New Master鈥檚 Programme at The University of Manchester Takes a Fresh Approach to Tackling Climate Change
MA Social Change, Environment and Sustainability addresses issues of environment, climate change and sustainability from the perspective of sociology and social change.
A new postgraduate course addressing the global environmental crisis and the challenges of building sustainable societies has been launched by The University of Manchester.
According to a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), profound social change is urgently needed to help mitigate the climate crisis and meet other sustainability goals.
The new MA Social Change, Environment and Sustainability course responds to these needs by equipping a generation of graduates and researchers with the skills, knowledge and confidence to lead the transformational processes required. It explores the dynamic relations between social, cultural, socio-economic and socio-technical change and how this impacts the climate and ecological crisis.
Students will come away with knowledge of key environmental issues from a social scientific perspective, such as such as biodiversity and the global food system, consumption and the climate crisis and debates around sustainability and economic growth.
The programme is one of only a few in the country that specifically addresses issues of environment and sustainability from the perspective of sociology and social change. This will give students the training and skills to pursue a career in fields such as environmental and sustainability consultancy, communications, corporate social responsibility, government and policy, and the third sector, such as think tanks, charities and NGOs.
The course is led by , based at the University鈥檚 Sustainable Consumption Institute and Sociology Department, and offers valuable perspectives on how social innovation and behavioural change are critical to tackling the environmental crisis.
Prospects 鈥楩uture You鈥� podcast recorded with Programme Director Dan Welch:
The new course offers students the unique opportunity to explore environmental issues from the perspective of sociology. This a great opportunity for recent graduates from the social sciences who are motivated to understand processes of social change towards a more sustainable society, as well as those already working in the environmental and sustainability sector looking to develop their knowledge.
We recognised the skills gap that exists in understanding social change for sustainability and identified the need for more social sciences graduates with the right expertise to bridge it. Offering a programme that is rooted in sociology will give our students a unique advantage, with specialised knowledge and practical skills tailored to the nuances of societal and environmental issues.
The academic team involved in the delivery of the course will work with students to learn and critically engage with the complex subject matter, while also helping them to develop the skills needed to contribute to policies, initiatives and projects that address societal change for sustainability and that they can use to kick-start their careers.
The University of Manchester is one of the world鈥檚 top universities for sustainability and global impact 鈥� , for global impact against the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Its sociology department is , with its research achieving among the country鈥檚 top three universities for power and impact 鈥� according to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
The first cohort of the MA Social Change, Environment and Sustainability is planned for 2024 entry.
Find more information about the course and how to apply here.