Environmental Change and Management

Study mode:On campus Study type:Full-time Languages: English
Local:$ 20.7 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 28 k / Year(s) Deadline: Nov 18, 2025
1 place StudyQA ranking:3310 Duration:2 years

Photos of university / #oxford_uni

The MSc/MPhil in Environmental Change and Management (ECM) aims to produce students with a broad appreciation of all aspects of the management of people and institutions in relation to environmental change. As part of the Environmental Change Institute the MSc/MPhil in Environmental Change and Management emphasises cross-cutting, interdisciplinary approaches to the critical environmental problems of our time, especially climate change and adaptation, energy and lower carbon futures, and ecosystem conservation and management.

The programme trains young international leaders in all aspects of environmental change, sustainability and management, preparing them with the critical concepts and skills to be competent and aware decision-makers. The programme is broad-based and cross-disciplinary, with teaching staff from a wide range of departments as well as visiting lecturers from business and industry, government and NGOs, and a variety of research and policy institutions.

The course is also supported by a vibrant network of alumni, spread across more than 60 nations around the world. Graduates inhabit a wide range of careers, as civil servants, NGO leaders, bankers, engineers, lawyers, scientists, policy advocates, and entrepreneurs. Over the past 20 years, ECM-trained environmental leaders have come to occupy influential positions in government, mainstream and new business sectors, international environmental research, and local civic enterprises.

Core Modules

 Overture: Welcome to the Anthropocene

The Earth system and its fundamental processes
Ecosystems
Human systems and environmental change
Environmental economics & policy
Energy systems and climate mitigation
Sustainable responses to environmental change
Governing the anthropocene

 

 Specialist Training, Methods and Skills

Research methods in the social and natural science
Effective communication
Cost-benefit, risk & life cycle analyses
Environmental monitoring and data analysis
Environmental modelling & GIS
Human dimensions and valuation of ecosystems & biodiversity
Other professional transferable skills

Field Trips & Site Visits

 

Renewable energy technologies
EU Parliament & Ministries
Natural resource management centres
Coastal & marine environmental change sites
Conservation in protected & industrial areas
Climate & local ecosystem interactions

Elective Seminars (24+)

Corporate social and environmental accountability
Community organizing for environmental action
Cities, sustainable transport and mobility
Climate change – science, impacts and adaptation
Energy policy
Environmental governance in China
Environmental publics
Flood risk management
Food systems and food security
Forest governance
Governing protected areas
Geographic Information Systems
Health, environment & development
Indigenous peoples & environments
International climate politics & justice
Politics of oil and gas
Sustainable behaviour change
Water and development
Field Trips & Site Visits

 

Dissertation

15,000 words, 1-to-1 supervision, 3+month exercise, often undertaken in conjunction with businesses, environmental organisations, and governments

Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications), as a minimum, in any discipline.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.

If you hold non-UK qualifications and wish to check how your qualifications match these requirements, you can contact the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC).

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

  • Official transcript(s)
  • CV/résumé
  • Personal statement:2,500 words
  • Written work:One essay of 2,000 words 
  • References/letters of recommendation:Three overall, generally academic

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Higher level

Test

Standard level scores

Higher level scores

IELTS Academic 
Institution code: 0713

7.0 Minimum 6.5 per component  7.5  Minimum 7.0 per component 

TOEFL iBT 
Institution code: 0490

100

Minimum component scores:

  • Listening: 22
  • Reading: 24
  • Speaking: 25
  • Writing: 24
110

Minimum component scores:

  • Listening: 22
  • Reading: 24
  • Speaking: 25
  • Writing: 24
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) 185

Minimum 176 per component

191 

Minimum 185 per component

Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE) 185

Minimum 176 per component

191 

Minimum 185 per component


Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

  • ✔️ Flexible study schedule
  • ✔️ Experienced teachers
  • ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

  • Global Education
  • Hill Foundation Scholarships
  • A number of Research Council awards are available each year from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
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