MSc Environmental Policy

This one year MSc degree is designed to equip students with essential knowledge about environmental sustainability, and policy and governance frameworks for environmental action, while also developing key professional tools to enable graduates to apply policy-oriented skills creatively in their future careers. The programme takes an international perspective on environmental issues and explores the increasingly complex environmental challenges that societies and governments face across the globe, addressing contemporary environmental debates such as Climate Change, Water Policy, Energy Security and Sustainability, and Urban Resilience. Teaching is focused on areas and skills within environmental policy-making, and an integrated group-project module provides practice-based insights into the policy-making process. Students can enhance their own specialist research interests during the completion of a thesis or internship in the third trimester. Students may gain practical experience in policy analysis, environmental assessment, cost-benefit analysis, public participation, and risk management. Key professional skills for future career development include leadership, problem-solving, communication, media skills, report writing, group work, presentation skills and project management.

Please note the accredited version of this programme, MSc Environmental Policy (W271) is a ‘Specialist Degree’ accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) in the UK and is available to all applicants. However, only those applicants with an existing degree with ‘Spatial Accreditation’ from the RTPI (e.g. UCD's City Planning & Environmental Policy degree) will be eligible for Licentiate Membership of the RTPI, the first step on the pathway to Chartered Membership of the RTPI. Applicants who are not pursuing accreditation should apply for the alternative version of the programme MSc Environmental Policy (W269). Both options are open for application under the "How to apply?" section of this page.