive and self-reflective role in working and develop professional relationships with others, particularly an ability to work in interdisciplinary teams on problems relating to climate change and sustainability
• undertake further postgraduate studies on climate change and related topics at a doctoral level