Earth and Environment: MSc Sustainability (Environment Consultancy and Project Management))

Overview

This programme is aimed at graduates and professionals who want to pursue roles as consultants and managers in the corporate social responsibility, environmental management and sustainability arenas. The programme, which was the first of its kind in the UK, combines courses that provide grounding in the broad scope of topics which sit under the umbrella of sustainability, ranging from project development to corporate sustainability strategy; alongside courses that focus on the tangible professional skills that are used by environmental and sustainability consultants and project managers.

The MSc Sustainability (Environmental Consultancy and Project Management) programme, is truly focused on sustainability as an integrated issue, rather than separating the environmental, economic and social elements. Specialist courses are delivered by both academic staff and practicing consultants and other practitioners, providing students with exposure to real-life, international case studies and a good understanding of contemporary management techniques and solutions.

The Consultancy Project

A key component of this programme is the management of a consultancy project, which is usually undertaken in the form of a placement with a professional organisation. This experience plays a key role in student’s personnel and professional development.

"A course with a bright future. This course offers it all." Guardian 2004

"An interactive and challenging course that provides a real insight into the professional consultancy world". James Elliott, Graduate 2005

'If the students I talked with are typical of those on the MSc Sustainability (Environmental Consultancy) course, then I'm optimistic for the future of professional environmentalism!' Peter Foulston, Principal Officer, Environment Agency

"The graduates from this course are two to three years ahead of the other graduates we have been interviewing". Leading UK consultancy

This strong relationship with businesses and other influential organisations in the field of sustainability means that graduates from this programme are able to contribute to transforming business to prepare for a more sustainable future.

Excellent Career Prospects

Students who have graduated from this programme have gone on to a wide variety of careers, spanning the spectrum of sustainability. Careers include:

corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility;
sustainability strategy;
environmental and social impact assessments and project financing;
environmental management;
carbon reduction and energy management;
stakeholder management and engagement;
policy development;
sustainability assessment.

Examples of graduate roles and destinations are given below.

Role	Organisation (s)
Sector Strategy Analyst	The Carbon Trust
Corporate Social Responsibility Consultant	KPMG
Graduate Consultant - Participation, Engagement and Communications	Jacobs
Sustainability Consultant	RPS, WYG, Mott MacDonald
Environmental Management Consultant	FIRA International
Environmental Advisor	E.ON UK
Corporate Social Responsibility Manager	Total
Environmental Consultant	Halcrow, Mott Macdonald
Policy Officer	CIWEM
Consultant	URS/Scott Wilson

Our alumni are currently working in many parts of the world including Canada, Germany, India, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, UAE, UK and USA.

Other Courses of Interest

Entry Requirements

Candidates should have an upper second class degree (2.1) or above in a natural, environmental, physical, management or social science subject. Equivalent international qualifications are also acceptable.

Mature applicants without a first degree or with a lower degree classification may be considered on the basis of their relevant industry experience and their potential for benefiting from the programme.

In the past students have entered the programme from a number of backgrounds including engineering, environmental management and sciences, management and business, psychology and product design.

We strive to provide a diverse and inspiring learning environment and thus encourage applicants from across the globe and from people at any point in their career.

Applicants whose first language is not English, or whose degree is not from a UK institution, will need to satisfy language requirements determined by the School. Please click here for more information.

Not sure if your International/European degree meets our requirements? Find out more information here.

Fees & Funding

For programme fee information visit our fees page

School Scholarships

There are twelve SEE Excellence Scholarships available (various awards for International/Home and EU), for full information visit the School's Scholarships page

Postgraduate Scholarships at Leeds

Visit the University of Leeds Scholarship Web Page: http://scholarships.leeds.ac.uk/

Other Funding Sources

Students in the past have secured funding through a career development loan, for details visit the UK Government Website

Cost of Living in Leeds - Useful Links

Cost of living in Leeds - Leeds University Union guidance

Unipol Student Homes - Unipol Housing Leeds provides student accommodation directly to around 2,000 students including 194 student families in self-catering provision. Information on accommodation costs and 'find a home' events can be found via this website.

