Sustainability and Ecology

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 Ecology

Explore how we can protect and rehabilitate nature whilst maintaining essential ecosystem services on our MSc Sustainability and Ecology.

Great changes have occurred in human society in the past 200 years, but much of this has come at the expense of the natural systems and species that keep us all alive and healthy. Even in remote environments, evidence of anthropogenic pollutants shows that nowhere remains unaffected.

During this course you will gain a scientific understanding of the issues surrounding the protection and rehabilitation of nature, essential or useful ecosystem services and explore solutions.

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

Modules include

- Sustainability and Adaptation: Concepts and Planning

- Ecological Assessment

- Restoration Ecology

- Ecosystem Services: Land Use, Water and Waste Management

- Environmental Politics and Economics

- Food Production and Consumption

- Cities and Communities

- Sustainable Materials in the Built Environment

- The Science of Sustainable Food Production

- Applied Research Design

- Work-based Project

- MSc Dissertation

Why study at CAT?

Studying at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is a truly unique experience. For over 50 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 Eryri 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 Liverpool John Moores University.

Find out more about the course on the CAT website.

Fees and funding