MSc Environment, Politics and Society
A distinctive MSc Programme that combines key concepts in environmental social science and political theory to explore the formation and continuation of modern practices across the discipline.
Overview
The Environment, Politics and Society MSc gives you a distinctive opportunity to explore the ways science, politics and cultural practice shape our understanding of the society-environment relationship. We will examine how politics, power and knowledge are woven through geopolitical and environmental practice in ever more complex and intricate ways.
The Programme encourages intellectual engagement with the core concepts in social science while staying grounded in the analysis of contemporary environmental and geopolitical issues and policies. You will learn a wide range of social science methods and personal transferable skills through the modules and assignments, including:
- Essays
- Group work
- Book reviews
- Project proposals
- Oral presentations
Thanks to the course appealing to a diverse range of students from different academic backgrounds and nationalities, our small group discussions will usually be lively and informative. We place a particular emphasis on peer-to-peer learning to take your education beyond the formal modules, helping you learn from and exchange ideas with your fellow students.
Structure
You can complete this Programme full time over one year or part time over two years.
There are four compulsory modules:
- Three in Term 1
- One in Term 2
You then choose four optional modules:
- One in Term 1
- Three in Term 2
If you are studying part-time, you will usually take GEOG0084 Geopolitics and GEOG0073 Environmental Knowledges in the first term of year one.
In the second term of year one, you will usually take GEOG0085 Environment, Politics and Practice. You would then choose one additional optional module.
The compulsory module for year two is GEOG0082 Social Science Research: Methodologies and Methods, taking place in term one. You would then choose three additional optional modules.
To expand your knowledge, you can may also be able to take one optional module from another UCL department, subject to permission.
The following modules will be available for 2022/23. Please note: These may be subject to change.
COMPULSORY MODULES (Term One)
| Module code | Module title | UCL Credit value |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG0073 | Environmental Knowledges | 15 credits |
| GEOG0082 | Social Science Research: Methodologies and Methods | 15 credits |
| GEOG0084 | Geopolitics | 15 credits |
COMPULSORY MODULES (TERM TWO)
| Module code | Module title | UCL Credit value |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG0085 | Environment, Politics and Practice | 15 credits |
| GEOG0103 | Research Dissertation (Terms 1 and 2) | 60 credits |
OPTIONAL MODULES (Term One)
| Module code | Module title | UCL Credit value |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG0093 | Conservation and Environmental Management | 15 credits |
OPTIONAL MODULES (TERM TWO)
| Module code | Module title | UCL Credit value |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG0078 | Geographies of Material Culture | 15 credits |
| GEOG0083 | Politics of Climate Change | 15 credits |
| GEOG0086 | Advanced Geopolitics | 15 credits |
| GEOG0087 | Precarious Urban Environments | 15 credits |
| GEOG0100 | Postcolonial Cultural Geographies | 15 credits |
| GEOG0149 | Urban Policy | 15 credits |
| GEOG0152 | Introduction to Citizen Science and Scientific Crowdsourcing | 15 credits |
| GEOG0155 | Social Science Research: Methodologies and Methods | 15 credits |
| GEOG0167 | Migratory Activisms, Creative Citizenships | 15 credits |
As part of this Programme, you will carry out a Dissertation (worth 60 credits) from April to September on a relevant topic you develop. This will represent a substantial piece of independent research involving data acquisition and analysis. You supervisor will ensure you are progressing with the project practically and intellectually.
People
Course Convenor and Lecturer in Environment, Politics and Society |
|
Alan is convenor for the GEOG0082 Social Science Research: Methodologies and Methods core module. He is an urban geographer whose research focuses on sociality and urban life, globalisation and the cultural economy of cities, and corporeal mobility. |
 Jason Dittmer Jason is the Head of the Geography Department and convenes the GEOG0084 Geopolitics core module. His current research is on Gibraltar and the materiality of geopolitics. His most recent books are Diplomatic Material: Affect, assemblage, and foreign policy published in 2017 and Popular Culture, Geopolitics, and Identity, published 2019. |
 Sam Randalls Sam's research interests are at the interface of business, science and the environment, with a particular focus on weather and climate. His recent research focuses on the development of 19th century weather-related insurance and histories of climate policies. |
|
Jennifer is active in the Urban Laboratory, a network for Urban Studies with representatives from across UCL. Here research interests include developing a postcolonial critique of urban studies. Her book Ordinary Cities, which looks at how the interplay between urban modernity and development, was published in 2006. It examines the conceptual and practical divide between so-called 'Western' and 'developing' cities. |
|
Alan is a political geographer with a particular focus on ideas of geopolitics, biopolitics, aesthetics and security. His research includes exploring the ways geopolitical events become the object of public practices. He is the author of Geopolitics and the Event: Rethinking Britain’s Iraq War Through Art, published in 2019. |
 Chris Brierley Chris convenes the MSc Climate Change Programme. His research revolves around the use of earth system models to answer questions about past and future climate change. His ongoing work for the Palaeoclimate Model Intercomparison (Climate of the Past, 2020) forms part of the past climate community's contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change's 6th Assessment Report. |
 Pushpa Arabindoo Pushpa Arabindoo is a Co-Director of the UCL Urban Laboratory where she leads the priority theme of Wasteland. With an undergraduate degree in Architecture, an MSc in Urban Design and a PhD in Planning, her work assumes an interdisciplinary approach to urban studies, drawing on everything from engineering and natural sciences to humanities and the social sciences. Her research is set in the Indian city of Chennai where she has investigated a range of issues from middle-class activism to subaltern politics and ecological imaginaries around nature, water and waste. |
|
Tariq convenes the GEOG0100 Postcolonial Cultural Geographies module and is cofounder and codirector of UCL’s Centre for the Study of South Asia and the Indian Ocean World. His research examines the intersection between critical geography, postcolonial and critical theory, and South Asian studies. |
 Peter Jones Peter is a Senior Associate Researcher in environmental governance, specialising in case studies on marine protected areas and marine spatial planning. He has produced guidance for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on combining governance approaches to promote effectiveness and equity. His related book, Governing Marine Protected Areas: resilience through diversity, was published in 2014. |
 Muki Haklay Muki is the Co-Director of the Extreme Citizen Science (ExCiteS) group and co-founder of the social enterprise Mapping for Change. His work focuses on participatory mapping, crowdsourced geographic information and citizen science, alongside public access, use and creation of environmental information. |
 Rory Coulter Rory joined the UCL Geography Department after completing an ESRC Future Research Leaders project on the rates of homeownership among young people. His research uses longitudinal datasets to analyse the different types of homes and neighbourhoods people move to throughout their lives. |
Fees and funding
Fees* and scholarships information can be found on the main UCL website.
*Please note that optional choice modules in Term 2 may incur additional costs for accommodation and transport associated with residential field classes or fieldwork.
Applications
You can apply for a place on this Programme via UCL Admissions.
Potential applicants are expected to have a First or Upper Second-Class Honours degree in a relevant discipline (primarily social science and humanities, though we will consider students with a science background) from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. If you have any questions about this Programme or would like to make an appointment to meet staff, please email either the Department or course convener Dr Eszter Kovacsseth.
International applicants will need a Level 4 or equivalent recognised English language qualification. Visit the UCL Graduate pages for information on UCL’s English Language Requirements.
Careers
In previous year, our students have gone on to work for NGOs, charities, think tanks, the public sector and the media, as well as further study. The most recent data for the Programme shows that 50% of our graduates took on full-time work, 30% went into further study and 10% combined work and study. Their careers have spanned from conservation and environmental professions to education. Visit our Careers page to find out more about graduate employment.