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MSc Sustainable Development

MSc (NFQ Level 9)
Internships Available
Sustainable Development Goals

This course is available through the following application route(s)

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(Online Programme)

World Top 100 in the QS Ranking 2024 in Politics Oldest and Largest School of its Kind in Ireland.

UCD School of Politics & International Relations is the oldest and largest school of its kind in Ireland with over 150 years of experience in political studies and a world-renowned faculty drawn from many countries.

Visit Our Website for Further Information such as Entry Requirement and Application Documents.


Programme Information Session Webinars are now available! 

Register in advance for one of the webinars.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.


In September 2015,  the United Nations adopted Agenda 2030, an ambitious agenda to promote people, planet, and prosperity. Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted as part of Agenda 2030, setting forth an ambitious framework of action for countries around the world.

UCD has worked with the SDG Academy since its foundation.   Prof Patrick Paul Walsh has served on her Academic Oversight Committee since 2012.  UCD and  the SDG Academy  have identified a clear need and demand to offer a formal online Masters in Sustainable Development.  The SDG Academy is the online education platform of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a global initiative for the United Nations. UCD is ranked 14 in the Times Higher World Impact Ranking 2020 for SDG Partnerships (SDG 17) with clear focus on sustainability in the new strategic plan, rising to the future. 

The online Masters in Sustainable Development brings together the best of online resources in the SDG Academy,  UN SDSN  academic  “stars” and experts, with her partner UCD, a leading University in the area of Sustainable Development.

This MSc programme will be the first online, global programme of its kind, drawing on the expertise, credibility and network of its host institution to offer cutting edge, global, multi-disciplinary learning for the SDGs.

The course has the unique ability to address the large range of issues covered by the SDG agenda that will equip students to solve some of the most pressing issues of our times. Both organizations, with mandates to support the UN system through consultative status , are well-suited to establish and administer such a programme and provide students with a unique experience in access to global taught leaders,  opportunities for excellent placements and  careers in Sustainable Development. 

About This Course

This programme aims to fulfill the following:

  1. Comprehensiveness: The program will need to teach the full range of issues that define Agenda 2030, drawing an explicit link with the global agenda; covering social, economic, environmental and governance pillars of Sustainable Development, grounded in the context of global, regional and local implementation.

  2. The Knowledge-Implementation Spectrum: the program will need to expose students to the latest global knowledge on issues related to the SDGs, but will also need to train them on how to move from knowledge to policy diagnosis and solutions for implementation on the ground. Knowledge will be grounded in dynamics of associated change theories, with a focus on using behavior change science to understand the knowledge-policy-practice continuum. Diagnostics and solutions will be a cornerstone of each course, ensuring the transfer from theory to practice. Thus, the program will need to balance academic, peer and practice learning as part of its core design.

  3. Interconnectivity: The SDGs define a framework of separate but deeply interconnected goals; understanding Agenda 2030 therefore requires the ability to both, get deep sectoral expertise on individual SDGs, but equally to have an analytical framework to understand the relationships, positive and negative, between the various SDGs. The Program will emphasize how to use systems thinking and other analytical tools to find integrated pathways of implementation that translate the individual goals into a cohesive program of implementation.

  4. Local and Global Relevance: The SDGs are a global agenda, and Agenda 2030 provides a universal framework for implementation. At the same time, the issues represented by the goals manifest in different ways in different parts of the world. A program of study of the SDGs needs to recognize this duality and provide a global perspective while also equipping learners to apply these perspectives in their immediate contexts.

  5. Flexibility: The SDGs are a rapidly evolving agenda; the fields of study that underpin the SDGs viz. natural and applied sciences (ecology, environmental studies, physics, material sciences, agronomy, public health), social studies (economics, sociology, political sciences), and fields of public management, finance, leadership, and administration, are continually evolving, and any program of study needs to be flexible enough to absorb these developments. Second, students of the SDGs are often working professionals, who will need to learn and update their skills while in their work environments- this requires the program to be available in different formats, with a focus on learning through different mediums and formats. Finally, the inter-disciplinarity of the fields of study will be a core pillar of the program design, allowing students also to specialize in fields of study through electives while absorbing the common underpinnings of sustainable development. The understanding of issues concerning peace and conflict is vital to the broader understanding of issues of war, peace and conflict resolution in the world.  This programme develops that understanding on the part of students and familiarises them with cutting edge debates on the issues from various parts of the world. The vision of this programme is to nurture people capable of constructively intervening on these debates - either as practicitooners or as academic/policy specialists.

