Global Energy and Climate Policy

Entry requirements

A minimum upper second class honours degree (or equivalent). We welcome applications from academically strong individuals from a wide variety of fields and backgrounds. Candidates with a lower class degree but with degree-relevant work experience may be considered.

Months of entry

April, October

Course content

The MSc Global Energy and Climate Policy is the online version of the successful campus degree of the same name. Housed within the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy (CISD) this programme’s focus is on policy and policymaking in the energy and climate space. The MSc introduces students to the key energy sources, their economic and technical bases and how they are regulated. It further analyses energy and climate governance at the international level, and discusses the geopolitics of energy. This programme places policy and policymaking as the key to enabling change and creating the requisite legal and regulatory environment within which the low-carbon energy system of the future can develop and grow.

The MSc Global Energy and Climate Policy online programme provides students with a detailed understanding of the transformative change in energy systems now underway around the world and equips them with the knowledge and skills needed to play a part in it. It treats energy and climate change policy as inextricably linked, taking an integrated approach to the study of the two fields. Case studies are drawn from around the world, accounting for different conditions in developed, newly-industrialised and developing country contexts.

The ways in which energy is produced, managed and consumed in the 21st century in both the Global North and South are fundamentally changing. While oil, coal and gas have continued to dominate the global energy mix, new players have emerged challenging the status-quo. From large offshore wind parks in the UK to innovative, mobile phone-enabled off-grid solar PV solutions in Kenya; from a booming electric car market in China to high-voltage energy superhighways criss-crossing Germany; from energy storage projects in California to concentrated solar power plants in South Africa – the global energy transition means more renewably-produced energy, more distributed generation, technology leapfrogging, greater energy efficiency of both existing and new installations, and greater investment in new energy infrastructure.

Much of this transformative change has been driven by the urgent need to decarbonize energy systems and the global economy more widely, in order to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to a level consistent with a 2°C (1.5°C) stabilisation pathway. The consequences of increasing global average surface temperatures pose serious risks to ecosystems and physical infrastructure and challenge various actors to cope with extreme weather events, the destruction of habitats, water scarcity, migration, public health and conflict. The global task is therefore not only one of international diplomacy, but one that requires policy makers at all levels of political authority, corporations, businesses, NGOs and others to take the necessary steps to effectively mitigate and adapt to climate change.

This MSc online programme is delivered by the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy (CISD ), using a combination of multi-disciplinary teaching, cutting-edge research and public discussion of diplomacy and international politics in a globalised world.

See Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy (CISD)

Who should apply

The MSc is designed for those engaged with or planning a career in professional contexts relating to energy and/or climate policy and who wish to study in a flexible way. By studying online, students will also have the flexibility to integrate studies into working life without having to take a career break.

Information for international students

For details, including English language requirements, please see SOAS website

Fees and funding

For details of postgraduate fees, please see SOAS website