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Centre for Development, Environment and Policy (CeDEP)

Sustainable Development

Programme Convenor: Dr Ben Daley

The global community faces a range of profound economic, social and environmental challenges that are intensifying due to climate change and globalisation. Responses to those challenges are often framed within broader debates about sustainable development. This programme focuses on the global development and environmental challenges that have been articulated in the Millennium Development Goals and in other international agreements, and it explores ways of finding solutions to those challenges through the promotion of sustainable development. The programme provides a theoretical basis for the study of sustainable development and for understanding the evolution and meanings of this fiercely-contested concept.

Programme aims

The purpose of the programme is to enable students to acquire the skills needed to analyse and understand current globalisation and sustainability issues and debates.
The aims of the programme are:

  • to enhance knowledge for informed decision- and policy-making on sustainable development issues
  • to enhance critical, analytical, and integrative skills for resolving environmental and sustainable development challenges
  • to provide practical research experience and opportunities for reflection in order to promote sustainable development
Career prospects for graduates

Graduates of this programme will have a wide range of backgrounds and will typically find work in:

  • government ministries and other public sector organisations concerned with policy analysis in the fields of sustainable development and environmental planning
  • international and non-governmental organisations concerned with the sustainable dimensions of economic change
  • consultancies and development projects concerned with issues of sustainability and analyses of the interface between environment and poverty
  • applied research and teaching in institutions of research and higher education

Programme structure

QualificationNumber of modulesDuration
 CoreElectiveResearchTotal 
MSc in Sustainable Development3 out of 44*29Minimum of 2 years and maximum registration of 5 years
PGDip in Sustainable Development3 out of 44* 7Minimum of 2 years and maximum registration of 5 years
PGCert in Sustainable Development3 out of 4 1** 4Minimum of 1 year and maximum registration of 5 years

*At least 3 from one specialism, plus 1 free choice from all specialisms

** One free choice from all specialisms