Master in Polar Landscapes and Quaternary Climate
Stockholm, Sweden
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Aug 2026
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
About: The Master in Polar Landscapes and Quaternary Climate at Stockholm University's Faculty of Science teaches analysis of polar and alpine landscapes and Quaternary climate change. You'll learn glacial and periglacial processes, paleoclimatology, geomorphology and glaciology, global climate system functioning and field methods to reconstruct past climate and environmental change.
Career Outcomes: Graduates work in consultancies, government and regional authorities, and move on to doctoral education. You can pursue roles in environmental consulting, climate and glacier monitoring, policy advisory, natural resource management, environmental impact assessment and academic research. Career opportunities include consultancy, public sector positions and doctoral studies and beyond.
In many places of the world, we experience rapid environmental change. In the Master's Program, you get the knowledge and skills necessary for the understanding and analysis of polar and alpine landscapes.
You get insights into how they have changed on different time scales, linked to climate variations during the Quaternary period. Climate change is particularly rapid in the glacial and periglacial landscapes of polar and alpine regions. The program will provide you with knowledge about the global climate system's functioning and about methods used to reconstruct climate and environmental change. In addition, human and natural causes of climate change are presented and discussed.
The program gives you skills and tools that make you attractive in the labor market, and it also prepares you for a career in research. Today, former students work in consultancies and various government and regional authorities. Many have moved on to doctoral education both in Sweden and abroad.
The two-year Master’s program consists of 120 credits:
- 30 credits Mandatory courses
- 22.5 credits Elective courses
- 7.5-37.5 credits Optional courses
- 30-60 credits Master Thesis (mandatory)
The first semester starts with two compulsory courses. Here you acquire in-depth knowledge of climate and environmental change, geomorphology, and glaciology. You learn how to analyze and interpret landscape and climate change, and you focus on dating methods, presentation techniques, and scientific publishing. The first course starts with an excursion to northern Scandinavia, dealing with Quaternary climate history, glacial and periglacial landforms, and sub-Arctic and Arctic environments.
During the second and third semesters, you will focus on courses based on research for which we are internationally competitive. Examples are courses in climate modeling, bio-, lithostratigraphy, glaciology, palaeoglaciology, and permafrost, but there is a wide range of elective and optional courses also in other subjects, such as GIS and remote sensing and hydrology. A large part of the teaching is conducted in the field and in the laboratory. Our teachers are active researchers, providing direct contact with ongoing research.
Year 1
Autumn term
- Polar and Alpine Environments and Climate Changes, 15 credits
- Methods in Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, 15 credits
Spring term
Elective courses (22.5 credits) and optional courses (7.5 credits):
- Quaternary Climate and Environmental Reconstructions, 15 credits (period A-B)
- Permafrost - Interactions with Ecosystems and Hydrology, 7.5 credits (period A)
- Glaciology, 7.5 credits (period B)
- Climate Model Simulations, 7.5 credits (period C)
- Quaternary Sedimentology, 7.5 credits (period C)
- Paleoglaciology, 7.5 credits (period D)
Year 2
The number of optional courses taken will be dependent on the period of time devoted to the Master thesis 30, 45 or 60 credits, which may extend over one or two terms: Degree Project in Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology 30/45/60 credits.
The thesis is generally linked to an ongoing research project. Unique opportunities for Master thesis projects are available at our alpine research station located in Tarfala, Kebnekaise, or at our research station, Navarino Environmental Observatory in Greece.
