MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development

Start of programme: September intake only

Mode of Attendance: Full Time or Part Time

The MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development provides a unique specialisation in a rapidly developing area of law. Environmental law is one of the most challenging fields that has grown very rapidly over the past four decades and is now one of the key areas of both domestic and international law. At SOAS, we understand the environment in a broad sense which includes not only environmental issues strictly speaking but also all the links that they have with other areas such as natural resources, human rights, economic development trade or intellectual property rights. In other words, there is a very direct and close link between environmental law and sustainable development. This is not surprising since sustainable development has been the umbrella concept guiding the development of environmental law since the late 1980s. It remains the central concept around which environmental law and policy is centered (the Rio+20 summit was known as the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development) and around international development policy is focused at least until 2030 in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015.

The SOAS degree offers a distinct mix of modules that covers the main areas of environmental law in their international and national dimensions. This includes modules covering global and international environmental issues, either in their general context (Law, Environmental and Sustainable Development in a Global Context) or focused on specific regimes (Climate Change and Energy Law and Policy), modules focusing more specifically on the resource dimension of environmental law (Law and Natural Resources) and inter-disciplinary modules focused on specific resources (Water Law and Development: Conflicts, Governance and Justice).

The international and global nature of many environmental issues makes the international law component a key part of the MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development. We offer all the general topics that make up the core of international environmental law. Additionally, we focus specifically on the North-South dimension of international environmental issues given the key role that this plays in most international environmental negotiations.  Further, the MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development specifically seeks to put international environmental law in its national context and examines the broad legal frameworks negotiated at the international level in the context of their implementation in selected countries of the South. It thus provides a grounded context to the study of environmental law. We also study the legal regimes of individual countries of the South to provide much more specific analysis of the discipline at the level of its implementation in specific contexts. The MA in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development gives specific emphasis to different regions of the South, including South Asia, China and sub-Saharan Africa.

 For further information about the general structure of the MA in Law programme at SOAS, please visit the General MA in Law (MA in Legal Studies) page.

To facilitate the study of law, all MA students are required to attend a two-week Preliminary Law, Legal Reasoning and Legal Methods in the September before beginning the MA programme.

Students must take modules to a total value of 180, consisting of a dissertation (60 credits) and 120 credits of taught modules.  Taught modules are worth either 15 or 30 credits.

Students who wish to graduate with a specialised MA are required to take at least 60 credits associated with his or her specialised MA, a further 30 credits within the School of Law (General Law Postgraduate Taught Module List), and a final 30 unit which can either be taken within the School of Law or from the Language Open Options or Non-Language Open Options pages with the MA Programme Convenor’s permission. The dissertation topic will be undertaken within the MA specialisation.

Please note: Not all modules listed will be available every year. Please see the individual module page for information.

Specialism Module List (at least 60 credits to be taken)

Non-Law Options

General Law Postgraduate Module List

An additional 30 credits must be taken from this list or the Specialism Module List above

Language Open Options or Non-Language Open Options

A final 30 credits must be taken from these lists or from the General Law Postgraduate Module List above or from the Specialism Module List.

Dissertation

Students must also take a Dissertation in Law, which should be on a topic relating to environmental law and sustainable development.

This is the structure for 2017/18 applicants

Disclaimer

Teaching & Learning

Knowledge & Understanding

• Students will acquire specialist knowledge of environmental law in an international and comparative perspective.
• This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, knowledge and understanding of the following:
a. the theoretical and practical underpinnings of environmental law internationally;
b. the context in which law is made, interpreted, adjudicated, and amended;
c. the role played by law, particularly environmental law in different situations internationally, particularly its role in promoting sustainable development in the global South;
d. the role and function of legal institutions in managing the environment and natural resources;
e. the weight and significance of different sources and methodologies.
• Students will develop knowledge of how to locate relevant materials and assess their relevance and/or importance.

Intellectual (thinking) Skills

• Students should develop rigour in analysis and assessment of legal arguments.
• Students should develop the ability to understand, summarise and critically assess differing perspectives on theoretical debates.
• Students should develop independence of thought and the confidence to challenge the accepted wisdom.
• Students should learn to identify issues and formulate questions for further research through independent work.
• Students will be encouraged to bring to bear their own previous experience and knowledge in addressing legal issues in an interdisciplinary manner.

Subject-based Practical Skills

The programme will help students develop the ability to:
• Write clear research essays and dissertations.
• Research in a variety of specialized research libraries and institutes and online, and retrieve, sift and select information from a variety of sources.
• Present seminar papers and defend the arguments therein.
• Discuss ideas introduced during seminars.
• Develop essay and dissertation research questions.
• Read legal source materials rapidly and critically.
• Present legal arguments in moots and debates.

Transferable Skills

• Communicate effectively in writing.
• Structure and communicate ideas and arguments effectively both orally and in writing.
• Read and comprehend significant quantities of reading rapidly and effectively and develop critical faculties.
• Find and use a variety of written and digital materials, especially legal materials, in libraries and research institutes.
• Present (non – assessed) material orally.
• Develop teamwork skills.

Tuition Fees

Full details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's Postgraduate Tuition Fees page.

This is a Band 5 tuition fee.

Fees for 2017/18 entrants. The fees below are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. 

Scholarships

For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section

• How to Apply
• Online Application
• Request a prospectus
• Got a question - use our enquiry form (opens a new window)
• Funding options
• English language requirements
• Tuition Fees
• Admissions Contacts