School of Earth and Environment
Speakers at conference
  • Overview
  • Entry Requirements
  • Fees & Funding
  • Course Structure
  • Course Leaders
  • Industry Links
  • Student Profiles

Overview

This programme - which is jointly run by the School of Earth and Environment and the School of Politics and International Studies - engages directly with political debates on sustainability, and provides students with a thorough understanding of the policy tools that can be used to promote environmental protection. The programme has been designed to equip students with both the conceptual and applied understanding of critical issues in politics and policy that can be used in all areas of government, business and campaigning with an interest in sustainability and environmental protection. This MSc combines modules on the concepts, principles and practices of sustainability with more specialist modules on environmental politics and policy and on international relations and the environment. There are also electives on associated dimensions of law, economics, business and development, and the specialist dissertation gives students a chance to examine the detail of an issue of their choice.

Excellent Career Prospects

The programme is intended primarily for people who are, or will be, involved with environmental policy, governance and sustainability. Students with a wide range of backgrounds, from mid-career professionals to recent graduates, attend the programme. Past students have gone on to achieve employment in a variety of organisations within the public, private and NGO sectors. A number of students have also gone on to pursue PhDs.

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, consultancy or policy experience and their potential for benefiting from the programme.

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

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the course combines a conceptual review of the broader debates on sustainability and environmental politics, with a much more applied examination of:

  • a) the wide range of environmental policy and governance initiatives and instruments that are being applied in different contexts, and the factors that shape the success or failure of these initiatives and
  • b) the changing character and evolving influence of international relations and environment.

Through its research led teaching, the MSc draws on the expertise of the School of Earth and Environment and the School of Politics and International Studies, the broader University and the practitioner community. This course can be taken both full-time (one year) or part-time (two years). Compulsory modules

Semester 1
  • Introduction to Sustainability
  • Environmental Politics and Policy (double credit module)
  • Research Methods
Semester 2
  • Environmental Governance and Sustainability
  • International Politics and The Environment
  • World Politics and The Environment
  • Optional module (see below)
Semester 3
  • Independent Research Project
Optional modules:-

Semester 2

  • Environmental Law 1 - The Regulation of Pollution
  • European Environmental Law
  • Standards and Tools for Business, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Critical Perspectives in Environment and Development
  • Environment-Development Overseas Field Course
  • Tools and Techniques for Integrated Ecological Economic Modelling
  • Participatory Environmental Project/Policy Evaluation
Upon completion of the programme, students should have:
  • A specialist, in-depth knowledge of both conceptual and applied debates on sustainability and environmental politics and policy.
  • An understanding of the political structures and processes that generate decisions on environmental policy and an awareness of how they work at the international, regional, national and local scales.
  • A critical awareness of the factors that shape both the influence of political parties and interest groups and the performance of different forms of policy intervention in different contexts.
  • An ability to use interdisciplinary research methods and approaches that relate to environmental politics and policy.
  • Experience of working in interdisciplinary teams on problems relating to environmental politics and policy.

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

Course Leaders

The course is taught by staff from the Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) within the School of Earth and Environment and is managed by Dr James Van Alstine.

Industry Links

Students are encouraged to develop links and to collaborate with a variety of organisations within the field of environmental politics and policy, particularly during dissertation research. Past students have collaborated with UK-based and international charities, governments, universities, research institutes and businesses. Research conducted by staff within the SRI frequently draws on wide national and international networks, which students can tap into.

Student Profiles

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