MSc in Environmental Management for Business
Bedford, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
21 Sep 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 18,720 **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for UK and Irish students
** for overseas students | £12,370 - for home students
Key Summary
About: Study for a successful and impactful environmental management career. This MSc in Environmental Management for Business integrates business acumen from Cranfield School of Management and environmental expertise to equip you with advanced theoretical knowledge and practical professional skills. You'll critically evaluate complex environmental issues, develop effective strategies and lead their implementation to enable sustainable futures. Keywords: sustainability, environmental management, natural resource management, corporate sustainability, risk assessment, environmental policy, business strategy, operations, ecology, resource stewardship.
Career Outcomes: You'll be in demand across consultancies, industry, public sector and NGOs. Roles include Corporate Sustainability Manager and Sustainability Consultant, Risk Analyst, Project Coordinator.
Study for a successful and impactful environmental management career.
Meeting the challenge of sustainable business, which strives to balance environmental, social and economic risks and opportunities, requires innovative knowledge, skills and tools. This MSc will equip you with advanced theoretical knowledge and help you to develop practical and professional skills to positively address sustainability issues in the real world. You will critically evaluate complex environmental issues, develop effective strategies and lead their implementation to enable an effective and sustainable future. This unique MSc integrates business acumen from our globally renowned Cranfield School of Management, as well as environmental expertise from our leading environmental academic team, to prepare you for a successful career in sustainable and environmental management.
Compulsory Modules
All the modules in the following list need to be taken as part of this course.
- Principles of Sustainability
- Leading Corporate Sustainability
- Economic Valuation and Appraisal
- Sustainability and Environmental Assessment
- Environmental Policy and Risk Governance
- Decision Science
Elective Modules
One of the modules from the following list needs to be taken as part of this course.
- Strategic Foresight
- Energy Entrepreneurship
Elective Modules
One of the modules from the following list needs to be taken as part of this course.
- Energy Systems Case Studies
- Engineering Design and Project Management
- Cranfield University has been ranked 1st in the Geography and Environment subject in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) for 2024.
- Cranfield was placed in the top 200 universities in the world for Environmental Sciences in the 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subject.
Specifically designed to meet the demands of global employers, it will equip you with current thinking on environmental issues, the ability to develop effective environmental management strategies, and the leadership skills you will need to bring your ideas to life.
The Environmental Management for Business master's provides you with the knowledge and skills demanded by the full range of organisations involved in all aspects of managing the natural environment.
To help students in finding and securing appropriate funding, we have created a funding finder where you can search for suitable sources of funding by filtering the results to suit your needs. Visit the funding finder.
Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme
Students from developing countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the UK can apply for Commonwealth Shared Scholarships for master’s study, jointly supported by Cranfield University.
Master's Loan from Student Finance England
A Master's Loan is now available for UK applicants to help you pay for your master’s course.
Commonwealth Scholarships for Developing Countries
Students from developing countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the UK can apply for a Commonwealth Scholarship, which includes tuition fees, travel and a monthly stipend for master’s study.
Chevening Scholarships
Chevening Scholarships are awarded to outstanding emerging leaders to pursue a one-year master’s at Cranfield University. The scholarship includes tuition fees, travel and a monthly stipend for master’s study.
Butterfield Postgraduate Environment Scholarship
A USD$25,000 scholarship for students pursuing a postgraduate degree ina study related to the protection and improvement of island environments.
Delta Foundation Chevening Scholarships Taiwan
The Chevening/Delta Environmental Scholarship Scheme is designed to promote environmental awareness and increase future activity to tackle environmental issues, in particular climate change, by offering two joint scholarships for students from Taiwan.
With the urgent global focus on environmental issues and natural resource management, you can expect to be highly sought after by employers. Successful students develop diverse and rewarding careers in environmental and business consultancies, manufacturing and service industries, public sector organisations such as environmental protection agencies, together with non-governmental organisations.
Graduates of this course have gone on to work in a range of roles, including:
- Corporate Sustainability Manager
- Senior Sustainability Consultant
- Head of Environmental Operations
- Business/Research Consultant
- Sustainability Project Manager
- Environment Health & Safety Officer
- HSEQ-coordinator
- Product Stewardship Engineer
- Research Engineer
- Risk Analyst
- National Project Coordinator
The Environmental Management for Business course is open to students from a range of academic backgrounds, including science and engineering, business and social sciences, who wish to develop a successful and rewarding career in environmental management.
Why this course?
- Merge environmental management expertise with sustainable business practices, enhanced leadership and management skills, innovation and entrepreneurship while addressing global sustainability challenges.
- Develop an advanced understanding of sustainable development and the knowledge of related international, national and local government policies and frameworks, with particular emphasis on natural resources and the environment.
- Study at a university that has been providing postgraduate education in environmental management for over 20 years.
- Gain advanced leadership skills via the Leading Corporate Sustainability module, delivered in association with the globally-renowned Cranfield School of Management.
- Benefit from teaching by research-active staff and industry specialists who were rated ‘excellent’ in the last Teaching Quality Assessment
- Develop practical skills that will enable you to make an immediate impact on real-world environmental issues from day one in your new career.
- Leverage our global reputation, alumni and extensive links with relevant employers to develop your career.
- Enhance your CV with a complimentary membership of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and the Institute of Sustainability and Management Professionals (ISEP, formerly IEMA).
This course comprises eight modules, an individual project and a group project.
Part-time students normally complete individual dissertations in place of the group project.
The taught programme comprises a structured sequence of modules, each containing a series of lectures and other classroom-based teaching, supplemented by practical work. The taught modules are assessed by assignments. Modules are taught during one week of structured teaching, followed by one week of independent learning on the module assignment.
Taught modules 80 credits/800 hours, Group projects 40 credits/400 hours, Individual project 60 credits/600 hours
Group Project
Group projects, which run between February and April, enable you to apply the knowledge, understanding and skills you have developed during the course modules into real-world situations, while gaining transferable skills in project management, time management and written and oral communication.
Group projects are usually sponsored by industrial or public sector partners who provide particular challenges linked to their businesses. Projects generally require the group to provide a solution to the operational challenge. Potential future employers value this experience.
The group projects span the MSc courses across the Environment programme, giving the added benefit of gaining new insights, ways of thinking, experience and skills from students with other backgrounds.
During the project, you will develop a range of skills, including learning how to establish team member roles and responsibilities, project management, and delivering technical presentations. At the end of the project, all groups submit a written report and deliver a presentation to the industrial partner. This presentation provides the opportunity to develop interpersonal and presentation skills within a professional environment. The project is assessed through a written report and an oral presentation by the group. In addition, a poster exhibition provides the opportunity to further develop presentation skills and effectively handle questions about complex issues in a professional manner.
Part-time students write a review of available information around a relevant topic, including academic literature, presentation of ideas, analysis and the development of conclusions.
Individual Project
The individual project component takes place between May and September for full-time students and allows you to delve deeper into a specific area of interest and further develop research and project management skills that:
- Provide the ability to think and work in an original way
- Develop and test your ability to plan and carry out a piece of research
- Apply theoretical knowledge and critical thinking
- Contribute to knowledge
- Overcome genuine problems
- Communicate through a thesis and oral exam
As our academic research is so closely related to industry and public sector organisations, it is very common for our partners to put forward real-world problems or areas of development as potential research topics.
For part-time students, it is common that their research projects are undertaken in collaboration with their place of work under academic supervision, given the approval of the Course Directors.