Sustainability (Environment and Development)

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This programme provides interdisciplinary training on issues where the need for economic development and environmental conservation meet. Specifically, it provides training in theoretical and practical issues relating to the ideal of sustainable development at a range of scales from the global to the local in a range of different contexts.

Sustainable development represents the ultimate goal in the application of environmental knowledge and provision of environmental policies and management practices for the 21st century and beyond. It demands integration of environmental, economic and social dimensions interacting on local, national and global scales. To better inform sustainable development interventions it is essential that genuinely interdisciplinary analysts are able to drive new agendas and integrated approaches into thinking, policies and action. This course offers a wide range of interdisciplinary training options to enable students to advance their academic and practical sustainability experience to place them at the forefront of such debates and future careers.

The programme brings together expertise from the Schools of Earth and Environment and Politics and International Studies, and from the practitioner community, to provide a breadth of perspectives.

Students on this programme have priority access onto the optional Environment-Development Overseas field course module.

Excellent Career Prospects
Students from this programme typically develop or continue careers in environment and/or development practice, policy, training or research. The course prepares students for work in both the public and private sectors, and within local, national and international institutions. Some students also proceed to PhD level study after this course.

There are many different potential employers. In government, for example, organisations like the United Nations, the OECD and the European Union are significant employers. In the UK, central government departments such as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and regulatory agencies such as the Environment Agency for England and Wales have important responsibilities relating to sustainability.

Environment and social responsibility are also major areas of activity for multi-national corporations such as BP or Anglo-American and for global brands such as Gap or Nike. Companies such as Yorkshire Water provide environmental services, and many others provide technologies in areas such as renewable energy or transport.

Public sector financial organisations such as the World Bank are increasingly integrating environmental considerations into their activities, as are a growing number of commercial banks, socially responsible investment firms and carbon trading companies.

Mainstream management consultancies such as Deloitte have sustainability divisions, and environmental protection is central for many of the 600 specialist environmental consultancies currently based in the UK.

Environmental organisations such as WWF, Friends of the Earth or the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds all campaign on behalf of sustainability issues, as do many development organizations such as Oxfam and a vast number of community groups with an interest in the environment and development.

Professional bodies such as the Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment (of which SRI is an educational member) support environmental professionals and think-tanks like Business in the Community or the Green Alliance have changed our understanding of many environmental issues.

And, lastly, there is scope for further study and exciting research careers in centres such as the Sustainability Research Institute.

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

Semester 1

* Introduction to Sustainability
* Research Methods
* Two Optional modules (see below)

Semester 2

* Critical Perspectives in Environment and Development
* Environmental Governance and Sustainability
* Two Optional modules (see below)

Semester 3

* Research Project

Optional modules:-
Semester 1

* Global Inequalities and Development (Part 1)
* Business, Environment and Sustainability
* Climate Change: Physical basis
* Environmental Economics and Policy

Semester 2

* Global Inequalities and Development (Part 2)
* Environment-Development Overseas Field Course
* Standards and Tools for Business, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility
* Tools and Techniques in the Analysis of Society, Economy and Environment
* Climate Change: Impacts and Adaptation
* Climate Change Mitigation

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.This programme is especially well suited to students with an enthusiasm for environmental debate and concern over the future sustainability of human and environmental systems. Therefore applications are welcome from graduates with environmental studies, geography, politics, development studies or biology backgrounds.Graduates from other disciplines with relevant work experience in the fields of environment and/or development are also likely to benefit from this 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. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 TOEFL iBT® test: 92 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.

Postgraduate Scholarships at Leeds

School of Earth and Environment Scholarships for 2013 entry - there are four £6,000 awards available for full time UK/EU fee paying students and two £14,800 awards available for full time International fee paying students. Visit our SEE Scholarship page for further information.

Visit the University of Leeds Central Scholarship Web Page for University-wide Scholarship opportunities:
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.