Program Overview

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MSc in Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment

The MSc in Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment is a taught course addressing climate and development challenges through economics, finance, and science, equipping students to lead the transition to a zero-carbon, sustainable future.

About the Course

The course addresses two pervasive and unmet challenges of our time: making the transition to a zero-carbon and environmentally sustainable economic model, whilst simultaneously enabling sustainable development for all. The MSc views these challenges through the lenses of finance, economics, and enterprise both public and private whilst also leveraging the environmental, systems, and data sciences.

Objectives

The objectives of the MSc are three-fold:

1. Develop a critical understanding of the nature, drivers, and trajectories of climate change and economic development.
2. Examine the role of enterprise and its relationship to environmental and development challenges across a range of risks, technological innovations, investment opportunities, and policy responses.
3. Enable students to integrate and apply their interdisciplinary knowledge, advanced methodological skills, and science-policy-enterprise network to foster innovation and scalable progress toward net zero and sustainable development.

Programme Learning Outcomes

The Programme Learning Outcomes of the MSc will equip students with knowledge, skills, and networks to understand:

• The nature, science, and trajectories of the net zero and sustainable development challenge (NZSD)
• The scope and limits of innovation and the different roles of enterprise public and private - in effective responses to NZSD
• The data and methods required to measure progress to NZSD and attribute impact, and a critical appreciation of data
• The economic frameworks, methods, and tools to apply to measure the NZSD problem and accelerate progress towards it
• The broad range of socio-technical drivers that can accelerate progress to NZSD
• The theory and practice of sustainable finance and investment, and how to engage with sector stakeholders
• The drivers reshaping economical social and environmental relationships
• The scope for markets to spur conservation and investment

Course Structure

The course caters for and is intentionally designed for a wide range of life and career stages: just-finished undergraduates, recent graduates, and early- to mid-career professionals. It combines directed teaching, self-regulated learning, structured engagement, formal assessment, and regular interaction with practitioners.

Attendance

The course is full-time and requires attendance in Oxford. Full-time students are subject to the University's Residence requirements.

Resources to Support Your Study

As a graduate student, you will have access to the University's wide range of resources, including libraries, museums, galleries, digital resources, and IT services.

Supervision

The course has an Academic Director and a Course Director who looks after the day-to-day running of the course. You will have a personal advisor who is a member of the Schools academic staff and who provides academic welfare support.

Assessment

Assessments will consist of either written examination and/or coursework, which may include written and/or oral tasks. You will also be assessed on your individual dissertation, which will have been produced independently and contain original work.

Graduate Destinations

This MSc will equip current and future decision-makers with the knowledge, skills, and networks to lead change towards sustainability across the public and private sectors and, on a global stage. The course will enable students to either start or continue on and rapidly progress within a career trajectory, or to pivot and change sector and/or function.

Course Components

Compulsory Study

The course objectives are addressed through three core courses:

• Transitions from Net Zero and Sustainable Development
• Economics, Markets and Society for Sustainability
• Enterprise, Finance and the Environment

The core courses are delivered through ten teaching modules, including:

• Climate Change and Net Zero
• Sustainable Enterprise
• Economics of Sustainability
• Spaces, Infrastructure and Technology for Net Zero and Sustainable Development
• Methods and Data
• Sustainable Finance
• Socio-technical Interventions and Sustainable Law
• Business Strategy for Sustainability
• Natural Capital, Markets and Society
• Water, Inequalities and Social Enterprise

Options

You will take two electives. Electives will be selected from a list of options available across the School of Geography and the Environment.

Entry Requirements

Proven and Potential Academic Excellence

The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown.

• A first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in any discipline.
• For applicants with a bachelor's degree from the USA, the minimum overall GPA that is normally required to meet the undergraduate-level requirement is 3.6 out of 4.0.

English Language Proficiency

This course requires proficiency in English at the University's higher level. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement.

References

You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course.

Supporting Documents

You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application, including:

• Official transcript(s)
• Personal statement: A maximum of 1,000 words
• Written work: One sample of written work of a maximum of 2,000 words

Funding

For entry in the academic year, the collegiate University expects to offer over 1,100 full or partial graduate scholarships across a wide range of graduate courses.

Costs

Annual Course Fees

The fees for this course are charged on an annual basis.

• Home: Ł31,280
• Overseas: Ł48,820

Additional Costs

In addition, as part of your course requirements, you will need to complete a dissertation as a compulsory part of the assessment for the course. Depending on your choice of topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses.

Living Costs

In addition to your course fees and any additional course-specific costs, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.

College Preference

Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. The following colleges accept students on the MSc in Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment:

• Blackfriars
• Brasenose College
• Campion Hall
• Christ Church
• Green Templeton College
• Jesus College
• Keble College
• Linacre College
• Mansfield College
• Regent's Park College
• Reuben College
• St Anne's College
• St Antony's College
• St Catherine's College
• St Cross College
• St Edmund Hall
• St Hilda's College
• Somerville College
• Wolfson College
• Worcester College
• Wycliffe Hall

How to Apply

You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents.

• Referees: Three overall, of which at least two should be academic
• Official transcript(s)
• Personal statement: A maximum of 1,000 words
• Written work: One sample of written work of a maximum of 2,000 words

After You've Submitted Your Application

Your application (including the supporting documents outlined above) will be assessed against the entry requirements detailed on this course page. Whether or not you have secured funding will be taken into consideration when your application is assessed.