Knowledge and understanding

  • Understanding core concepts of sustainable development

  • Understand the role of sustainable development in the economy, society, environment and governance

  • Gain knowledge of the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) and relevance to public policy

Applying knowledge and understanding

  • Apply knowledge of the inter-connectedness of the SDG

  • Apply knowledge of sustainable development to policy diagnosis and associated solutions for practical implementation

  • Apply appropriate data analysis and scrutiny techniques for valid data-driven investigations for SDG implementation

Making judgements

  • Compare methods, tools and models for developing effective sustainable development solutions

  • Evaluate the range of sustainable development solutions available for public policy implementation

  • Determining the appropriateness of different theoretic and/or analytic approaches to a variety of problems

  • Selecting appropriate concept/theories and empirical techniques to investigate sustainable development issues

Communication and working skills

  • Develop presentation, research and writing skills throughout their time on the programme

  • Enhance communication skills via the interaction with academics, peers and non-specialists

  • Develop a series of transferrable skills that will be important for future employability in the broad area of sustainable development practice

There will be placement and Internship opportunities across the UN SDSN.


Below is a list of all modules offered for this degree in the current academic year. Click on the module to discover what you will learn in the module, how you will learn and assessment feedback profile amongst other information.

Incoming Stage 1 undergraduates can usually select an Elective in the Spring Trimester. Most continuing undergraduate students can select up to two Elective modules (10 Credits) per stage. There is also the possibility to take up to 10 extra Elective credits.

Module Type Module   Trimester Credits
Stage 1 Core Modules
POL42080 Global Classroom Autumn  10
Stage 1 Core Modules
PLAN40390 Sustainable Cities Spring  10
Stage 1 Core Modules
POL42370 SDG Research Project Summer  30
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
BSEN40480 Sustainable Energy & Environment Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
DEV40010 One Planet, One Ocean (SDG 14) Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
ECON42690 The Market for Labor, Land & SDGs Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
EDUC42940 Development & Societal Transition in complex, post-conflict situations Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
ENVB30130 Ecology & its Application (On-line) Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
LAW40120 Foundations of Environmental Law Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
LAW42230 Natural Resources Law Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
MEEN40900 Energy, Climate and Sustainability (online) Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
PLAN40550 Fundamentals of Sustainability Autumn and Spring (separate)  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
BSEN40790 Carbon & Sustainability Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
ENVB40380 Managing the Interface between Science and Policy (On-line) Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
LAW41090 Climate Change Law and Policy Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 0 of:
ENVB30130 and DEV40010 are recommended to be taken together.MEEN40900 and ENVB40380 are recommended be taken together
MEDN40080 Global Health Spring  10

This online Masters in Sustainable Development brings together the best of online resources in the SDG Academy,  UN SDSN  academic  “stars” and experts, with her partner UCD, a leading University in the area of Sustainable Development.

Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.

  • A primary degree with at least Second Class Honours Grade 1 (2H1). 2H1 is equivalent to 60 per cent, B minus or 3.08 GPA - in American system: B or 3.00 GPA.
  • English language requirements: applicants whose first language is not English should have met TOEFL, IELTs, or computer-based TOEFL requirements (600, 6.5, or 250 respectively), or the Cambridge English Test (Certificate in Advanced English at a minimum of Grade B, or Certificate of Proficiency in English at Grade C). Applicants who obtained a previous degree from an English-speaking university may be exempted from this requirement.
  • Your application will be considered on its individual merits and relevant professional experience will also be taken into account.
  • Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the English language requirements, may enter the programme upon successful completion of UCD’s International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information: https://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/int%20pmp/
  • These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes
You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information. Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage.

Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EU) applicants: Yes

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants: Yes


The applicants should have earned an undergraduate degree in a relevant subject  such as political science, international relations, social science, sociology, history, geography, economics, global studies, public policy, development studies, EU studies, law/international law , medicine,  planning, engineering ng   with at least Upper Second Class Honours, or its equivalent (an overall GPA of 3.0 (B) or higher in the American system). Relevant professional experience will also be taken into account.



The following academic staff from various schools teach modules in the programme:



UCD College of Science




  • Emmanuel Reynaud,  School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science



UCD College of Social Sciences and Law




  • Patrick Paul Walsh, UCD School of Politics and International Relations

  • Conor Galvin, UCD School of Education

  • Ciara Whelan,  UCD School of Economics

  • Frank Walsh,  UCD School of Economics

  • Graham Finlay,  UCD School of Politics and International Relations

  • Andrew Jackson, UCD Sutherland School of Law



UCD College of Engineering and Architecture




  • Enda Murphy,  UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy



UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences




  • Paddy Mallon, School of Medicine

  • Cliona O’Sullivan,  School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science

  • Aifric O'Sullivan,  UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science


General application route(s) for Irish/UK/EU applicants* for International (non-EU) applicants* to MSc Sustainable Development:

ROWCLASS Apply to
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt
W490
MSc Sustainable Development
Master of Science

Part-Time
Commencing January 2025
Graduate Taught
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt
W485
MSc Sustainable Development
Master of Science

Full-Time
Commencing September 2025
Graduate Taught
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt
W486
MSc Sustainable Development
Master of Science

Part-Time
Commencing September 2025
Graduate Taught
* you can change options at the top of the page