Program Overview

MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy

The MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy is a two-year, part-time masters programme designed for senior, mid-career, and high-potential early-career professionals. It is delivered through a blend of online distance learning, e-learning through a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), and attendance at five residential blocks of intensive in-person study in Cambridge.

Overview

The programme offers a unique, interdisciplinary perspective on climate change, environmental challenges, and urban transformations. It aims to prepare leaders who can navigate and influence the profound societal shifts required for a sustainable future, enabling them to create informed, impactful strategies within governments, businesses, and civil society.

Course Information

• The programme builds on over twenty years of graduate-level teaching in environmental policy and urban topics within the Department of Land Economy.
• Participants develop the skills to analyse complex sustainability challenges using tools from complementary fields, including:
  • Economics and public policy
  • Law and governance
  • Urban planning
  • Complex systems
• These areas form the programmes core analytical lenses and are applied across international, transnational, and domestic contexts.

Course Aims

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate a 360° strategic understanding of climate, environmental, and urban policies and their relevance for sustainability transformations.
• Identify the short, medium, and long-term drivers of sustainability transformations.
• Discuss the political economy of energy and climate change, including market structure, regulatory intervention, subsidies, taxes, and carbon pricing.
• Explain the different dimensions of the global challenges around degrading ecosystems and loss of biodiversity.
• Critically understand the complex factors surrounding the low-carbon transition, including technology innovation, market dynamics, geopolitical drivers, and environmental constraints.
• Discuss the main drivers of demographic trends at the global level and how they can be addressed at the local level (e.g., in cities).
• Describe the complex links between climate change, biodiversity loss, public policy, and sustainable cities.

Target Audience

The MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy is aimed at senior, mid-career, and high-potential early-career professionals who want to shape the policies and strategies driving the global sustainability transformation. It is suited, among others, to those working in:

• Government and public policy
• International organisations and NGOs
• Private sector and consultancy
• Urban planning and the built environment
• Law and governance

Course Delivery

• The MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy is delivered through a blend of online distance learning and attendance at five in-person residentials over the two years of the course.
• There are eight weeks of residentials in total, three two-week residentials in Year 1 and two one-week residentials in Year 2.
• The residentials are intense and stimulating periods of study, combining lectures, workshops, and presentations from academics and sector leaders, with a strong emphasis on real-world case studies, practical applications, collaborative projects, and group discussions.

Course Structure and Assessment

• The MSt in Climate, Environmental and Urban Policy programme has a modular design.
• There are three core assessed modules (CEUP1 to CEUP3), an assessed methods and methodologies module (CEUP7), and three applied modules (CEUP4 to CEUP6), out of which students select one for assessment as their specialisation stream.
• Another key component of the course is a 12,000-word research dissertation, which participants complete over the two years with support and guidance from faculty.

Whats Special About This Course?

This course brings together concepts, expertise, and case-study applications from different disciplines to provide a 360° view of the scientific and societal implications of sustainability transformations. Climate change, the risk of ecosystem collapse, and the transformation of urban systems are all redefining the rules of social organisation in which governments, civil society, and businesses evolve.

Fees and Funding

• Course fees: Ł15,738 per year (Ł31,476 total) for Home and Overseas students in 202628, covering tuition and University and College membership fees.
• Other costs: Students are expected to cover their own costs of travel, accommodation, and subsistence during the residential sessions in Cambridge.
• Funding, scholarships, and loans: While there are currently no scholarships or funding opportunities specifically allocated to the MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy, students can find more information about sources of funding for postgraduate study on the Universitys Postgraduate Study website.

How to Apply

• Academic and professional requirements: Applicants should normally hold a relevant UK 1st or good 2:1 honours degree or its overseas equivalent, and have at least three years experience in a relevant professional setting.
• Language requirements: If you are not from a majority English-speaking country, you may need to submit evidence that you meet the Universitys English language requirement.
• Personal statement and research proposal: You are required to submit a personal statement and research proposal as part of the application process.
• References: You will be asked to provide the details of two referees; these should be senior people acquainted with your work who are able to comment on your academic and/or professional suitability for the course.

FAQs

• What is an MSt?: A Master of Studies (MSt) is a part-time degree awarded at the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford.
• Who awards the MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy?: The MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy is delivered by the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge.
• Will I become a member of a Cambridge college?: Yes, all students enrolled in the MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy become lifelong members of a Cambridge College.
• Can I progress to PhD study after completing the MSt?: The MSt in Climate, Environmental, and Urban Policy is a valid route to studying for a PhD degree. Students wishing to apply for continuation to the PhD would normally be expected to attain a minimum overall mark of 67 and a dissertation mark of 70.