Saint Andrews, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
07 Aug 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 29,950 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* overseas / home: £14,140
Key Summary
Introduction
Our Sustainable Development program addresses many of the most pressing developmental (environmental and social) challenges of the 21st century, equipping our students to evaluate diverse and contested ideas about what these challenges are and how best to solve them, as well as teaching the skills needed to develop these ideas in policy directions. We cover a breadth of environmental, social, and economic issues, such as climate change, development, health, energy, policy change, and conservation.
Our MSc in Sustainable Development is led by interdisciplinary critical social science. This means that we start from the scientific consensus about human impacts on climate and the environment but also with recognition that it is social and political contexts that are preventing vital change. Social science perspectives address this current gap, for example by being attentive to questions of power, knowledge, and politics. Within this, our course pays particular attention to questions of justice and equity. We commit to research-led teaching, academic rigor and teaching you the skills needed to implement research-led policy.
Course details
You will explore the tensions and synergies between different theories and approaches to sustainability, including forms of governance and decision-making. You will engage with sustainable development policy and practice at different scales (local, national, and international), and consider alternative frameworks and trajectories of sustainability - from broad-scale ecosystem approaches to decolonial agendas. Coursework components will help you to develop and demonstrate writing and analysis skills for different audiences. Optional modules allow you to explore topics such as capitalism and development, energy politics, and population change, which will further develop the interdisciplinary character of your studies.
Highlights
- Introduces different conceptualizations of sustainability and enables students to navigate a contested (and urgent) field
- Rooted in critical interdisciplinary social science, this course addresses social and political responses to climate science and offers a remarkable richness and depth compared with conventional single-subject degrees
- Core courses first use Development and then Nature as entry points into Sustainable Development. We teach you to analyze academic concepts and debates before shifting focus to research-led policy
- Our MSc focuses on the relationships between academia, policy, and society, and teaches writing for both academic and policy audiences.
Admissions
Curriculum
The modules published below are examples of what has been taught in previous academic years and may be subject to change before you start your program.
Compulsory
The MSc is structured around two compulsory taught modules:
Semester 1
- Interrogating Sustainable Development: introduces the origins of the concept, as well as its key critiques and alternatives, using ‘development’ as a broad entry point to a famously vague term and provides solid theoretical foundations enabling you to critically analyze different and contested approaches to sustainability.
Semester 2
- Sustainable development: from principles to practice: examines how doing sustainable development research with non-academic partners challenges us to engage with sustainability as an academic, policy, and practical concern. We will consider how inter- and transdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development stimulate learning and innovation to address socio-environmental inequalities and vulnerabilities.
Optional
Alongside compulsory modules, students will complete many optional modules (normally two per semester). Optional modules allow you to shape the degree around your own personal and professional interests.
It is recommended that students complete modules from the following list:
Semester 1
- Contemporary environmental issues: allow masters students to develop their depth and breadth of understanding of a wide range of environmental concerns through the lens of 'Planetary Boundaries'; provides a foundation for students to integrate environmental science aspects of global issues into sustainable development.
- Population Change and Sustainable Development: Patterns, Processes, and Politics: equips students with knowledge of core concepts in population studies and develops critical engagement in the connections between population and sustainability using examples from across the globe and research from a range of social science disciplines.
Semester 2
- Capitalism, Development, and Environment: consider how environments, resources, and livelihoods both shape and are shaped by development practices, and how one distinguishes between and evaluates 'negative' (harmful, or unsustainable) and 'positive' (beneficial, or sustainable) development.
Other optional modules are expected to be offered in the following areas:
- Environmental History
- Green politics: theory and practice
- Managing natural resources
- Managing non-governmental organizations
- Disease and environment
- Extractive environments
- Valuing environments.
Optional modules are subject to change each year and require a minimum number of participants to be offered; some may only allow limited numbers of students.
Project
The final part of the MSc is the end-of-degree project. This takes the form of a period of supervised research where you will explore a sustainable development topic in depth.
Through the project, you will show your ability to undertake sustained critical analysis, develop and improve your research skills, and produce an extended piece of written work that demonstrates a high level of understanding of your area of study.
You can choose to present your end-of-degree project in one of the following ways:
- A policy report and policy brief that emphasizes your ability to critically assess sustainable development policy and make convincing recommendations for policy changes
- A written dissertation that emphasizes your ability to plan and execute academically rigorous research (open to students with appropriate methodological experience)
If students choose not to complete the project requirement for the MSc, there is an exit award available that allows suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MSc.
Teaching
Teaching format
The taught modules are taken over two semesters – September to December (Semester 1) and January to May (Semester 2). The period from June to August is used to complete the end-of-degree project.
Each taught module will use teaching and learning methods appropriate to its aims. These may include seminars, workshops, lectures, tutorials, and independent study.
Assessment
Assessment methods used may include essays, reports, presentations, practical exercises, reflective exercises, and examinations.
Scholarships and Funding
The University of St Andrews is committed to attracting the very best students, regardless of financial circumstances.
The University of St Andrews offers postgraduate scholarships and other financial awards. These may be held in addition to external funding or awards from a government body. These may also cover (fully or partially) tuition fees, maintenance (living costs including accommodation), or both.
Scholarships are available based on academic merit and financial need. There are scholarships available for both home and overseas fee status. The scholarship team recommends reading the terms of each award carefully and applying to a range of funding sources.
Postgraduate scholarships
Postgraduate study is an investment in your intellectual development and career potential. The University of St Andrews provides scholarships to help as many students as possible continue in higher education.
Scholarship availability may depend on your area of study or fee status (for example, whether you are a 'Home' or 'Overseas' student).
Career Opportunities
The University of St Andrews’ global reputation makes its graduates highly valued by employers. The MSc in Sustainable Development provides subject knowledge and applied skills relevant to a range of career paths in government and public bodies, non-governmental organizations and charities, and the private sector.
In addition to broadening your subject knowledge and applying established techniques of research and inquiry, you will develop and demonstrate essential skills including:
- Critical thinking and creativity
- Analysis and appraisal
- Problem-solving and decision-making
- Personal leadership and project management
- Interpersonal communication and teamwork.
Further study
St Andrews offers a vibrant and stimulating research environment. One of the great strengths of a St Andrews research degree is the collegiate atmosphere which enables access to expertise beyond your formal supervisors and the ability to conduct interdisciplinary research.
Research students are supported by a supervisory team throughout their studies and are assessed through a substantial thesis of original research.