Master of Science in Sustainable Development

The study programme is set up so students take courses throughout the first year and the first part of the second year. The remainder of the second year is devoted to Master’s Thesis research. The programme offers considerable scope to design your own personal ‘Master’s plan’ matching your interests and competencies.

Tracks

Following admission to this Master's programme students are required to choose one of four tracks. Tracks are structured combinations of courses from the programme, including mandatory courses and some electives. Tracks help students to design their own curriculum and specialisation based on their interests in Sustainable Development. As well as working in your chosen track, you will work in research teams with fellow students from the other tracks. The four tracks are:

• Energy and Materials (EM): The transformation to the sustainable use of energy and materials.
• Environmental Change and Ecosystems (ECE): The sustainable use of land and water.
• Earth System Governance (ESG): Governing the transformations needed for a sustainable world.
• Politics, Ecology and Society (PES): Exploring the political implications of ecology and the ecological basis of politics.

Courses

Courses are offered in 4 periods over each year. In each period in Year 1, students are required to take one course that is common to all students of the Sustainable Development Master’s programme, and one mandatory course from their selected track. These courses are shown in the table below. In Year 2 of the programme students have the opportunity to take 15 EC of elective courses, followed by the preparation of the Master's thesis.

Year 1

• Perspectives on Sustainable Development
• Systems Thinking, Scenarios & Indicators for SD
• Research Design SD
• Consultancy Project SUSD and WSM

Year 2

• Electives (15 EC)
• Master’s thesis SD external link (45 EC)

The Sustainable Development Master's programme will prepare you for an exciting and impactful career. As a graduate of the programme, you will have a variety of career prospects both in the academic and non-academic fields. Some of our graduates go on to develop their career in research, while others have continued as practitioners, consultants, project managers and policymakers in governmental organizations, NGOs, or businesses.

Academic Careers

Through the Sustainable Development programme, you can prepare for a Ph.D. programme, which will ultimately lead to professions in scientific research. Our graduates work as first-class researchers in the field of sustainable development in academic organisations, both within the Netherlands and internationally.

Non-academic Careers

The world needs people with comprehensive knowledge of sustainability. In this Master's programme, you have the opportunity to develop analytical and practical research skills, as well as strategies for intervention. This combination prepares you for academic-level position at consultancies, at research institutes, in government, in business or at NGOs. Career prospects are excellent: 90 percent of our graduates are in paid positions at an academic level. Some examples of organizations our graduates work for include:

Government services

• United Nations Environmental Programme
• Bureau for Traffic Enforcement of the Public Prosecution Service
• Rijnmond Environmental Service

NGOs

• World Wildlife Fund
• North Sea Foundation
• Oxfam Novib

Trade and Industry

• RoyalHaskoningDHV
• Unilever
• AkzoNobel
• Danone

Why study Sustainable Development at Utrecht University?

Studying Sustainable Development at Utrecht University has several advantages and benefits:

• This Master’s programme is offered by the Faculty of Geosciences, the only Geosciences faculty existing in the Netherlands.
• The programme is closely affiliated with the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, recognized internationally as a leader in sustainability research.
• The university’s extensive international network will make a wide range of research projects available to you and take you right into the heart of scientific practice.
• Your program will prepare you for societal engagement, for example through advisory work for policy-makers and the business sector and collaboration with civil society.
• The programme is international by definition, over 100 students from all over the world voicing a variety of views are welcomed to the programme each year, helping you to develop the skills to work with a variety of stakeholders representing different perspectives.
• Throughout the programme you will have contact with the labour market through seminars and consultancy projects where you can work for real clients in industry, government, research institutes and NGOs, as well as some opportunities for internships.

Sustainable Development is the study of scientific solutions and societal interventions for an environmentally accountable society. This two-year Master’s program educates the scientists of the future. As a graduate of this program, you will be able to contribute to innovative environmental solutions and help build a sustainable society.

October 2024

Multidisciplinary perspective

This programme is suitable for candidates who want to study and solve societal sustainability issues from a multidisciplinary perspective. The programme is of particular interest to students who are willing to broaden their perspectives through collaboration and interaction with students who bring to the programming knowledge of other natural and social science disciplines.