Study programme

Sustainable Development is a two-year Master’s programme taught in English and consisting of courses, projects, and research awarding a total of 120 credits in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). On this page you will find information concerning the curriculum, courses, educational methods, examinations and extracurricular opportunities.

Curriculum

The study programme is set up so students take courses throughout the first year and the first part of the second year. The remainder of the second year is devoted to Master’s Thesis research. The programme offers considerable scope to design your own personal ‘Master’s plan’ matching your interests and competences.

Tracks

Following admission to this Master's programme students are required to choose one of four tracks. Tracks are structured combinations of courses from the programme, including mandatory courses and some electives. Tracks help students to design their own curriculum and specialisation based on their interests in Sustainable Development. As well as working in your chosen track, you will work in research teams with fellow students from the other tracks. The four tracks are: 

• Energy and Materials (EM)
  The transformation to the sustainable use of energy and materials.
• Environmental Change and Ecosystems (ECE)
  The sustainable use of land and water.
• Earth System Governance (ESG)
  Governing the transformations needed for a sustainable world.
• Politics, Ecology and Society (PES)
  Exploring the political implications of ecology and the ecological basis of politics.

Courses

Courses are offered in 4 periods over each year. In each period in Year 1, students are required to take one course that is common to all students of the Sustainable Development Master’s programme, and one mandatory course from their selected track. These courses are shown in the table below. In Year 2 of the programme students have the opportunity to take 15 EC of elective courses, followed by the preparation of the Master's thesis. For information about the elective courses on offer, please see the drop down box below. 

Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development

The Sustainable Development Master’s programme is offered by the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, a vibrant international research community that aims to help accelerate the transition to a sustainable society. Through research in the field of sustainable development the Copernicus Institute develops excellent and relevant knowledge, collaborates with citizens, politicians, policymakers, NGOs and firms to learn from each other and influence decision-making, educating the change agents of the future.

Many of the courses offered in the Sustainable Development Master's programme are taught by academics who are carrying out cutting edge research at the Copernicus Institute, and their research often is featured during classwork, allowing students to keep up to date with the latest developments in the field. In some cases, Master's thesis research can also be linked to similarly themed research at the Copernicus Institute. Please follow the links below to find out more about the research that is being carried out. 

Educational Methods

The educational philosophy of the Sustainable Development Master’s programme is problem-oriented, which calls for a proactive teaching format. Problem-oriented education takes a concrete problem as the point of departure for the learning process and the learning process is related to the analysis and/or solution of the problem in question.

The teaching in the Sustainable Development programme follows “activating education” where the students themselves are largely in control of the learning process. They take their education into their own hands by doing individual or group assignments, taking part in debates or simulation games, and applying the methods they have learned. The students mainly work in small groups, with both the students and instructor taking an active role.The instructors are responsible for developing and distributing study guidelines, instructions, manuals, and giving feedback on the students’ performance.

There are multiple points during a course in which the student is tested. The final evaluation for a course does not depend solely on a final exam, and there are generally opportunities for feedback and improvement throughout each course.

Please watch the video below to find out more about the Carbon Game, an education activity carried out to help students learn about carbon mitigation schemes in the real world.

For the course Perspectives on Sustainable Development the first tutorial at the start of the programme is carried out as an outdoor learning activity in the Botanical Gardens at Utrecht University. Please check the video below to see how this year's session went.