Course description

MSc Environmental Governance addresses some of the key environmental challenges of our time, exploring the connections between environmental governance and policies and the production, distribution and consumption of resources.

It will develop your ability to apply sophisticated, critical and interdisciplinary sustainability and environmental theories at multiple scales and in different geographical contexts.

As part of the course, you'll have the unique opportunity to collaborate and engage with cutting-edge researchers and world-leading experts on environmental governance, political ecology, Marxist political economy and urban sustainability. You will learn from real-world practitioners, and liaise with external organisations on live policy problems.

The course is ideal for pursuing a career in environmental regulation and management, those wishing to conduct further research on these topics, and environmental professionals wishing to deepen their knowledge.

Manchester is the ideal place to study Geography. The world's first industrial city, now a vibrant twenty-first century metropolis set between three National Parks, Manchester and its environment are an important resource for field teaching throughout your course.

Geography has been taught at The University of Manchester for more than 125 years.

We have a vibrant community of students and academic staff, with a wide range of teaching and research interests and an impressive international research reputation.

Aims

Learn from real-world practitioners and liaise with external organisations on live policy problems.

Consider approaches to regulating human use of the non-human world, from market-based to non-market approaches.

Tackle environmental resource questions using case studies from the 'first', 'second' and 'third' worlds.

Study different social spheres of environmental governance - production, distribution and consumption.

Benefit from a highly interdisciplinary course, exposing you to ideas and practices developed in a range of subject areas.

Special features

Geography has been studied at Manchester for more than 125 years, and we're one of Europe's best-equipped universities for the subject.

We're home to world-class academics and the new Manchester Urban Institute (MUI).

Benefit from worldwide fieldwork opportunities and strong industry links.

90% of our Geography research is rated as `world-leading' or `internationally excellent' in terms of impact (Research Excellence Framework 2014).

Join the Manchester University Geographical Society (MUGS) , a society run by Geography students for Geography Students.

Teaching and learning

Eight taught units comprise two-thirds of the course. The remainder of the programme consists of a 12,000-word dissertation on an approved topic.

Typical course units comprise two hours a week of seminar or small-group work.

Part-time students complete the full-time programme over 27 months. There are no evening or weekend course units available on the part-time programme, therefore if you are considering taking a programme on a part-time basis, you should discuss the requirements with the Programme Director first and also seek approval from your employer to have the relevant time off.  Timetabling information is normally available from late August from the Programme Administrator and you will have the opportunity to discuss course unit choices during induction week with the Programme Director.

Coursework and assessment

Course units involve a range of formative and summative assessments, including individual and group work, oral presentations and long essays, project work and reports. Coursework is designed to allow you to pursue your particular areas of interest. 

In the summer semester, you work independently to undertake dissertation work based on primary and/or secondary data, or else a more philosophical/theoretical dissertation.

We encourage you develop research in collaboration with members of the Society and Environment Research Group (SERG) and external organisations.