Sustainability and Adaptation

Entry requirements

We ask for a Bachelor’s degree or knowledge and skills equivalent to degree standard. IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) is required for applicants whose first language is not English.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Masters in Sustainability and Adaptation

A flexible Master’s degree designed to develop a rigorous understanding of transformational responses to climate change. Taught at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), which pioneered sustainability practice and theory in the UK, this is the first MSc course to properly integrate and the social, political, economic and practical aspects of living with environmental change.

This Master’s degree tackles these themes through a combination of academic study, discussion and hands-on practical work. We give our MSc students the knowledge, skills and experience needed to develop a career in the environmental sector and make an impact. The programme draws on our expert staff and a wide selection of academics and specialist guest lecturers; people who have made exceptional contributions to environmental thinking and action.

The MSc course uses the concepts of sustainability and adaptation transformation to frame an analysis of environmental and climate change policy and its implications for society. Students can then choose modules from a wide range that covers politics and economics, urbanisation, communities, biodiversity and ecosystem services, energy in buildings, sustainable materials, environmental assessment and renewable energy.

How is the course taught?

Our MSc programme is taught either by distance learning or through residential blocks in one of the most imaginative environmental buildings in the UK, or in a mixture of the two.

What qualification will you receive?

Successful completion of the programme MSc Sustainability and Adaptation at the Centre for Alternative Technology leads to the award of Master of Science (MSc) by UEL. The programme is also available to study as a Postgraduate Certificate and as a Postgraduate Diploma.

Modules include

• Introduction to Sustainability and Adaptation
• Sustainability and Adaptation Concepts in Practice Introduction to Politics and Economics of the Environment Energy Flows in Buildings Cities and Communities Energy Provision Ecosystems and Ecosystems Services Sustainable Materials in the Built Environment Food Production and Consumption Communicating Transformational Social Change Restoration Ecology International Zero CO2 Energy Applied Research Design
• MSc Dissertation

This course is created and delivered by CAT and is validated by the University of East London.

Why study at CAT?

Studying at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is a truly unique experience. For the past 40 years CAT has been at the forefront of the environmental movement, pioneering low-carbon living and renewable technology. At the Graduate School of the Environment (GSE), students benefit from our extensive practical and academic knowledge, graduating with the skills needed to become leading players in the sustainability sector. Find out more about our facilities here.

Hands-on learning

At CAT, hands-on learning takes place side by side with academic study. Residential on-site block learning weeks are taught at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), an inspiring learning environment. Nestled in a disused slate quarry on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park, CAT is a living laboratory for practical, sustainable solutions. It contains some of the most innovative and renowned environmentally conscious buildings in the country, as well as one of the most diverse range of installed renewable technologies, on site water and sewage treatment, sustainably managed woodland and acres of organic gardens.

Flexibility

It is a flexible degree, taught in blocks taken either with an intensive residential stay of five or six nights at the centre, or by distance learning. MSc students are free to choose between these teaching modes for every module. There is a choice of modules, each 8 weeks long, taken over one year or two – meaning the degree can be part time. It is a masters degree designed to give you the best possible experience whilst also meshing neatly with the pressures of modern professional and family life.

Immersive learning environment

Optional residential module weeks include lectures, seminars, group work and practicals. Applied work tends to dominate later in the week once we have laid the theoretical groundwork. These module weeks provide a truly immersive environment to escape daily life and apply yourself to new learning. Many eminent experts give guest lectures or hold seminars during these modules, as it is a course which seeks to draw on the expertise and learning of the whole environmental sector.

Is this the course for you?

Interested in studying this course? Join us for our next open day or contact us.

This course is created and delivered by CAT and validated by the University of East London.

Find out more about the course on the CAT website.

Fees and funding