Climate Change, Environment and Society (Taught)

How does climate change affect society and the environment, and how does society affect climate change? Our MSc Climate Change, Environment and Society will teach you the practicalities of managing climate challenges at a societal level. You will learn through an interdisciplinary lens that combines social and physical aspects of climate change with organisational and project management skills from related disciplines.

You'll gain a deep understanding of the risks we currently face, how we manage it effectively, and how societies can adapt to be more resilient for the future. By understanding the complexity of climate challenges and exercising problem-solving skills, you'll develop practical skills such as:

climate change risk and uncertainty assessment
awareness of inequality within a globalised landscape
organisational and project management skills
cost benefit and scenarios analysis
whole system thinking
For your final project, you'll have the opportunity to investigate and design solutions for a real-life climate challenge with all the knowledge and skills gained throughout the course.

This is an interdisciplinary programme where you'll meet students from various backgrounds, each bringing a unique perspective to climate change and environmental issues. This is an excellent course for valuable peer-to-peer learning and a chance to broaden your global connections, as well as expanding your capacity to address a universal challenge from multiple viewpoints.

As masters students and therefore members of the university's research community, you will also have access to research seminars and lectures hosted by Nottingham Geospatial Institute and Centre for Environmental Geochemistry and the school’s research groups.

Core modules
Climate Change Decision-Making in Context
Climate Risk Management
Environmental and Climate Justice
Techniques for Environmental Solutions
Project Preparation Design and Management
Project

Optional modules
Advances in Managing Rivers and Catchments
Climate Change Law and Policy
Current Issues in Psychology: Debates and Applications
Global Climate Change
People and the Environment
Political Economy of Climate Change
Public Health Sustainability, Climate and Environment

Reports, Essays, Presentations, Blog posts, Policy review, Research project
Contact time and study hours:
You typically have around 10 contact hours per week, typically consisting of:

four to six hours of lectures
four to six hours of seminars
A typical 20-credit module assumes roughly 200 hours of taught and independent study.

Independent learning
When not attending lectures and seminars or other timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library, preparing coursework assignments and presentations. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities, including the library, Moodle, and our computer laboratories.