Program Overview

Overview

The BSc (Hons) in Sustainable Development encourages students to rise to the challenges of the environment and society, and focuses on the study of principles and practices of sustainability in an interdisciplinary environment.

Entry Requirements

SQA Highers

• Standard entry grades: AAAB
• Minimum entry grades: AABB
• Gateway entry grades: Applicants who have narrowly missed the minimum entry grades, but meet the University's contextual criteria, may be interested in one of the University’s Gateway programmes.

GCE A-Levels

• Standard entry grades: AAA
• Minimum entry grades: ABB

IB points

• Standard entry grades: 38 (HL 6,6,6)
• Minimum entry grades: 36 (HL 6,5,5)

General Entry Requirements

All applicants must have attained the following qualifications, or equivalent, in addition to the specific entry requirements for individual programmes.

• SQA National 5 (B) in English and one SQA National 5 (B) from the following:
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing science
  • Geography
  • Applications of Mathematics
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology
• GCSE (5) in English language or English literature, and one GCSE (5) from the following:
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing Science
  • Geography
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology

Do I need to have studied this subject before?

No previous knowledge of this subject is required.

Course Details

The BSc (Hons) in Sustainable Development is a four-year course run by the School of Geography and Sustainable Development.

Modules

In the first two years of your degree (known as sub-honours), you will take the five required modules in sustainable development alongside modules in at least one other subject.

• First year:
  • What is Sustainable Development?: provides an introductory overview to Sustainable Development, such as social justice, human well-being, inter-generational equity and environmental stewardship.
  • Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges and Opportunities: offers detailed investigation of a selection of core issues in sustainable development - and how these issues are addressed by key players.
• Second year:
  • From Sustainable Development to Human Security: focuses overarching approaches for developing sustainability solutions, whose interests they represent, their implications on the 'individual', the benefits and trade-offs.
  • Changing Natures: develops student appreciation of the diverse ways that natures are known, protected and changed. It explores the roles of people, politics and policies, and the nature of change that is required to meet contemporary challenges.
  • Sustainable Scotland: draws on Scotland’s unique landscapes, patterns of urbanisation, and the geography of population to examine interrelated issues of land use and social inequalities to the broader questions of sustainability here in Scotland.

If you decide to take sustainable development in your third and fourth years, you choose from a wide variety of advanced options. Modules previously offered include:

• Building sustainable, inclusive and just cities
• Extractive Environments
• Global Health Disparities
• Governance for Sustainability
• Green Politics: theory and practice
• Home and Energy Geographies
• The Blue Economy and Maritime Security Intersections and Interdependence
• The Nature of Political Ecology
• Transitioning to Sustainability: Community, Nature and Governance

Teaching

• Teaching format: lectures, seminars, laboratory classes, tutorials, field excursions, research projects
• Assessment: coursework, end of semester essays, examinations
• Support: one-on-one contact with staff, small group tutorials, academic support

Fees

• Scotland: £1,820
• England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man: £9,535
• EU and overseas: £31,670

Joint Honours Degrees

You can also take Sustainable Development as part of a joint Honours degree in which you will take core modules of your chosen subjects.

Careers

Given sustainable development’s high global profile, graduates with this degree are in demand because of their keen interest in the nature and future of the planet, and their skills in thinking critically and creatively about today’s key challenges.

Career pathways for graduates include:

• conservation
• education
• development
• environmental management
• government
• non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
• impact assessment
• strategic planning and development
• the energy sector
• business and finance
• consultancy
• scientific research

Research Areas

The School of Geography and Sustainable Development has a strong research focus, with staff expertise in a range of areas, including:

• climate change
• environmental management
• environmental politics
• ocean governance
• sustainable technologies
• social justice
• urban sustainability

Start Date and Duration

• Start date: September 2025
• End date: September 2029
• Duration: Four years full time

School

• School of Geography and Sustainable Development

UCAS Code

• F890