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Description Contents Requirements

For 2015 we have refreshed our suite of programmes to align even more closely with the challenges of sustainability and the skills that employers say they want to tackle those challenges.

The MSc Sustainability and Business was formerly the MSc Sustainability (Business, Environment and Corporate Responsibility). The programme structure remains largely unchanged, focusing on the interface of business, society and the environment from various disciplinary perspectives. However, the programme is now run in partnership with Leeds University Business School (LUBS), as a result offering a much wider choice of business-facing modules that can be studied alongside the core themes of corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Course Overview

This long-established programme examines the ways in which businesses can improve their environmental performance and enhance their social responsibility.

Uniquely based outside of a business school context, this programme adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the complex relationship between business and the different dimensions of sustainability. Taught by specialists in sustainability, the course combines a conceptual review of the relationships between business, environment and society with a more applied examination of the wide range of initiatives that relate to environmental management and corporate social responsibility.

Perspectives from government, business and stakeholder groups (such as pressure and community groups) are examined, drawing on the expertise of the School, the University and the practitioner community.

The course explores the drivers pushing business to tackle sustainability from insider and outsider perspectives, considers how sustainability is conceptualised from a business perspective and introduces students to different approaches to managing the challenges of sustainability. It examines the range of management tools that are available, shows how they are applied in practical situations, and examines the factors that shape the success or failure of these initiatives.

Excellent Career Prospects

This programme aims to equip student for careers both in business and in other sectors of the economy (such as government or non-governmental organisations). The final career destination often depends on the experience the students had before starting the MSc, so some who have already worked in business find it easier to get sustainability or CSR jobs in companies immediately upon graduation. We have some students who are taking 'time out' from their jobs to enhance their sustainability credentials and are able to return to their jobs with new skills and understanding. Others who are more recent graduates may work for local government or NGOs or undertake internships. Others are now working for consultancy companies. Some students continue in education to do PhDs.

Some specific examples include:

Sustainable Procurement Officer, Leeds City Council;
Environmental training officer at Carlsberg Tetley;
Environmental consultant at Young White Green consultants.
Energy operating company, looking into upcoming environmental legislation and advising different sites on how to comply.
Research Analyst with Suzlon Energy Ltd. India
Leading the US strategy for "2degrees network"--a collaboration platform for sustainable professionals
ICICI Bank India, Project Finance with interest in funding renewable energy investments.

Other Courses of Interest

MSc Climate Change and Environmental Policy
MSc Environment and Development
MSc Sustainability and Consultancy
MSc Sustainability (Ecological Economics) please note this course is not recruiting for 2015. Please contact the Admissions Team for 2016 entry.

This course can be studied on a full-time basis (12 months) or on a part-time basis (2 years)

Compulsory Modules

Business, Environment and Sustainability
Introduction to Sustainability
Research Methods
Research Project
Systems Thinking and Consulting Practice
Standards and Tools for Business, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility
Issues and Cases in Corporate Social Responsibility

Optional Modules

Climate Change Mitigation
Climate Change: Impacts and Adaptation
Climate Change: Physical Science Basis
Critical Perspectives in Environment and Development
Debates and Controversies in International Business
Environmental Policy and Governance
Environment-Development Overseas Field Course
Introduction to Ecological and Environmental Economics
Managing for Innovation
Marketing for Management
Organizational Development and Change
Risk Perception and Communication
Tools and Techniques in Ecological Economics

Although we have refreshed this course for 2015, please refer to the 2014 programme catalogue in more detail to see the areas covered by teaching.

Please note we are aiming to update this in early 2015.

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. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.