Program Overview

MPhil in Environmental Policy

The MPhil in Environmental Policy is a postgraduate degree that provides intensive training in the relevant economic and legal concepts and techniques to equip students with the tools to successfully design, implement, and evaluate environmental policy in various settings.

Course Overview

The course is designed to enable students of high calibre to pursue their education at an advanced applied level, drawing on the primary disciplines of economics, planning, and environmental policy, with additional specialisms in finance and law. The course aims to:

• Enable students to build on and develop material that they may have studied at an undergraduate level, as well as broaden their knowledge base.
• Equip students with the necessary skills to pursue careers at a high level in a range of areas, including business and finance, civil service, public service, property professions, environmental agencies and organisations, national and international agencies, and further study.
• Provide opportunities for education in a multidisciplinary environment to advance the understanding of cognate disciplines and their applications.
• Provide opportunities for learning with colleagues from different social, economic, and legal systems.
• Provide students with appropriate skills and experience to enable them to use information and resources critically and to equip them with the means to undertake their own research.
• Provide an educational environment with a strong research ethos that brings together students from a wide variety of backgrounds and fosters an international approach to common problems.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the course, students will have acquired the following skills:

• Knowledge and understanding of the subject matter of the various components of their course.
• Intellectual skills: the ability to study steadily, assimilate issues and large amounts of literature swiftly, evaluate countervailing positions, and produce succinct arguments to tight deadlines.
• Practical skills: identification and use of bibliographic materials, taking notes effectively, and thorough IT skills.
• Transferable skills: the ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, work to deadlines and under pressure, manage time, set priorities, formulate an argument, work independently and with initiative, and basic IT skills.
• Research skills: the ability to locate, utilise, and organise a wide range of materials independently, on paper and electronically, assess and evaluate such material, develop and pursue a critique of existing material, and develop, structure, and sustain a line of argument.
• Communication skills: the ability to marshal arguments and present them succinctly and lucidly, effectively criticise the views of others powerfully but fairly, and present written material in a persuasive and coherent manner.
• Interpersonal skills: the ability to work with others in seminars and smaller groups towards common goals, share research data ethically, respect the views of others, and acknowledge deficiencies in one's own argument.

Course Structure

The course is taught over 10 months full-time and is offered by the Department of Land Economy.

Admission Criteria

Approval of an application to continue to the PhD degree will depend on three criteria:

1. Availability of a supervisor
2. The approval by the Degree Committee of a research proposal
3. The achievement of a minimum overall mark and minimum dissertation mark in the MPhil examination as prescribed by the Degree Committee in any offer of admission

Key Information

• Study Mode: Taught
• Degree: Master of Philosophy
• Department: Department of Land Economy
• Course Duration: 10 months full-time
• Dates and deadlines:
  • Applications open: September 3, 2025
  • Application deadline: January 27, 2026
  • Course starts: October 1, 2026
• Funding deadlines:
  • Course funding deadline: December 3, 2025
  • Gates Cambridge US round only: October 15, 2025

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