Environmental Sustainability

Entry requirements

Applicants must hold a 2:1 Bachelor (Honours) degree or international equivalent.

As the programme requires quantitative skills, applicants should also demonstrate mathematical competence through either a relevant University-level module or GCSE Mathematics at Grade B/5 or international equivalent.

Applicants who have relevant professional/industry experience and practice may also be considered

Months of entry

September

Course content

The ability to deliver sustainable futures across all human activities will require a range of skills. This course is deliberately designed to be skills and techniques based and not focusing on specific subject and domain knowledge. This Masters programme is envisioned as a highly interdisciplinary, conversion course, that will tap upon research strengths across the institution. As such, it is a unique offering in the market addressing a wide range of learners. The focus on skills in particular guarantees that the graduates of this programme will be not only workplace-ready but also future-proofed equipped with all the necessary competencies and being well-versed with the latest technology.

The course consists of seven core, taught modules with an eighth, taught module chosen from 3 options and finally a dissertation. The seven core taught modules are:

• Fundamentals of Environmental Sustainability
• Key Skills
• Context and Challenges
• Sustainable Resource Management
• Business Leadership
• Environmental Impact Assessment and Management
• Climate Change, Management and Mitigation

There are currently two optional modules:

• Field studies
• Environmental Earth Science fieldwork

Course structure

Year 1 modules

Core modules:

Fundamentals of Environmental Sustainability

covering: introduction to environmental sustainability principles; key environmental challenges and global context; sustainable development frameworks and concepts; sustainability metrics and indices; and the five key concepts of environmental sustainability (capacity, diversity, resource efficiency, climate mitigation, and circular economy).

Key Skills

including: qualitative methods; statistical analysis; spatial information and GIS; artificial intelligence; and multi-criteria techniques.

Context and Challenges

lead by the Anthropology department, this module will cover regulatory frameworks.

Sustainable Resource Management

covering resource efficiency; renewable vs. non-renewable resource; ecosystem-based management; life cycle analysis; circular economy.

Business Leadership

lead by the Marketing and Management department this module develops the skills you will need to understand organisations, their structure and culture. You will explore the leadership skills required to manage organisations and build an understanding of the emergent issues and challenges faced in fostering ethical leadership practices.

Environmental Impact Assessment and Management

this module covers Scoping, baselining, impact, mitigation, and communication.

Climate Change, Management and Mitigation

covering greenhouse gas budgets, climate policy, adaptation, mitigation, and climate finance.

Optional modules:

• Field studies - will provide you with an opportunity to examine the practicalities of making changes within an organisation.
• Environmental Earth Science fieldwork – is run in conjunction with the MSc Environmental Engineering

Information for international students

International students who do not meet direct entry requirements for this degree might have the option to complete an International Foundation Year.

Fees and funding

More information is available here: Tuition fees - how much are they - Durham University