Harmony and Sustainability: Theory and Practice (MA)

Entry requirements

The programme has its own Admissions Policy which adheres to the requirements of the University Admission Policy and the University’s Policy on Equality and Diversity. A robust planning system is undertaken with Support Services for those students with identified disabilities and additional learning needs.

The traditional entry route requirement for students is normally a 2:1 or 1st class honours first degree or the vocational qualification equivalent and relevant experience. The School encourages students with a range of vocational qualifications and relevant experiences to apply; this may require a written submission to indicate suitability for level 7 work prior to admission.

General Requirements

· an initial degree of the University of Wales;

· an initial degree awarded by another approved degree awarding body;

· a non-graduate qualification which has been deemed to be of a satisfactory standard for the purpose of admission;

· a non-graduate may also be admitted to candidature provided that he/she has held, for a minimum of two years, a responsible position which is relevant to the scheme to be pursued.

Every application is considered on its own merit, so places may be offered on the basis of non-standard entry qualifications and criteria, including maturity, professional qualifications and relevant experience. Applicants with non-standard qualifications are advised to submit a short curriculum vitae with their application form.

Months of entry

February, October

Course content

This innovatory programme explores the problems facing our planet and our communities from a range of practical and theoretical perspectives. The programme is unique in its multidisciplinary nature, allowing students to adopt a variety of paths and perspectives.

Drawing on the United Nations’ document on ‘Harmony in Nature’ and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which defines Harmony as an outcome of successful sustainable policies, the programme examines what is meant by Harmony and asks how it can provide a philosophy for sustainability, placing all policy choices and behaviour into the widest possible contexts.

The philosophy and practice of Harmony recognises the interconnectedness and interrelatedness of all things. It is “an expression of wholeness, a way of looking at ourselves and the world of which we are part. It is about connections and relationships." Harmony has deep roots in classical philosophy, is at the heart of Chinese thought, especially Daoism and Confucianism, is at the core of the world’s great spiritual traditions – Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity – and indigenous thought, in which human beings and the natural world are part of a single whole. The concept of interconnectedness and interrelatedness now finds expression through both the Gaia Hypothesis and the principles of’ Deep Ecology, in which people, nature and planet are part of a single ‘field’.