Course Structure

This programme, when completed on a full time basis, is a 12 month programme split into three semester:

Semester 1

Introduction to Sustainability
Business, Environment and Sustainability
The Regulatory and Planning Context for Environmental Projects
Elective: Climate Change: Physical Science Basis OR Introduction to Ecological Economics

Semester 2

Standards and Tools for Business, Environment and Corporate Responsibility
Issues and Cases in Business, Environment and Corporate Responsibility
Environmental Consultancy: Project and Stakeholder Management
Environmental Consultancy: Contract Development and Management

Semester 3

Consultancy project usually carried out on placement

Full details of the programme structure and the content of the modules are given in the
University programme catalogue.

When undertaken on a part-time basis the programme runs for two years with two taught modules completed in each semester.

Course Leaders

Dr Louise Ellis: Programme Manager
Louise has a number of years consultancy experience. Prior to joining SRI she was a member of the sustainability risk team at Deloitte, where she was involved in a number of CSR and due diligence projects. She has experience of project development, particularly in the infrastructure sectors through here role at Mott MacDonald. Louise has been involved in a number of energy projects worldwide. This experience has been of invaluable help in the development of the programme and associated industry networks.

Louise’s research spans the broad spectrum of corporate social responsibility, particularly focusing on the policy-business interface, power and influence within decision-making and corporate response to climate change.

Claire Bastin: Programme Assistant
Prior to joining SRI, Claire gained over ten years experience in project management and training & development. Predominantly working on product development in IT and Telecomms sectors, including development and management of energy reduction projects in large data centres across Europe, Claire also has significant experience of managing CSR strategy development projects with SMEs, charities and government organisations. Claire’s PhD research focusses on the impact private sector firms have on the sustainable development of the communities they operate in, with particular focus on mining and extractive industries.

Industry Links

The programme has wide ranging links with both private and public sector bodies. Whilst on the MSc Sustainability (Environmental Consultancy and Project Management) Programme students come in contact with our network of industrial partners through teaching, personal development workshops and project work. External partners include Atkins, Business in the Community, Daniels Foods, the Environment Agency, Jacobs, Leeds City Council, Mott MacDonald, URS/Scott Wilson and many more.

Our industrial partners consistently report that the combination of academic rigor, professional skills development and project management experience inherent in this programme, ensures that graduates are employment ready.

Atkins

Atkins is one of the world's leading engineering and design consultancies. We have offered student projects for 3 consecutive years, accounting for 7 student projects across the Atkins and Faithful & Gould businesses. The student projects range from analysing the embedded carbon of M&E building services, to benchmarking the energy efficiency of a major banking clients property portfolio. The Asset Management division of Atkins (based in Leeds) currently employees 4 graduates of the MSc course.

Benefits of the Programme

The MSc Sustainability (Environmental Consultancy and Project Management) Programme is seen as a prime source for graduate recruitment by our Leeds business. The graduates produced are a consistently high quality. This is primarily due to the course providing the students with a strong theoretical background but also with tangible skills. We consider the student projects to have consistently produced high quality work which adds real value to the business.

Mott MacDonald

Kevin Leather, Regional Manager North of England

We have worked with the Sustainability Research Institute since 2005 and we are pleased to continue to support to the MSc course through occasional lectures, seminars and hosting student projects.

Mott MacDonald has a strong commitment to promoting the principles of sustainability in all our activities and students from the course are given opportunities to get involved with a wide range of projects at all levels. We have particularly enjoyed working with the students and we have employed a number of them in Leeds and elsewhere in Mott MacDonald.

As an environmental scientist with an interest in sustainability, I have been personally impressed with the ideas and innovation demonstrated by the students and they often bring with them a fresh perspective and new ways of working. As a consultancy company, we also appreciate the strong commercial awareness of the graduates from this course.

Professional Membership

Our University is a corporate member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and our students are eligible to join IEMA as Student members.

All students on the MSc Sustainability (Environmental Consultancy and Project Management) will receive student membership to IEMA as part of their registration to the programme.

Student Profiles

On this page you can find out more about our former students: