The MSc Sustainability Transitions aims to educate and train sustainability leaders who have the ambition and passion to deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and enhance the desired transition to sustainability. This programme equips students with a theoretical inter-disciplinary understanding of sustainability transitions, their features, complexity and the various barriers and challenges that need to be overcome for sustainability transitions to be effective.
MSc Sustainability Transitions helps students acquire important analytical and intellectual skills that will allow them to think critically about sustainability and produce new valuable knowledge on sustainability transitions, and their various aspects and dimensions, in order to help foster sustainability transitions.
*This programme is subject to approval from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar.
At a glance
What You'll Study
- Courses
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Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (QQ5001) This course, which is prescribed for all taught postgraduate students, is studied entirely online, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.View detailed information about the Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen course
Introduction to Energy Transition (QG5001) This course gives students an introduction and overview of energy transition, by focussing on the three key areas of demand, technology and economics. It begins with an introduction to the current energy system and the motivation for an energy transition. There follows a characterisation of the key drivers that underpin our social and economic reliance on energy. Subsequently, behavioural measures and technologies to enable the energy transition are examined and assessed according to diverse technical, economic and environmental criteria.
Contemporary Environmental Challenges (QG5002) This course will introduce students to contemporary environmental issues at various temporal and spatial scales, and will explore associated environmental management challenges. Students will learn about different conceptual and theoretical approaches to the study of environmental challenges and they will explore the key drivers of environmental challenges from local to global scales. Lecturers will draw on their own research experience and use case studies to illustrate many of these issues.
Sustainability Transitions – Challenges and Opportunities (GG5003) This course will discuss the theoretical (and historical) evolution of the notion of sustainability, discuss various related concepts such as green growth and the green economy, introduce the topic of sustainability transitions as an interdisciplinary issue, explore the theory of sustainability transitions and discuss various technological, political, economic and socio-cultural challenges which transitions to sustainable forms of production and consumption must overcome to be successful.
Critical Climate Politics and Security (QI5001) The Leadership Challenge (QB5553) This course provides an opportunity to explore and develop an understanding of your own leadership behaviour. Through seminars, group activities and discussions we investigate how personality, past experience, current situations and culture shape the way each of us behave in a leadership role. Using this information as a starting point we then explore how different leadership theories and approaches can be used as a frameworks for developing a deeper understanding of leadership behaviour. You will also have an opportunity to assist you in the development of your own approach to leadership.
Research Methods (QG5504) In this course, you will conduct an individual research project into the behaviour of a computing system. You will develop knowledge and understanding of rigorous methods to: explore computing system behaviour; identify questions about behaviour; design experiments to answer those questions; analyse experimental results; and report on the outcomes of your research. You will develop your understanding of research ethics and how this relates to professional behaviour.
Governance and Political Economy of Sustainability (QG5505) This course will provide students with knowledge of theories of governance in the context of sustainable development. It will focus on the political economy of sustainable development and the political and economic tensions between different institutions, levels of administration and sectors of economy. Students will learn about theories of governance pertaining to the natural environment and sustainable development. They will explore the different institutional scales (e.g. local, national, global) of environmental governance and the processes of decision making for environmental governance. The course will also investigate the tensions between social, economic and environmental objectives for sustainable development.
Partnerships for Sustainability (QG5506) Partnerships for Sustainability provides an overview understanding and analysis of the role of partnerships as a means of delivering and governing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Sustainability Project (QG5907) The aim of the Sustainability Project is to enable students to produce an independent and original piece of work that demonstrates advanced knowledge in a chosen aspect of sustainability transitions. Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to identify, define and develop appropriate research questions, and collect and analyse qualitative and quantitative data to address specific research aims using a range of standard and specialised techniques of enquiry.
How You'll Study
Course delivery is by means of lectures, seminars and small group tutorials. On specific courses, these will be supplemented by external speakers.
Learning Methods
Assessment Methods
With no exams, all assessment is done through a portfolio of work. This portfolio not only becomes our way of assessing and appraising you, it also provides tangible proof to prospective employers to help them gauge your business knowledge - and gives you a powerful recruitment tool to help secure a better future beyond the programme.
Why Study Sustainability Transitions?
The programme is designed to:
- understand the grand challenges of our times (e.g. climate change, environmental degradation) and gain relevant skills and knowledge to research them and help address them.
- gain an in-depth theoretical understanding of sustainability transitions and associated concepts such as sustainable development, green growth, energy transition, and the green economy, and to become familiar with their historical evolution.
You will
- understand the complex relationships between environmental, social, economic and political dimensions of sustainability transitions, and various modes of governance related to sustainability, and to acquire relevant intellectual skills to analyse them.
- acquire relevant and important practical skills (e.g. leadership) to be well positioned to contribute to sustainability transitions on a practical level and help instigate necessary changes to help the world transition to more sustainable forms of production and consumption.
- gain practical experience in developing, managing and conducting research projects in partnership with external bodies OR to excel relevant research skills to be able to design and undertake successful academic research projects in the field of sustainability.
Entry Requirements
Motivation and understanding of this degree are important factors in securing admission. Your personal statement/statement of purpose should focus on covering the following points:
- Clear understanding of the degree and its underlying principles;
- Previous relevant experience in relation to sustainability;
- Information on how the degree will help with future career development.
- 2:2 (Honours) degree (or equivalent) in Agriculture, Business, Ecology, Environmental Science, Environmental Management, Environmental Economics, Environmental Engineering, Forestry, Geography, Geology, Law, Marine Science, Planning, Politics, Sociology, Soil Science, Zoology.
- Candidates with degrees in other subject areas will be considered if they can demonstrate interest, aptitude and experience in a field relevant to the application of environmental studies and management.
English requirements
To study for a Postgraduate Taught degree at the University of Aberdeen it is essential that you can speak, understand, read, and write English fluently.
The minimum requirements for this degree are as follows:
- Your first degree was studied in English
OR
- IELTS Academic: OVERALL - 6.5 with: Listening - 5.5; Reading - 6.0; Speaking - 5.5; Writing - 6.0
- TOEFL iBT: OVERALL - 90 with: Listening - 17; Reading - 21; Speaking - 20; Writing - 21
- PTE Academic: OVERALL - 62 with: Listening - 51; Reading - 54; Speaking - 51; Writing - 54
- Cambridge English Advanced & Proficiency: OVERALL - 176 with: Listening - 162; Reading - 169; Speaking - 162; Writing - 169
Fees
- The tuition fee for entry in September is 105,000 QR per year.
- Tuition fees are fixed at the point of entry so there is no annual increase for returning students.
- Flexible payment methods are available.