Environment and Sustainable Development

This programme examines development planning in the context of environmental concerns in urban areas of the Global South. It challenges mainstream approaches to development, focusing instead upon transformative action for environmental justice. Many of our graduates go on to help shape future sustainable development agendas in local government, international agencies and civil society organisations.

The focus of this degree is the complexity and variety of current environmental problems in urban regions, their causes and impacts, and the possibilities and limitations of environmental planning and management. Students learn how to respond to processes that generate social and environmental change, and how to develop strategies to steer urban environmental planning towards sustainability and environmental justice.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of three core modules (90 credits), one or two optional modules (30 credits), and a dissertation (60 credits).

A Postgraduate Diploma, three core modules (90 credits), one or two optional modules (30 modules), full-time nine months, is offered.

Core modules

• The Political Ecology of Environmental Change
• Environment and Sustainable Development in Practice
• Urban Environmental Planning and Management in Development

Optional modules

• Adapting Cities to Climate Change in the Global South
• Disaster Risk Reduction in Cities
• NGOs and Social Transformation
• Food and the City
• Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture: Knowledge Systems in the Global South
• Sustainable Infrastructure and Services in Development
• Urban Water and Sanitation, Planning and Policy
• Socially Sensitive Development in Practice
• Social Development and Poverty Reduction: From Theory to Practice
• Managing the City Economy
• Housing policy, programme and project alternatives
• The City and Its Relations
• Urban Development Policy, Planning and Management

Not all modules may be available.

Dissertation/report

All MSc students submit a 10,000-word dissertation on a topic related to the main themes of the programme. The topic can be chosen to enhance career development or for its inherent interest.

Teaching and learning

The programme comprises reading, essay writing, critical discussion and project work, facilitated through lectures, seminars, workshops, extensive fieldwork and discussions with practitioners covering theoretical and practical tasks and case study analysis. Assessment is through coursework, examinations, and the dissertation.

The normal minimum qualifications are a good second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant subject from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard; and a demonstrated interest in the subject matter of the programme. Candidates who do not meet the above requirements may be considered if they are able to demonstrate substantial relevant work experience and an ability to engage academically with the subject matter of the course. Applicants who do not hold a recognised undergraduate degree may, in exceptional cases, be admitted to the programme if they are able to demonstrate considerable senior-level professional experience in planning or a related field.